New initiative is flying the flag for British creativity
The UK’s creative industry gathered at BAFTA on Thursday evening to celebrate the official launch of Create Britain, a new national initiative spearheaded by Creativepool, which aims to celebrate and champion the UK’s creative industry.
Representatives from Clerkenwell Design Week, 100% Design, Sane & Able, Stocks Taylor Benson, and Shaun Clarkson of Channel 4’s ‘Four Rooms’ programme were amongst guests who took part in the evening and queued to sign letters to the PM David Cameron and Culture Secretary Maria Miller, calling on the Government to recognise the multi-billion value that the creative industries provide for the UK economy each year.
Highlights from the event included:
- Signing of open letters to the Prime Minister and UK Culture Secretary Maria Miller: Guests were invited to sign the Create Britain Charter and open letters to the Prime Minister and Culture Secretary, calling for greater recognition and support for the UK’s creative industries. These documents are now being made available online at www.creativepool.com/createbritain and Creativepool is inviting individuals and organisations in the creative industries to add their names to them over the coming months. The letters will then be shared with the Prime Minister and Maria Miller in October 2013.
- Marc Lewis, Dean of the School of Communication Arts discussed the need for creative talent to be nurtured and shared inspiration examples of some of his students’ campaign work for Becks, Kia Picanto and EA Games. Marc commented: “We live in exponential times and the speed of changes to consumption patterns in just the last few years alone is staggering. Today’s consumers get meaning from sharing intangibles and experiences rather than simply the purchasing of goods. The curriculum hasn’t had time to catch up with this cultural shift so it’s vital that the industry takes a stand to help shape the creative professionals of tomorrow and safeguard the industry’s future success. That’s why SCA 2.0 is supporting Create Britain – to keep Britain creating now and in years to come.”
- The creation of a unique piece of artwork: Throughout the evening, guests captured the spirit of the creative industries by contributing to a unique canvas, donated by Dulux. The canvas will now be taken around the UK as part of the Create Britain roadshow, enabling creative individuals across the UK to contribute. The final piece will eventually be sold in an e-auction with all proceeds going towards funding student tuition at the School of Communication Arts.
Michael Tomes, Managing Director of Creativepool added: “We’re thrilled that industry has come together to celebrate the success of the creative sector and discuss the challenges that we face. The design industry is one of the UK’s major success stories; contributing over £30 billion each year to GDP* but there’s so much more that we could do with the right support. Create Britain is a call to action for the government to really get behind the industry and support agencies, brands and individuals today as well as taking appropriate steps to cultivate tomorrow’s creative talent.”
The Create Britain initiative will take place across 2013, aiming to raise the profile of the creative industries in the UK, demonstrate their importance in driving our economy and employment, encourage mutual support and collaboration within the industry and call on the Government to provide better support for UK creatives. The launch event at BAFTA will be followed up with a series of exhibitions, talk and portfolio reviews in a national road show that will see 25 events take place in creative hubs across Britain.
Further industry support for the Create Britain initiative:
Stephen Block, event manager for Clerkenwell Design Week comments: “We are strongly committed to the Create Britain initiative. Creativity is not optional to our economy. The UK service industry faces increasingly formidable competition from abroad, and maintaining our reputation as leaders in innovation and originality is crucial. From architecture to automotives, our ability to adapt has allowed British industry to produce some of the most valued products on the globe. Each year at Clerkenwell Design Week we facilitate successful connections not only for the big names of British design, but the talented graduates and new designers providing solutions for the next decade. This is not the time to put on the brakes.”
Shaun Clarkson, renowned designer for the hospitality industry commented on the launch event: “This was a fantastic occasion, bringing together some of the best in the business to celebrate Britain’s rightful place as one of the creative capitals of the world.”
Notes to editor:
*Estimate of the value design brings to the UK economy stand at approximately 2.2 per cent of GDP or £33.5 billion spending annually, (Imperial College London 2011).
Media contacts
For more information or to arrange to attend the BAFTA event, please contact Helen Ablett, Ingrid Semanikova or Augusta Henning in the Creativepool press office at Octopus Communications on 08453 700655 or [email protected]
About Creativepool
Creativepool is a professional network and resource for the creative industries. We help companies and individuals connect to one another, showcase and share their work, promote their services, broadcast news, publish content, recruit and find new business. We’ve been popular since 2005. Thanks to our ever-growing collection of portfolios, content and followers, Creativepool is now one of the most successful industry portals of its kind.
www.creativepool.com
