Precarious Worlds in China’s Creative Industries: ‘Underground’ drag, clubbing and indie in Shanghai

Description

Taking a neoliberal approach to cultural creativity, creative industries policies around the world have created new precarious conditions for creative projects since the turn of the century. In China, this neoliberal ideology is blended with strong state control through censorship and soft power. Small venues and event organisers that produce global ‘edgy’ culture and portray themselves as ‘underground’ find themselves in an ambivalent position. Live music, club nights, and drag performances contribute to Shanghai’s global city image but face financial and political uncertainties. Taking a political economy perspective, this talk explores how ‘underground’ venues and event organisations navigate precarious conditions in Shanghai’s creative industries. Building on ethnographic data and policy documents, it explores the various forms of precarity of venues as a business in the creative industries context. A case study of indie livehouse Yuyintang and a drag event organisation argues that precarity is unequally experienced and requires various responses.

Number of attendees (for events)

10

Period	1 Jul 2025
Event title	Institute of Comparative Culture Lecture Series
Event type	Lecture
Location	Tokyo, JapanShow on map
Degree of Recognition	International