The creative industries in the context of contemporary challenges

The article presents, for the first time, a comprehensive analysis of the creative industries through the lens of contemporary challenges. The author interprets «contemporary» as a multifaceted philosophical concept, reflected in such types of society such as the risk society, the achievement society, the society of individuals, and the information age. This allows for a deeper understanding of the socio-cultural conditions in which one of the segments of the «orange» economy operates. This article provides a detailed examination of pressing challenges: environmental, economic, political, globalization-related, socio-economic, cultural and axiological (including the demand for conscious consumption in the context of information noise), and technological. Their impact is shown both on the individual and on creative industries – as small and medium-sized business in the fields of the arts and culture. In response to these challenges, strategic guidelines are proposed: an interdisciplinary approach, flexibility of organizational models, preservation of glocal identity, adaptation to the digital economy, and a balance between commerce and social responsibility. Creative industries are positioned as the «heart» of the new economy – spaces of creative freedom oriented not so much toward profit as toward public good. Their cultural and creative potential is revealed in the creation of new cultural forms, the development of social dialogue, the support for identities, and the formation of innovative educational practices and legal mechanisms. The role of creative industries is emphasized in the production and dissemination of cultural meanings, mobilization of the society’s creative resources, stimulation of innovation, formation of identity and communities, synthesis of culture, economy and technology, and in the implementation of state policy aimed at preserving and strengthening traditional Russian spiritual and moral values.