Out of the basement: youth cultural production in practice and in policy

Abstract

Soulja Boy, Justin Bieber, and Tavi Gevinson are hardly representative of typical youth experiences, but their origins highlight many of the realities of youth doing independent creative work. 'Out of the Basement' profiles the variety of youth cultural production in the twenty-first century, and asks what has - or has not - changed as youth attempt to make a living from creative works. Though any young person with a laptop might have greater means to make music, films, or publish writing than in the past, the skills necessary to make a living in today's creative industries are not taught in schools - young artists must find their own way out of their basements. Integrating cultural studies, media education, and subculture studies, Miranda Campbell profiles this process of navigation and negotiation - one largely overlooked in discussions of creative economies - through the life stories of young people who are building careers through cultural work. She considers how existing policies can impede small-scale cultural production and calls for more awareness and support of youth creative enterprise. Moving between the structures directed toward creative life and the initiatives that young people produce themselves in the absence of relevant structures, 'Out of the Basement' offers a timely analysis of the rise of small-scale creative employment.