Creative Industries
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) define the creative industries as
"those industries which have their origin in individual creativity, skill and talent and which have a potential for wealth and job creation through the generation and exploitation of intellectual property."
The creative industries include advertising, architecture, the art and antiques market, crafts, design, designer fashion, film and video, interactive leisure software, music, the performing arts, publishing, software and computer games, television and radio.
The creative industries provide direct employment for nearly 94,000 people within the region. The sector is performing strongly and producing high levels of GVA. The Audio-visual domain includes the following sub sectors Music and Advertising and is the most significant of the creative industries in the region, in terms of economic performance and wealth generation, it accounts for 66.6% of all business revenues and 47% of the GVA generated by sector.
Here are just some of the key statistics for Creative Industries in South West England:
| Gross Value Added | £1.84bn |
| Revenues | £9.3bn |
| Employment | 94,000 |
Source: DCMS's 'Creative Industries Economic Estimates', Statistical Bulletin of July 2003 and Burns Owen Partnership, Regional Mapping and Economic Impact Study of the Creative Industries in the South West 2004
South West England has some of the most modern and sought after production facilities in the UK supporting the audio-visual sector. Whilst both the Performance domain and the Visual Arts domain continue to exhibit secure steady employment growth. Visual Arts and Performance together contribute 10% of business revenues and 19% of GVA.
The South West is nationally recognised as a region with a vibrant arts, crafts and music scene and has an increasing wealth of cultural diversity. The region is home to the largest arts centre outside of London - Lighthouse located in Poole is a local resource of national significance which aims to entertain, stimulate and inspire. In addition to this there is a thriving community of craftspeople and artists working with a multitude of different material - glass, metalwork, textile, pottery, paint, woodwork, and jewellery.
The region is a hotbed of creative and digital media and the sector is growing more rapidly than anywhere else in the UK, employing more creatives than any other region outside London. World recognised innovative companies in this sector include, Aardman Animation, Twofour Productions, BBC and HP Labs.
And, looking to the future, some of the best and brightest minds are studying and researching at specialist departments within our region's universities and colleges. There are over 7,700 creative students at 13 colleges and universities, as well as several thousand students whose work covers technical areas of digital media - many of which are leaders in their respective fields and all of whom have developed strong and synergistic links with business.
The region has established media clusters. Each cluster creates a focus for the growth and development of the media industries within that particular sub-region. Clusters are currently established in the Plymouth, Wessex, Gloucestershire and Bristol areas, providing an opportunity for growth and innovation.
Higher Education Expertise
This list is not exhaustive or comprehensive but clearly demonstrates the fact that creative industries are a large and dynamic part of South West England's Higher Education sector.
University of the West of England
Centre for Contextual, Public and Commemorative Art
Centre for Fine Print Research
Digital Media Research Centre
Dartington College of Arts
Centre for Creative Enterprise & Participation
University of Bristol
Digital Media Group
3 C Research www.3cresearch.co.uk
University College Falmouth
Interactive Arts Centre
Media Centre
Bath Spa University
International Centre for Digital and Interactive Audio
University of Bath
Media Technology Research Centre (MTRC)
Bournemouth University
National Centre for Computer Animation
University of Plymouth
Institute for Arts and Technology
Innovate: Centre for Creative Industries
University of Gloucesterhire
Expertise in media production (film, TV, radio and broadcast journalism), design and interactive media
Faculty of Media, Art and Communications
Incubation Facilities and Science Parks
Establishing an environment for small creative companies to grow is an important factor for a successful economy. Creative companies need flexible working space in close proximity to expertise, be it higher education, other companies or integrated business support. South West England offers a wide range of options, including space at all its key university campuses. Examples include:
The Arts Institute at Bournemouth's new Enterprise Pavilion which provides high quality business incubation with state-of-the-art accommodation and comprehensive business support services with industry standard equipment including postproduction facilities for digital media.
The UWE Innovate eMedia Incubator & eMedia at Watershed provide hi-tech managed office space in prime locations in the heart of Bristol's creative district.
The UoP Innovate: Centre for Creative Industries provides business development and incubation at Tamar Science Park.
For more information on incubation and Science Parks please see Incubation and Science Parks or visit the Business Incubation South West network (BISW) - A full list of incubators that are members of BISW are given on their website: http://www.bisw.co.uk/
The South West of England Regional Development Agency is committed to supporting the continued growth and advancement of the creative industries in the region. SWRDA Sector co-ordination is shared between South West Screen who cover the media and digital side and Culture South West who cover the non-media side.
For further information on creative and digital media please see the data sheet on the publications page which provides a snapshot of the companies that make up the South West England's world class digital media cluster.