Wilson Lam says he is confident his business will improve in the near future, especially in light of the recent news. “According to what I know from the government, [the plan to foster creative industries] is a wonderful opportunity for the people in the sector,” Mr Lam tells Macau Business.
After 16 years in Canada, the graphic designer returned home and set up Macau Creations, a company that designs custom-made products. The enterprise, in gestation in Canada for four years, opened its first shop in July, near the ruins of Saint Paul’s. “I’ve been working on this on my own and I had several difficulties to find a good location and for which I could pay the rent,” he says.
Mr Lam believes the future of Macau Creations is bright now the government has a plan for creative industries. One of Chief Executive Fernando Chui Sai On’s priorities is economic diversification and Mr Lam believes creative industries are a vehicle to achieving this.
However, economists, artists, promoters of culture and scholars are divided in their opinions. Some believe Macau has enough cultural strength to hatch a successful brood of creative industries, but all point to major structural problems. Can creativity really drive economic diversification?
It is not only the government that is bullish about creative industries. Some local artists and scholars are also optimistic that Macau’s unique historical background is the main ingredient needed to develop successful cultural industries.
“Macau has a history reaching back more than 400 years, marked by cultural exchanges between China and the West and a profound historical context. We can make use of these special cultural elements to further strengthen Macau’s cultural infrastructure and create a unique cultural brand for Macau,” says artist and head of the Cultural Affairs Bureau, Guilherme Ung Vai Meng.
“These elements can also be one of the economic drivers to promote social advancement and transform Macau into an international city for leisure and tourism.”

Differentiation
Simon Mak, a lecturer at the Macao Polytechnic Institute’s School of Arts, says Macau could differentiate itself from its neighbours by using its heritage. “This cultural niche can serve as the attraction for visitors coming to Macau, where they can enjoy both sightseeing historical sites as well as discovering the gaming experience,” Mr Mak says.
Others think the well-established gaming and tourism industry could pave the way for the development of cultural and creative industries. Tina Fu, an instructor in graphic design at the Institute for Tourism Studies, says the amenability of residents to this kind of project is higher now. “Our society is more diversified, providing a very good timing and background to promote creative industries,” Ms Fu says.
Economists paint a very different picture. Henry Lei of the University of Macau believes the city can make good use of its international heritage in developing cultural and creative industries. However, he notes that “in comparison with the gaming industry, the economic significance of this sector should be much smaller, and it will also take a long time for the industry to develop solidly”.
Mr Lei says cultural and creative industries cannot be expected to offer large numbers of job opportunities in the short- to medium-term, although they may contribute indirectly to the tourism industry.

Economic meaning
Economist Albano Martins finds it hard to imagine how Macau can make creative industries an economic alternative to gaming. “I’m very sceptical. There are many creative industries in many parts of the world with expertise in this area, but in Macau the only thing we have are ideas without meaning in economic terms,” he says.
Mr Martins stresses Macau needs to gather more ingredients to foster successful creative industries. “Today we have a creative embryo of local creative people that are launching themselves into the market, but to develop an industry there must be enough professionals,” he says.
“Not only is the number of creative people low, but there must also be industrial production and business capacity. Currently, we just have people working on a strictly personal basis, and family businesses.”
Another economist, José Luis de Sales Marques, sees a future between the gaming and tourism industries but says the arts are no replacement for either.
”Are creative industries going to replace gaming? Never. But they can be an alternative to some sectors,” Mr Sales Marques says.
However, before taking any steps, the government has to put money into research, he argues, since there is a lack of detailed data.
There are already creative industries mixed in with various sectors that actually have clout in the economy, according to a study by the Centre for Creative Industries, a project of the Institute of European Studies of Macau, which Mr Sales Marques heads. But he says this was “just a qualitative study”.
The Cultural Affairs Bureau has a plan to create a database of cultural and creative industries. In the first phase, the bureau will collect data from local industries on products originally designed in Macau.
The bureau aims to use the database to further its understanding of the development of local cultural and creative industries and to enhance communication between the government and the various players. Another purpose of the database is to facilitate the collection and storage of market information for in-depth research into cultural and creative industries.

Need for goals
Given the significance of gaming in the local economy, the government should clearly spell out what it means by economic diversification, says architect Carlos Marreiros, who is also the director of the Albergue SCM, which aims to promote local creative industries.
“There is a long way to go before creative industries can become an economic alternative. In addition, you need to know what goals to set in terms of trade,” says Mr Marreiros.
Yet the government is still unsure how the economy can make the best use of creative industries. Asked about official goals in terms of their contributions to GDP and employment, Mr Ung says it takes time to study the situation, as local cultural and creative industries are still at an “initial stage”.
The bureau has set short-, medium- and long-term goals for the development of cultural and creative industries. It aims within five years to establish policies and measures to help small and medium enterprises develop embryonic cultural and creative industries. Within 10 years, there will be physical facilities. The long-term goal is to improve education in order to stimulate the cultural and creative potential of the population.

Talent wanted
Observers say the government should first put more effort into education and training. Some say Macau has the talent but lacks training and opportunities. Another school of thought doubts that there are sufficient local human resources to start successful creative industries.
Kit Kelen of the Association of Stories in Macau, which gives young writers their start, believes the city is “per capita, a place of much more impressive creative output and potential” than similar cities, particularly in poetry and the visual arts.
In contrast, Alan Gan, a lecturer in graphic design at the Macao Polytechnic Institute, argues that local talent is still scarce. “We need to attract and encourage young talent from inside and outside as well,” he says.
The head of the Cultural Affairs Bureau agrees. “Macau currently lacks local talent in the cultural and creative industries due to its small population. It takes time to nurture talent,” Mr Ung says.
James Chu, the leader of local art troupe Art For All Society, argues that there is much work to be done in education and training. Mr Chu believes there is not enough talent in this generation to develop creative industries and wants improvements in the education system.

Outsourcing
Frank Lei, the artistic director of the Ox Warehouse art space, is like-minded. “We are just at the beginning,” Mr Lei says. “In the future, Macau will need more designers and several other professionals, so we should think about how to train more people. At the same time, there is a need to create more opportunities for the young to develop their skills.”
The mainland could solve some problems, says Mr Marreiros. “Products could be created here, using local creative and business potential, and then be manufactured in mainland China, which is the factory of the world right now,” he said.
This is what Macau Creations does. The company has brought together 30 local designers, but all its products are made on the other side of the border. “Created in Macau doesn’t mean made in Macau,” says Mr Sales Marques.
Fellow economist Mr Lei says Macau’s creative industries still need to keep an eye on the neighbouring regions to survive.
“Creative industries could survive in Hong Kong, but it may be completely different in Macau, given our small GDP and limited population size,” he says. “If the creative industries are not able to explore the Pearl River Delta market, it is impossible for them to survive in the long run, given the limited demand
in Macau.”

Gifted neighbours

Hong Kong has audacious plans and deep pockets to develop its cultural and creative industries.
The government here wants to do it the “Macau way” but it is hard to avoid comparing the city’s efforts to develop its cultural and creative industries to what is underway in Hong Kong.
The head the Cultural Affairs Bureau, Guilherme Ung Vai Meng, told Macau Business that Macau would emphasise study and seeking new prospects to build the city’s own advantages, rather than following someone else’s model.
“We will fully acquaint ourselves with global economic changes and development trends and make full use of Macau’s unique geographic advantages, the ‘one country, two systems’ policy, rich cultural resources and advanced services industry, to reshape Macau’s development orientation,” he said.
Across the river delta, Hong Kong’s government is pushing ahead with the West Kowloon Cultural District to help foster cultural and creative industries. Three options for the concept of the district are up for public consultation until November 20.
The district will have a modern art museum, numerous theatres, concert halls and other performance venues. It will be managed by the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority, which is directly financed by the government, with one-off funding of HK$21.6 billion (MOP22.25 billion) for the planning, design and construction of all the facilities.
The project was first meant to attract tourists to Hong Kong but the focus of discussion thereafter switched to the benefits for residents, both intellectually and economically.
Hong Kong has around 32,000 establishments related to creative industries, engaging more than 176,000 people. The sector adds more than HK$60 billion to Hong Kong’s GDP a year or about 5 percent of the total.
The government’s official policy is that creative industries can be important economic drivers. Creativity helps increase the innovation capacity of the economy and can propel future economic growth. “Hong Kong has developed a leading edge in key areas of creative industries like film, television, music, design, architecture, comics and animation, games and digital entertainment,” the government says.

Showing initiative
Create Hong Kong is a government agency set up in June last year. It is responsible for the administration and management of funding schemes for creative industries, including the CreateSmart initiative, the DesignSmart initiative and the Film Development Fund. The Hong Kong Design Centre was created in 2001, becoming a strategic partner of the government in promoting design.
In comparison, Macau’s drive to foster creative industries is still in its early stages. The Cultural Industry Committee had its first meeting in September after forming in May. It is meant to give opinions, make reports, do research and present proposals on policies for the development of cultural industries. The government has yet to decide how much to invest in fostering creative industries.
Hong Kong’s HK$300 million CreateSmart initiative financially supports projects for the development of creative industries. By the end of May, 68 projects had applied for funding and 23 had successfully obtained HK$43 million in funding.
The HK$250 million DesignSmart initiative aims to strengthen government support for design and innovation. By the end of May it had received 479 applications for a combined total of HK$268 million, of which 332 applications for HK$147 million had been approved.
The HK$300-million Film Development Fund supports projects in the local film industry. From 2007 to the end of May this year, 12 film productions and 45 other film-related projects had been approved, together receiving HK$117.8 million.

Search for a home

There are plenty of opinions around the potential homes for the city’s creative industries.
Cultural and creative industries will soon be homeless no longer. The government has announced that it will allocate three buildings to be used as “flagship properties” by the sector. However, this may not be enough.
Some artists are already discussing whether there should be a district especially for creative industries and, if so, where it should be. One school of thought is demanding a piece of the proposed land reclamation off the Macau peninsula and Taipa.
For now, the recently formed Cultural Industry Committee will use an empty commercial building in Tap Seac Square, the C Shop near the New Yaohan department store and the Tourism Activities Centre near the Ruins of St. Paul’s to display products and host events. All are expected to open for business in their new roles at the beginning of next year.
Different facilities will function in different ways. For instance, the property near the Ruins of St. Paul’s will be a multi-purpose facility for commercial activities, exhibitions and culinary promotions.

Where to put it?
The government is also mulling over setting up a creative district like those in other cities. Recently, on a visit to Huashan 1914, Taipei’s creative park, the chairman of the Cultural Industry Committee, Leong Heng Teng, said the government was planning to create a similar park in Macau, adding that the Barra district could be one of the areas to be considered.
However, urban planner and engineer José Chui Sai Peng believes it is unlikely to happen because one of the main light railway stations will be in Barra, questioning how it would work together. Besides, Mr Chui, who is also a legislator, says Macau already has a creative industries area funded by the government.
“There has been already investment in the St Lazarus district, where the Albergue SCM and 10 Fantasia are,” he says. Albergue SCM and 10 Fantasia are establishments dedicated to promoting cultural and creative industries.
Chief Executive Fernando Chui Sai On and his predecessor Edmund Ho Hau Wah, have visited the district and made positive comments about it, says Mr Chui.
Instead of one area for creative industries, there should be several, he adds. Apart from St Lazarus, there are other places where the creative industries concept is being explored.
“There are many places, because creative people didn’t wait for the government, so it shouldn’t be restricted to just one place,” he says. Nevertheless, Mr Chui acknowledges that a creative park could be helpful if the government wants something to show tourists.
In 2000, the St Lazarus district got the highest score among eight places looked at by the Creative Industries District Conceptual Study, conducted by Mr Chui. “At that time, Macau didn’t have much money and it had to be a place with business space availability, traffic convenience, cultural characteristics and extra space,” he explains. Four years later and former Chief Executive Mr Ho named the St Lazarus area as a creative industries incubator.