Abstract:

This paper is dedicated to an analysis of the contribution that social environment and some of its main actors have on the creative professions. By using interviews with individuals working in creative fields, we tried to answer some questions related to who and how other individuals contribute to the creative process and why is their contribution important. We have identified three categories of ‘influencers’ (family and friends, peers and students and clients and funders) who are perceived by individual creators living and working in Romania as playing different roles in supporting and fostering creativity. While most of their actions is perceived as enhancing creativity, there are many instances when their influence is seen as inhibiting and counterproductive.