For the past two decades there has been a convergence between the realms of creativity and economic development. In the process broadly termed creative economy, ideas and artistic qualities contribute towards a new development paradigm. In addition, a wide range of its activities are concerned with the production and marketing of goods and services that are infused with creative content. This phenomenon has shifted development approaches from a Fordist economic regime based on manufacturing to one that places high value on human creativity and innovation. In terms of the built environment, this paradigm shift to a creative economy has subsequently influenced the formulation of policy and the practice of development at both urban and rural settings.

Within the current era of globalization, activities of the creative economy such as fashion, film, television, theater, music, dance, visual arts, design, architecture, advertising, publishing, multimedia and information technology, have contributed significantly to local economy, community life and the creation of places in cities and regions. Such places have taken advantage of the trend in natural agglomeration of creative industries in the form of clusters, given that information, imagination, and cultural sensibilities are transmitted through them. This agglomeration of design and knowledge-intensive industries attain place-specific competitive advantages by utilizing local symbolic culture, which are embedded in products and processes that are value-added and unique in character.

Together with this trend, carefully managed, planned and designed places in cities and regions that offer life-style choices and amenities, emerge as an important strategy for attracting talented people. These cultural places become hubs for creative communities, given that groups of creative professionals tend to cluster in places that provide not only the kind of jobs they seek but also the quality of life amenities they prefer. There remains, however, a gap between global and local settings, in which a framework is needed to situate cities and regions of emerging economies within this global phenomenon. Equally important is an understanding of how local knowledge of creative communities in different cultural and economic contexts, particularly in developing countries with their informal economy, contribute to this continuing discourse at both theoretical and practical levels.

Conference Issues

The two-day Conference on Friday and Saturday, 8 and 9 August 2008 was attended by approximately 250 participants with a total of over 80 papers/presentations from 18 countries. The Conference theme of "Creative Communities and the Making of Place: Sharing Creative Experiences" was elaborated through 6 Tracks and a number of Parallel Sessions with diverse topics, such as, but not limited to:

A. Architecture and Environmental Design for Creative Communities
A.1 Place-Making and Creative Communities
A.2 The Built Environment and Local Creativity
A.3 Quality of Life and Creative Communities
A.4 Human Settlements and Creative Communities
Including topics on Creative clusters and place-making for human settlements, as well as
Design and planning of public spaces for creative expression.

B. Business, Management and Entrepreneurship for Creative Communities
B.1 Creative Industries and Business
B.2 Creative Entrepreneurship
B.3 Tourism Management and Creative Communities
B.4 Creative Governance
Including topics on Creative leadership, entrepreneurship and management, as well as
Financing creative ventures, organizations and partnerships.

C. Cultural Arts and Design of Creative Communities
C.1 The Arts, Festivals, and Creative Districts
C.2 Cultural Heritage and Creative Communities
C.3 Visual Culture and Creative Communities
Including topics on Creative design innovation and access to global markets, as well as
Craft communities' empowerment and public-private initiatives.

D. Digital-Media and Information Technology for Creative Communities
D.1 Creative Converters and Virtual Communities
Including topics on Creative converters of information technology in global communities, as well as
Multimedia and virtual communities overcoming the challenges of digital divide.

E. Education and Theoretical Discourse on Creative Communities
E.1 Creative Education
E.2 Creativity, Community, and Place
Including topics on Creative teaching methods for design and entrepreneurial education, as well as
Theoretical discourses on creativity, community and place.

F. Planning and Policy Development for Creative Communities
F.1 Visionary Planning and Creativity
F.2 Growth Management and Creative Communities
F.3 Urban Life and the Creative City
F.4 Community Empowerment and Creativity
Including topics on Creative industries and implication on spatial planning policies, as well as
Institutional capacity building for creative governance.

Keynote Speakers

• Charles LANDRY - Director of COMEDIA, author of "The Creative City: A Toolkit for Urban Innovators" and "The Art of City Making", UNITED KINGDOM
• Mari Elka PANGESTU Ph.D. - Minister for Trade, Republic of INDONESIA

Featured Speakers

• Prof. Lily KONG, Ph.D. - Professor of Geography, Vice-President (University & Global Relations) and Director of Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore, SINGAPORE
• Prof. Masayuki SASAKI, Ph.D. - Professor of Urban & Cultural Economics, and Director of Urban Research Plaza, Graduate School for Creative Cities, Osaka City University, JAPAN
• Vin MORAR, M.Sc. - Lecturer and Enterprise Development Specialist, TSM Business School, University of Twente, THE NETHERLANDS
• Armein Z.R. LANGI, Ph.D. - Head of Research Center on Information and Communication Technology, Institute of Technology Bandung, INDONESIA
• Dwi LARSO, Ph.D. - Lecturer and Head of the Center for Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Leadership, School of Business and Management, Institute of Technology Bandung, INDONESIA
• Yasraf A. PILIANG, Dr. - Head of Design and Visual Culture Research Division, Faculty of Art and Design, Institute of Technology Bandung, INDONESIA
• Wawan D. GURATNO, Ir. - Chief Business Development and Marketing Director, Bakrieland Development Tbk., INDONESIA
• John NEWBIGIN - UNITED KINGDOM

Call for Papers - CLOSED

Abstracts of 300 words maximum (Arial 11 font, single-spaced, MS-Word document, no images) are invited to address the theme and issues raised in the International Conference introduction. Author’s name, institution, e-mail, mailing address, Abstract Title and indication of Parallel Session they would like to be considered for, must be provided on a separate page. Authors should provide Abstract Title as File-Name and send as attachment file by 21 MARCH 2008 to the Organizing Committee’s e-mail at artepolis@ar.itb.ac.id and CC-ed to artepolis_itb@yahoo.com

Abstracts received will be blind-reviewed by members of the Advisory Committee and designated Reviewers. Authors will be notified of the results beginning 21 April 2008. Based on their recommendations, the Organizing Committee will allocate selected Abstracts and subsequent Papers to designated Parallel Sessions, not always to session of Authors choice. Should an Abstract be selected for presentation in the Conference, the Author will be invited to send an expanded or full version of the Paper by 21 June 2008. Guidelines will be provided on the format, margins, fonts, maximum number of pages and possible insertion of images for Papers. Only English edited papers will be accepted, and Authors should keep in accordance with these guidelines for inclusion in the Conference Proceedings.