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Локальная творческая индустрия на распутье: креативные стартапы молодежи Юга России
Authors of the article approach the analysis of youth initiatives in the area of developing creative industries in the city of South Russia with special attention to the practices of (re)production and use of local features through vivid startups realized in special ethno-religious conditions. Authors also attempt to understand how young people use the subject of ethnicity in creative projects, both in alternative-formal and mainstream popular formats, and how they relate to ethnic entrepreneurship and nation-building. During the implementation of the project, the empirical results of which formed the basis of the analysis, the researchers encountered a pronounced attachment of young city residents to locality, low migration expectations, and frequent cases of return migration, which gives the findings a special value in the field of migration studies, including those implemented by our research center. To explain the findings, authors use several theoretical optics: the approach of ethnic entrepreneurship helps to explain the phenomenon of a special type of support networks for creative youth based on the principle of compatriotism, neighborliness, acquaintance outside the context of immigrant community; and the concept of ethnic construction “from below” helps to understand the motivations for inclusion and participation of young people in local creative production. The study is carried out in the qualitative tradition. The empirical base consists of 42 interviews with creative youth and experts in the city of Nalchik. The analysis of informants' narrative stories is supplemented by diary entries of 14 observations of selected cases - creative businesses or startups related to local specificity and ethnicity. In addition to grassroots creative initiatives, young people are also involved in mainstream projects of mass, popular culture, such as modern dance classes and K-pop festivals, counting on the support of stakeholders: business or the state. An interesting subject of analysis is the orientation of young people's creative initiatives towards informal support networks associated with the practices of ethnic entrepreneurship and nation-building. Being included in the common space of “grassroots” creative projects, young people begin to (re)invent the national and traditional in their own way