Fringe to Famous: Contemporary Australian Culture as an Innovation System

The project examines the crossover between 'alternative' and 'mainstream' cultural production in Australia, identifying ways in which a hybridisation between the avant garde and the popular promotes the development of cultural industries. It will conduct a detailed study of five cases: comedy (Working Dog and the Chaser), music (Mental as Anything, Paul Kelly and Nick Cave), visual arts/graphic design (Mambo Graphics), short film (Tropfest) and games development (Freeplay). It will identify the conditions which have allowed crossover between the avant-garde and the mainstream and produce recommendations for policy both in cultural development and the development of creative industries.