european creative cities shared

Transcription

1

2 european creative cities shared learning Contents 0. Introduction Venice. Meeting Creativity Engaging local people in an international cultural brand... 7 Please Disturb Unearthing Veneto s creative riches DICE Project The ingredients of a cultural cluster Celje. Breaking-through Small town creatives making a global impact Lila Prap interview Celje s Creative Office...as an interdisciplinary lab Dunakanyar-Pilis. A summer festival on the Danube Dunakanyari Nyari Jatekok Gijón. FETEN European Theatre Fair for Children Seville. A space for creative businesses Sacred Art Industrial Park Modena. CreaMos Creative & cultural industries network Klaipeda. Private and public partnerships The Art Dock Braga. Using your cultural heritage Encontros da Imagem Supporting individual creative industries Increasing innovation in local fashion businesses Velha-a-Branca Estaleiro Cultural Building a vibrant creative community from the ground up... 57

3 Introduction to the cities project CITIES Communication Team CITIES (Creative Industries in Traditional Intercultural Spaces) is a joint initiative generated by 9 partners from 6 countries: Lithuania, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Hungary and Slovenia. The project aims to promote the growth of entrepreneurship in the creative and cultural sectors through its network of participating cities and to share this learning with cities beyond. Since the project s start in October 2008, we have done just this through interregional co-operation sharing best practices, developing new support strategies and trying out these instruments and tools at regional and local levels. We are particularly interested in how to revitalize abandoned, retrogressive areas, as well as ones previously used for traditional and heavy industry. development; enhance networking among people from different backgrounds in the arts, business, culture and science to support regional business clusters in creative industries field; and, promote research activities focussed on the region s creative industries. The CITIES Project was organised in three components: Management and coordination Communication and dissemination Exchange of experiences dedicated to the identification and analysis of good practices Local support groups, composed of each city s hand-picked group of creative business leaders and cultural practitioners, helped inform on the direction of our work. Online, we discussed and uploaded our findings on the CITIES Project website, at and distributed news and findings in two printed, ed newsletters per year to disseminate project results and to provide information about the actions and activities. In the course of the project, over 350 people from different fields of activities had a chance to exchange their experiences face-to-face, sharing their knowledge and increasing their capacities for CITIES Project events. The goal of these visits was to present a global view of the main infrastructures, policies and programs developed in the CITIES Project cities related to cultural and creative industries. Interregional conferences and international workshops: Regional Strategies for CI Fundraising and Partnership, 1-2 April, 2009, Modena, Italy Private Initiative in Cultural Creative Environments, February, 2010, Gijón, Spain Creative Braga: Fusing Knowledge from Arts and Science, 30 June, 2010, Braga, Portugal Creativity and Economic Development, 4 November, 2010, Venice, Italy Creativity, Culture, Enterprise: A Challenge for Venice? Interregional conference, 5 November, 2010, Venice, Italy The Venice Biennial The project is led by Klaipeda City Municipality Administration in Lithuania and funded by the INTERREG IVC Programme through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), under the subtheme Entrepreneurship and Small- and Medium- Sized Enterprises. The CITIES network consists of the following project partners: Klaipeda City Municipality Administration, Lithuania Klaipeda Economic Development Agency, Lithuania Municipality of Modena, Italy Municipal Centre of Enterprises of Gijón, Spain Inteli-Intelligence in Innovation, Innovation Centre, Portugal Municipalities Association of the Danube and Pilis, Hungary Institution for Cultural Events and Tourism Celeia Celje, Slovenia Chamber of Commerce of Venice, Italy Sevilla Global, Urban Agency for Economic Development, Spain Our work has focussed on understanding the various interventions in the partner cities which have aimed to: strengthen the creative industries and support their innovation; foster cooperation among state, private and non-governmental institutions; promote identification, documentation and public display of cultural assets as potential drivers of economic Seminars: Design and Visual Arts Creation of Added Value in Cities Public Spaces, July, 2009, Klaipeda, Lithuania Visual Arts in the Age of Creative Industries, May, 2010, Celje, Slovenia Creative Industries: Dependent or Supported?, June, 2010, Szentendre, Hungary Study tours: Venice, Italy (26-27 October, 2009); Braga, Portugal (1-2 July, 2010); Seville, Spain (27-29 September, 2010). Staff exchanges: Tampere, Finland (21-22 January, 2010) London, UK (10-12 February, 2010) Lisbon, Portugal (4-5 March, 2010) These exchanges allowed visits to companies, supporting institutions, spaces and projects considered transferable examples in the creative industries sector. In addition, partners in Modena and Celje undertook pilot activities to test new ways of working, deploying intelligence learned in the course of the CITIES Project. These pilot activities were based on creation of opportunities for physical and virtual meetings among creative people in order to reinforce the creative community at a local level and add new opportunities for already existing and new SMEs and start-ups. best practice guide best practice guide

4 European Creative Cities Shared Learning Introduction Alternative Art Festival, Velha-a-Branca [Portugal] According to the European Commission s report Culture and the Economy (2006), the creative industries have a growing relevance to European competitiveness, sustainability and social cohesion; they represented 2.6% of the GDP of the EU in 2003 and 3.1% of employment in It is with this background that Creative Industries in Traditional Intercultural Spaces (the CITIES Project) was formed. It has worked for over 36 months between October, 2008 and September, 2011 to improve regional and local policies, addressing the promotion and support of creative and cultural industries as one of the most significant growth sectors for the European economy in terms of GDP and added value. This guide of practice is a collection of activity across the eight partner cities and their regions. When collating material for this document, we asked partners to search for best practice interventions, most often either at the municipal level or involving the participation of municipalities or strategic authorities. The quick-and-dirty definition that we used of best practice was practice that the city was proud of and which it felt contained learning to be shared with other cities and regions outside the network. In this document the types of intervention can be summarised as falling into four main areas of activity: 1. Developing clusters of activity (in terms of exchange, trust, skills and infrastructure) 2. Fostering business opportunities 3. Developing cultural identity 4. Creating cultural assets These headings were not imposed from the outset, but rather emerged through the spontaneous and self-generated choices of what each city regarded as its best practice. In hindsight, we can see that, when setting out a planned intervention or set of interventions, which aim to stimulate the creative and cultural industries, or aim to deepen their effect on the wider economy, these four areas form a sensible starting point. Given the nature of the cities, our document also explores how cities can intervene to their best effect as second (and third) tier cities. Whilst united in their interest in finding how culture and the creative industries can make a greater contribution to 21 st -century economies, the cities of CITIES themselves are as diverse a collection of urban areas as you may find in Europe: from Celje, a town of barely 40,000 people in Slovenia, to Spain s Andalusian cultural, financial and artistic capital, Seville, with over ten times the population; from the Italian world heritage city of Venice to Lithuania s Baltic seaport of Klaipeda. While this diversity could be viewed as challenging, it has perhaps also been one of the project s strengths. Conclusions about good practice in this report had to stand scrutiny by the other partner cities. If good practice was transferable across the CITIES network, it s safe to say that it could be transferred across any European urban context. We hope that you find this document interesting, enjoyable and, above all, useful, and look forward to receiving your feedback via our website: Andrew Missingham CITIES Project Creative Industries Advisor best practice guide best practice guide

5 VENICE [ITALY] VENICE Meeting Creativity Engaging local people in an international cultural brand Venice Architectural Biennial 2010 The Venice Biennial has for over a century been one of the most prestigious cultural institutions in the world. Ever since its foundation in , it has been at the avant-garde, promoting new artistic trends and organising International Exhibitions and Festivals in contemporary arts, which are amongst the most important of their kind in the world. The Chamber of Commerce of Venice believes that the international exhibitions, which the Biennial organises annually, have extraordinary educational potential, both for younger generations and for adults, not only for those who live in the region, but for all visitors. As a result the Chamber of Commerce of Venice has worked with La Biennale di Venezia since 2009 to develop its education programme, offering activities and initiatives linked to the exhibitions, in order to better involve young people, families and the general public and both to get them better acquainted with contemporary art and to support and stimulate interest in creativity. The education initiatives, developed through an interactive and innovative approach, present the exhibitions and venues as research and testing areas, and offer visitors talks, meetings, creative workshops and thematic and study tours. Meeting Creativity is one such education project. The Chamber of Commerce of Venice believes that Meeting Creativity is noteworthy for two main reasons: Firstly, because the project has proved financially independent and therefore sustainable. The Biennale di Venezia s Meeting Creativity project was financially supported by the Chamber of Commerce from the Chamber s own budget without any external support at any level, neither regional nor national nor European. Secondly, because the Chamber of Commerce is aiming to strengthen and enrich connections with the territory and its citizenry which can support the creation of a wider community of active participants in the Biennale di Venezia exhibitions. The involvement of Venetian citizens will broaden and range from those who, through the Meeting Creativity project, will have their first acquaintance with contemporary arts all the way through to a deepening of skills for those who are more specialised and have an existing relationship with the arts and creativity. Meeting Creativity The Meeting Creativity project features four complementary sections: Educational activities for primary and secondary schools through: a) Study tours b) Theme-based workshops held by experts c) Advanced workshops and laboratory activities in order to deepen the creative tools and skills of the participants Educational activities for university students, families, adults and the general public, organised for the International Art Exhibition and for the International Architecture Exhibition through: a) Exhibition previews where the professors, teachers, representatives of the institutions and operators involved were trained in order to develop and manage the right formative and professional pathway to creativity across the Venetian province b) Study tours and specific thematic itineraries c) Creative workshops and laboratories dedicated to families, aimed at exploring and practising new language experiences following the exhibitions themes Lectures and talks addressed to students and the general public as tools to deepen their understanding of the themes of the exhibitions; best practice guide best practice guide

6 Venice Architectural Biennial 2010 Special initiatives for professionals and firms, pivoting on art and architecture s capacity to open new scenarios for graphic designers, photographers, stylists and trend-setters in general and to work as telescopes exploring new tendencies of desire and imagination, available in two versions: The Challenge of Creativity and Frontiers of Style. During the International Architecture Exhibition in 2010, there were a total of 24,864 participants in these educational events and activities, with around 3,000 being comprised of teenagers, families and adults from the province of Venice. In addition, over 2,500 people attended promotional public meetings, workshops, open space meetings and public speeches by professional speakers. The effect of the project The outcomes of the project can be summarised as followed: A better developed and more active involvement in art and creativity by a broader range of local people throughout the Venetian area, particularly by school and university students Increased local public awareness, particularly among the youngest, towards discipline-based contemporary art. This increased awareness has stimulated active participation Increased involvement in contemporary arts by children, teenagers and students, encouraging development of their creative skills An increase in the perception amongst local businesses (across sectors) that working with arts and creativity provides a real opportunity to enhance entrepreneurship and craft products in the professional arena Development of a permanent creative network where creative people, craftsmen and entrepreneurs (and also representatives of creative industries) together carry out R&D workshops and laboratories in order to support competitiveness into the territory of the province of Venice. *Sharing our learning The project was aimed at involving students, institutions and enterprises - particularly small and medium-sized ones - in order to develop creative citizenry. In Venice and its province, the Biennale di Venezia was the natural institution for promoting these activities aimed at bringing contemporary arts to the general public. Finding the natural partner for this kind of initiative (with the required scale, expertise and reputation) is crucial to the success of such an initiative. Similarly, we believe the right approach for implementing the project has been to involve the management of the Chamber of Commerce in the support and implementation of the Biennale di Venezia education project concerning all entrepreneurial matters, hence aiming to involve the entrepreneurs directly. This is because the Chamber of Commerce has networks of businesses across industry sectors that allow such an education project to resonate among the widest group. We would recommend that projects such as ours (which aim to broaden cultural awareness and skills) have similar partnerships outside of the creative and cultural sector. best practice guide best practice guide

7 VENICE [ITALY] Please Disturb Unearthing Veneto s creative riches Each member of the CITIES network has a local support group of creative and cultural industry contacts. This best-practice case study illustrates a piece of mapping carried out by a member of Venice s local support group, Fuoribiennale, in 2007 and its subsequent effect. Called the Please Disturb project, Fuoribiennale s mapping showed, we believe for the first time, the extraordinary quality of the local and regional creative network in and around Venice working in art, architecture, design, fashion, innovative production, theatre, dance, cinema and literature. The findings of Please Disturb were important because they shone a light upon contemporary home-grown creativity. This must be seen in opposition to historical creativity, as seen by the many millions of tourists who visit the city every year, or to the creativity on show at the Venice Biennials, which are mainly imported. Please Disturb told a new story about Venice and its surrounding region. It was a story that we were keen to share with local people. Find the message; share the message In the last few decades the Veneto Region, and particularly the city of Venice, despite having an active local creative economy, has not been able to effectively disseminate and communicate its network of knowledge. This has resulted in both a poor level of support of the creative sector by local consumers and, to an extent, poor servicing of this sector in local policy. The mapping in Please Disturb underlined the region s high level of creativity and innovation. Our priority was to make local people better acquainted with this reality so they could better support their creative industries. Therefore, in June, 2007 Fuoribiennale produced 80,000 copies of a magazine outlining the findings from the mapping and illustrating case studies. *Sharing our learning This networking and communication seems to be going both ways. We have noticed more and more entrepreneurs from other industrial sectors taking an interest in local creativity, for instance, by attending art exhibitions and openings, and taking part in debates on currents events which concern Veneto s creative culture. For instance, new uses for the region s historic warehouses, which have characterised the entrepreneurial area of our province, are becoming an important matter for discussion on how to manifest urban renewal - for example, by giving these over to new and creative businesses. Refurbished, these warehouses could be the places where young creative people and new creative industries might emerge. Properly resourced and marketed, they could even be places which act as breeding grounds for young talent who either have cultivated their creative talent abroad (e.g studying design, architecture, art) or would consider moving abroad after graduating from local universities. Above all, Please Disturb unearthed the individual creative people who make up Veneto s creative community. These talented individuals are the best advocates for Veneto s creative economy and it is through them that our region s future can be secured. Our role is to network them as best we can, highlight their stories, listen to their concerns and draw up policy which best supports them and best cross-fertilises their contribution across our region s society and economy. 10 best practice guide best practice guide 11

8 Of the print run, 50,000 were distributed for free along with Corriere del Veneto and Corriere di Verona, which are the local editions of the national Corriere della Sera newspaper. This targeted medium-high level qualified readers (mainly with a diploma or a degree), including managers and entrepreneurs, with a smaller proportion of the readership being students, office workers and housewives. Following this initial distribution, the remainder was circulated amongst professional associations, institutions, universities and selected firms in the Veneto Region. Beyond this national audience, 1,000 copies of the publication were disseminated to international visitors of the Art Biennial. And keep on sharing The effect of the report and the distribution of the magazine have significantly elevated the visibility and reputation of local creative and cultural industries. The report s findings are frequently cited in meetings with local stakeholders, in shows, exhibitions, national and international workshops and conferences in order to highlight the richness of the Veneto creative and innovative offer. It also underlined the need to develop an ongoing marketing strategy for the creative industries and to communicate a brand for a creative Italian Northeast amongst press agents, journalists, pr consultants and industry associations. Communicating the presence and strength of your creative offer in clear, simple terms is one of the most effective ways of supporting a local creative economy and of showing its strategic importance amongst other better-known, better-supported industrial sectors (for instance, in the Veneto region, these include agriculture, commerce, construction and services). Armed with the findings of Please Disturb, the Municipality of Venice and the stakeholders network have undertaken refurbishments of important cultural buildings and institutions. Moreover, with their enhanced visibility, active members of our creative community have not only increased their demands for better facilities and policies to support the creative economy, but have also contributed to other local and regional priorities, for instance, innovative and creative approaches to climate change, environmental protection and waste recovery. 12 best practice guide best practice guide 13

9 DICE Project The ingredients of a Cultural Cluster Venice, in the Region of Veneto, is home to IUAV University of Venice. Working towards the region s recent focus on culture, the University was commissioned to undertake a survey of the region s cultural activity as an instrument of development as part of a project co-financed by the operational programme Italia Slovenia ( ). The survey would explore the assumption that culture (and, in particular, a critical mass of cultural activity, which would denote a cultural cluster ) could be the primary platform of communication between all the economic and social agents in a particular area. If our survey found this assumption correct, we would aim to use our findings to promote two outcomes: 1. To indicate to us what the elements were that needed to be in place to best foster the chances of a cultural cluster forming; 2. To use our findings as the basis of a model that could guide the Region as to which interventions would be most helpful in forming cultural clusters. Our survey focused on mapping the existing private and public cultural agents working in the region, absorbing the qualitative data that these cultural agents gave us and using the mapping process itself to train young people in how to survey the creative industries using a strong methodological model. In previous studies we have found that in postindustrial economies, culture tends to become the basic platform for the construction of individual and collective identity and tends to assume the character of a public good where it is the core of the production and circulation of knowledge. The project was in two stages: In the first stage we mapped cultural activities and infrastructure which were either hosted or planned to be hosted in the region. This created a map of cultural activity throughout the entire region. On the basis of the data gathered in stage 1, the second stage focused on the individualization of 12 cultural clusters that exist in the Veneto region. A SWOT analysis of each cluster was then carried out, which aimed to find out how best to enhance networking activities such as communication, dissemination of information and coordination within each cluster. In putting together the report, our researchers identified twelve strategic indicators that form a menu of activity that must be present for a cultural cluster to thrive1. These are: a) Quality of Cultural Supply b) Quality of Local Governance c) Quality of the Production of Knowledge d) Development of Local Entrepreneurship e) Development of Local Talent f) Attraction of External Firms and Investments g) Attraction of External Talent h) Management of Social Criticalities and Marginalities i) Capability Building and Education of the Local Community j) Participation and Involvement of the Local Community k) Internal Networking l) External Networking We believe that if a region or city wishes to develop effective intervention to support the growth of the cultural sector, it should look for evidence of these twelve indicators. Benchmarking the cultural footprint of an area against these indicators offers a region or city the ability both to frame public policy (e.g. to strengthen areas where the indicators show a weakness) or to track the effectiveness of policy interventions. 1 Progetto DiCE, Distretto Culturale Evoluto della Regione del Veneto - Rapporto finale per l Analisi ed elaborazione di un sistema di distretti culturali nei territori veneto e sloveno, a cura di Pier Luigi Sacco e Guido Ferilli. Picture courtesy of Fotomacs *Sharing our learning Our research has provided Veneto s various public and private cultural agents with the knowledge and a critical tool to re-read actual and potential cultural resources. In Veneto, this step has led to the definition of policies which could be suitable to the start of innovation and creativity processes, taking culture as a key factor of local development. It s an obvious point, but clusters don t coincide with administrative borders. The edges of clusters are bounded by the evidence of cultural neighbours and a critical mass of activity (e.g. to support a value chain in a creative activity) or by the ability to effectively and continuously network with other relevant cluster actors. We must consider clusters as territorial areas with ongoing and changeable borders (therefore once they are defined, this definition should be seen as a snapshot of something dynamic). With the presence of cultural clusters, and armed with the evidence that they exist, the choice of practical intervention is dependent upon the nature of the cluster itself and the intended outcome. Either way, given the dynamic nature of cultural clusters, it is important to quickly move from theory and analysis to specific intervention. 14 best practice guide best practice guide 15

10 CELJE [SLOVENIA] CELJE Breaking through Small town creatives making a global impact Celje Old Castle, by Gregor Katič Background and Context With 50,000 inhabitants Celje is the third largest town in Slovenia. It is the development, business, economic, trade, cultural, educational, administrative, healthcare, sport and festival centre of the Savinjska region. After Slovenia gained independence, Celje primarily developed as a city of trade, festivals and sports. Achievements in these fields, particularly the investments in infrastructure, gave Celje the informal title of the fastestdeveloping Slovenian city. Thus, one of the objectives of Celje s application for the 2012 European Capital of Culture was to become the leading Slovenian city in the field of culture. Local and regional environments that are capable of adapting to rapid changes, primarily brought on by the extremely fast development of information-communication technology, have the best chances for success in a globalised world. However, this globalisation also often favours the largest conurbations. Consequently, due to the restrictions brought about by material and financial resources, European cities similar in size to Celje can face an uphill task to compete with their larger counterparts. This case study presents one manner in which small places like Celje can use globalisation to their best advantage: by taking advantage of international trade events, festivals and fairs as a route to broader markets. Lila Prap Lilijana Praprotnik Zupančič was born 1955 in Celje and works under the nom de plume, Lila Prap. She studied architecture in Ljubljana and has since worked as a freelance artist, making her living in graphic design, interior decorating and writing, as well as illustrating for children. To date, she is the only Slovenian artist whose name has become an internationally recognised brand. We believe that a crucial factor in her success has been her taking part in international trade fairs. Her picture books have been published in around 30 countries. In 2006 she was nominated for the Hans Christian Andersen Award for children s literature. Some of her work was included in the 1998 Illustrators Exhibition at the Bologna Children s Book Fair and she was a guest author at the 2004 Frankfurt Book Fair. She combines her drawings with innovative, funny, simple text appropriate for children, but oriented towards didactic teaching and rather open to various interpretations. The story of success started when she participated on Bologna Children s Book Fair in The Bologna Children s Book Fair is the most important event to focus on the presentation of children s and youth literature. It is a place where various illustrators, writers, agents, editors, etc. meet. Lila Prap applied to participate with her series of illustrations for her third children s book, WHY?, and was chosen from thousands of artists to participate in the fair with her illustrations in the form of an exhibition. She attended the Bologna Children s Book Fair for a number of years. At the fair in 2004, Lila Prap made contact with the American children s author Barbara Jean Hicks, who would later go on to collaborate with Lila on several children s books. That year she also came to the attention of the Japanese company NHK Enterprise. NHK Enterprises, Inc. produces a wide range of programs for TV and radio and also meets image and content needs in such diverse fields as Hagetaka: The Movie, events like Tokyo Jazz, and DVD and character goods sales. They are also the main agents for the Hello Kitty brand. NHK saw potential in the visual aesthetics of Lila Prap illustrations and offered her a contract to publish, develop and distribute her work. After they reviewed her complete oeuvre, they decided that they would make various products for sale whose inspiration would be the picture book WHY?. 16 best practice guide best practice guide 17

11 Illustrations by Lila Prap They had chosen WHY? because they believed the work had universal appeal. It consists of various animal figures and it is appropriate for girls and boys. This would give the work a large potential market. First they translated WHY? into Japanese and published it with a first run of 12,000 copies. Then they started with a progressive construction of the LILA PRAP figure, making her figure (i.e. one based on Lilijana herself from her own illustrations) a recognisable product and making an animated figure that resembles the typical image of Lila Prap. For promotion they started to include the Lila Prap animated figure as well as the real Lila Prap on various TV shows, advertisements, etc. They wanted to infiltrate the simple, natural figure of Lila Prap into everyday life. In line with the globalisation of culture, NHK Enterprise s strategy for product development was to first try to penetrate the American market and then try to cultivate business in Japan. They presented the Lila Prap project to an American commercial corporation and they were willing to participate in the project. They developed more than 300 Lila Prap products taken from the picture book WHY?, for instance: toys, t-shirts, hats, underwear, cutlery, towels, etc. When they had penetrated the American market, they continued with the promotion of Lila Prap in Japan. They also developed a Lila Prap web page an online shop where we can find out more about Lila Prap, her work, cartoons, etc., as well as order various products. On the webpage they also included a short video presentation of Slovenia, in which Lila Prap presents Slovenia s best known tourist attractions. This can be seen at NHK Enterprise made the cartoon series, GAO GAO BUUUU, which was created using Lila s classic drawings, not computer animation, and was drawn by a Japanese artist, of course designed from Lila s original art. They used her classic drawings because they wanted to preserve the originality of the basic material. The cartoons comprise questions about certain animal characteristics and humorous answers. At the end of each cartoon we find out the scientific answer to the original question. Between each individual cartoon they included a sequence of Lila Prap working on a drawing at home. Recently they opened a chain of Lila Prap houses, a kind of hotel near children s hospitals where sick children meet with their parents. The houses are covered with Lila Prap s illustrations. As a result of this partnership with NRK, Lila Prap became a real phenomenon in Japan. This success should not be underestimated in a culture which has a proliferation of other similar animated figures. The picture book WHY? is extremely successful and has been reprinted five times, making Lila Prap one of the best-selling new authors in Japan. Recently they published a second picture book from Lila Prap called Dinosaurs. In Japan Lila Prap has her own store and the cartoon series GAO GAO BUUUU is shown twice a day on Japanese national TV showing the 52 cartoon episodes of GAO GAO BUUUU that have been produced to date. In an interesting example of globalisation, Lila s work has been re-imported into Slovenia to appear on Slovenian national TV. This will be economically beneficial for both the artist and the Japanese corporation, NRK. Her cartoons is also shown in America. *Sharing our learning In a globalised marketplace, Lila Prap s success illustrates the importance of policy that supports artists, artists partners and creative businesses (for instance, record companies, publishers, agents, broadcasters, etc.) in order to attend and participate in international trade fairs and networking opportunities. Not only can businesses find opportunities to sell, but they can also be inspired by international work that they would not otherwise have seen. Support can be in the form of travel grants, but it can also take the form of a collective database of trade fair opportunities. For small cities, we believe that this is an excellent way to support the best local creative talent in order to reach their full potential. A successful strategy to give access to international trade fairs will not only help creative individuals, but also professionalise the people who support them. 18 best practice guide best practice guide 19

12 Lila Prap *interview... with Andrew Missingham Tell us about how you came to visit the Bologna Book Fair I visited Bologna Book Fair in 1997 for the first time as a simple visitor, with a group of my friends and librarians. I hadn t made any picture books before that, I was doing only one-page illustrated articles for children s magazines. If I paint and write for children, I should see this fair, they said. The illustrators exhibition in Bologna is quite important in the publishing world. It educates publishers, shows new trends, new techniques and new expressions. It shows what is good, what is artistic, and I think it s very influential for the growing quality and development of children s books. When I first attended the fair in 1997 I was impressed by innovative and witty illustrations at the illustrators exhibition. And when I found out how simple it is to send works to this exhibition, I decided that I d send them, too, the next year. Just for fun. From over 6,000 illustrations, they choose 100 for exhibition, and I was lucky in 1998 to be chosen to exhibit with them. My illustrations were exhibited in 2001, too. But, to be honest, I went without any special preparation or expectations. To what extent is your artistic sensibility and work rooted in a Slovenian aesthetic or culture? Although I saw many different styles in Bologna, I used images sleeping in my head from childhood. Bologna helped me in that I got rid of my (narrow) local image of what a book should look like. We had many very good illustrators in Slovenia and I adored them. Maybe I mixed them, more freely, in my head and some new style was born. As an artist from a small city working in a global market, to what extent is it necessary to develop a cultural identity which is perceived as international and to what extent do you need to maintain an artistic identity which is local (to where you trained and grew up?) I think that you simply have to be just you. Some say that my pictures are African, some say that they are Eastern, some Western. So, there is not much connection with folklore or Slovenian symbols. And if you show your real you, you automatically reveal your background, history and influences. But these are all mixed in your head into something new. Practically said, you are like a mixer that makes juice out of different fruits! What pressures exist to compromise your artistic integrity when the possibility of commercial success arises? It has nothing to do with my new creations. For each new creation you put all of yourself into it. No money can inspire your creativity. It only helps you so that you don t worry how you ll survive till the end of the month. Big commercial success is possible when you have a good agent. But in Slovenia we didn t have agents till a few years ago, and we still don t have many of them. And when there is talk about doing some new things, like cartoons or merchandising with all kinds of articles or puppet shows, all made out of my illustrated books, this is no problem for me. I take it as a new challenge in some new media, and I m usually very curious as to how these things will turn out. Illustrations for books are mainly done to spread around in books. And they can be spread on other materials, too, why not? How do you maintain your artistic integrity in a commercial environment? The commercial environment is far away and even I don t have any detailed overview, so I m quite safe with my integrity! What technological tools help you to: 1. Keep in contact with your international markets? 2. Create your work? 1. Computer. 2. Brains, hands, table, light, pastels, paper and computer. How important to your success is access to digital technology? The beginning of my success had nothing to do with technology. It went in a totally classic way. People saw originals and liked them. And I made a book. Some saw the book and made an animation out of it. Every time they had to see the real thing and talk personally to me. How important is it for artists to understand Intellectual Property? The most important. And to get an agent, before it all starts. But you never know if it will start or not. It s a Catch 22. How important are specialist lawyers that understand intellectual property and the ways in which artists can retain control of their work? Very, although I had some bad experiences with some for quite a sum they told me nothing useful (maybe I m too complicated a case!) Apart from a lawyer, who else do you need on your team to make your creative business grow? I m a one-man band, so I have to help myself. But, when some artwork becomes popular, you don t need to do a lot to get some new projects without asking for them. In fact, I never asked anyone to do anything with my illustrations. I made my first picture book only because my publisher said that he would 100% publish a book with my illustrations. And this was after my first exhibition in Bologna. How can bodies such as municipal authorities and chambers of commerce assist artists in understanding intellectual property? We had an Artists Association, long ago, that informed artists about laws and their rights. Now, there is page on internet with some advice for artists. But I have many very complicated contracts with different countries and I can t find any useful advice on these pages. And the laws concerning artists are changing crazily. There is a lot more that municipal authorities and chambers of commerce could do to assist artists in understanding intellectual property. How else can bodies such as municipal authorities and chambers of commerce assist in helping artists develop their markets more generally? I think they could help by preparing exhibitions or concerts or presentations of artists through embassies or twin towns. But I don t know how much of this really happens. Celje has invented residency for artists, now Ljubljana, too, so foreign artists can come and work here and artists from Slovenia can visit other towns. But the nature of my work is totally different. I need a room, with books that I like and all the special materials for painting, and no one around me, to produce something. 20 best practice guide best practice guide 21

13 Celje s Creative Office CELJE [SLOVENIA]...as an interdisciplinary lab Celje Town Hall The challenges of digital communication The dissemination of digital information, development of communication technologies, rapid development and globalization are significantly affecting all sectors of the creative industries, which (in the case of music, broadcasting and publishing) have relied on being able to control the supply and distribution of their output. Digital technology, such as mobile telephones and the internet, has changed this. Whilst this is causing a fundamental change in historical production processes, the move towards digitalisation also creates a new kind of audience and market, with a different, more dynamic and interactive relationship with content producers. Art in contemporary society is becoming more accessible, open and interdisciplinary and increasing digitalisation allows consumers a chance to actively participate in the art process itself. To remain relevant in this digital age, we have to develop more appropriate, flexible spaces for interaction, spaces that stimulate development, innovation and growth of individual sectors of the creative industries. Interdisciplinary laboratories One such approach is the development of interdisciplinary laboratories as places which facilitate the networking and integration of different sectors. It was to that end that Celje s Institute for Cultural Events and Tourism, CELEIA, instigated and organised interdisciplinary seminars oriented towards research and focused on meetings between various sectors working inside the creative industries as well as the general public. The first interdisciplinary seminar took place in February, 2010 with the theme Art in the Public Space. In keeping with the interactive age we live in, the seminar started with the assumption that art in public spaces is more than just a fountain or a sculpture; art in public spaces could be an idea, performance, legal or illegal intervention, street art, art as an active concern for the city. It could be permanent or mobile, representational or temporary. We chose this subject as our first interdisciplinary lab because we felt that it had the widest potential to engage both artistic producers and a wider public. After this, we organised a second seminar. We consciously designed the subject matter to be more controversial than the first. Our second seminar, in May, 2010, was entitled Visual Art in the Age of Creative Industries. We wanted to open up the discussion regarding the relationship between visual art (and particularly visual artists) and the creative industries. Locally, we had found artists to be resistant to being seen as part of the creative industries (especially if they saw this as part of a move for greater commercialisation, and therefore a compromise of their artistic essence). At the European level, there is also tension. According to the definition in the 2010 Green Paper, Unlocking the potential of cultural and creative industries, the field is divided into creative and cultural industries. Visual arts belong amongst cultural industries, while architecture and design are placed amongst creative industries. The Green Paper explicitly emphasises the essential role of artists and cultural workers in the development of cultural industries. As a result, the second seminar attempted to answer a series of questions that deal with the position of cultural industries in Slovenia: What do cultural industries represent to an individual creator, art institutions, private associations and galleries? How will the national cultural policy include them in its development plan? 22 best practice guide best practice guide 23

14 How does the national strategy foresee the development of creative and cultural industries? What can we learn from the examples of good practice in countries that systematically develop creative and cultural industries? The seminar joined experts from creative industries, artists and experts in the art market and cultural economy. It was as controversial as we had predicted, with one international speaker s presentation (on the subject of how to monetise creative content, such as visual art) being interrupted by an artist covering the presentation screen with anti-capitalist graffiti. The effects of the seminars From our experience, it appears that through seminars such as ours, which actively involve artists in questions of policy, and tackle their concerns head on, general misunderstanding between artists, creative individuals, public authorities, representatives and/or entrepreneurs and policy-makers can be improved through better communication. What we found was that there was a lack of information on the creative industries concept aimed directly at artists in a language that they could appreciate and understand. Too often policy-makers speak a top-down language of a jargon all their own, speaking to one another instead of to the businesses and individuals that they aim to support. When western good practices in the creative industries are presented to such artists, they receive it as evidence that art is in danger of being discursively commodified as productive assets and positive externalities. In Celje, this has led to many artists misinterpreting what the creative industries are, with some artists equating the term Creative Industries with the commercial sphere and potentially leading to a loss of autonomy and their instrumentalisation as creative individuals if they support policy which seems to be promoting a creative industries agenda. Such artists reject the fact that their artistic practice could become a subject of economic exploitation, but rather see their work as an important educational activity with the emphasis on social ethics. They see it as an activity that doesn t belong in the economic sector. As stated, we strongly believe that this is because there is a lack of information and examples of good practice in the language of the artist. Partnership between art and economy in Slovenia is still at the very beginning. It is vital that artists be aware of their wider economic and social environment and that they understand how to use the specifics of their environment to lobby for progressive development of innovative products and services. *Sharing our learning We believe that interdisciplinary laboratories, such as the ones that we have hosted in Celje, could be the key to connect business sectors in a new, unexpected way and provide a situation in which professionals from different fields of economy and creative industries who do usually not work with artists (and vice versa) experience a change in their mindset and working practices. We believe that artists and creative individuals need to be consulted at all periods of policy development and used to check back to see that the policy is in a language that they understand and that its intentions are understood. In our experience, matters that policy-makers take for granted, for instance, understanding of terms that we use widely, such as creative industries, are not necessarily bought into. Events such as ours, networking and the exchange of experiences are key to a wider understanding of the language we use and the intentions for our policies. Celje Old Castle Festival, by Gregor Katič 24 best practice guide best practice guide 25

15 A summer festival on the Danube DUNAKANYAR-PILIS MUNICIPALITY [HUNGARY] Dunakanyari Nyari Jatekok DUNAKANYAR -PILIS Májusi Aranyeső Festival Background and Context The Dunakanyar-Pilis Municipality, or as it is more commonly called by the public, the Szentendrei sub-region, is made up of around 330 square km just north of central Hungary. In the sub-region there are about 75,000 people living in 13 settlements. These 13, mostly urban, settlements are: Budakalasz, Csobanka, Dunabogdany, Kisoroszi Leanyfalu Piliszsentkereszt, Pilissz entlaszlo,pocsmegyer, Pomaz, Szentendre, Szigetmonostor, Tahitótfalu and Visegrad. The Szentendrei sub-region is one of the most developed regions in Hungary, with only 2% employment in the agricultural sector to 25% in industry, and the rest of the working population (73%) in the service sector. This compares to national levels of around 6%, 34% and 60%, respectively. Regarding support for the knowledge economy, in its broadest terms, the sub-region is home to EMI Szentendre Industrial Park, started in 1961, with over 14,000 m 2 of laboratory, office, warehouse and business premises where many research companies are located, working in industries such as engineering (elevator development and frame building) and quality control. Local physical, environmental and societal factors that affect the economic condition and prospects of the Szenetendrei sub-region include: The proximity of the River Danube and its use as a human and freight transport and travel route (both for industry and leisure) The River Danube as potential venue for the development of sport tourism A rich cultural heritage (both of the Hungarians and of the minorities living in the sub-region). For instance, Visegrad, was the Hungarian king s residence from 1323 to 1408, and since the 19 th century many artists have lived here. (For instance, the Hungarian Society of Painters, based in Szentendre since the late1920s) Szentendre is home to the Serbian orthodox diocese in Hungary There are good natural habitats in the subregion (for instance, many parts of the sub-region are part of the EU s Natura 2000 network of sites) Proximity to Budapest, the capital of Hungary, with all settlements in the region within 70 km of the capital. A well-educated population (In 2001 the sub-region s school grades were around 20% better than the national average) Many museums, exhibition halls and galleries, such as the Skanzen (open-air folk art museum), the Serbian orthodox churches, the Kovacs Margit ceramic museum and the Szentendre Artist Colony. What makes a festival more than a festival? On the face of it, our intervention, the Summer Festival in the Danube Bend, organized in 2008 and again in 2009, is neither particularly original nor innovative. The reasons for instigating the festival were also common motivations for creating a new cultural festival: to boost cultural tourism, increase the local event management skills base and also to strengthen and communicate a stronger sense of local identity. However, we believe that the details of the implementation of this festival and the way its implementation responded to local challenges are factors that set it apart and provide best practice. There were four strands which we concentrated our implementation on: 26 best practice guide best practice guide 27

16 influence. To get closer to our objectives first we had to consider what the first thing is Hungarian people think of when someone mentions the cultural heritage in Szentendre, Visegrad, Budakalsz, Csobanka and the other sub-regional cities. After internal consultation, finally the management came to the conclusion that the best-known fact about the Danube Bend is that our great king, King Matyas ( ), had his royal residence in Visegrad and owned many valuable buildings built in the region. King Matyas is a very well-known figure in Hungarian folk art, with many popular folk tales about him. His memory is generally very positive. Colloquially known as Matyas the Righteous, his image is as clever and wise, commonly held to be successful in all fields of governance, economy, national defence and the development of trade. We therefore decided to build a project around the image of King Matyas as our foundation for improving local identity. Funds raised were spent on improving the quality of the cultural offer - mainly on the costs for better performers. We brought our plans into effect in June, July and August, 2008, with valuable productions on stage in all 13 settlements in our sub-region. Over and above the event s branding, many of the programmes themselves had a connection with the cultural heritage of King Matyas. As well as the core programme, we also incorporated the productions of local amateur groups, too. It is very difficult to measure such a phenomenon as the growth of identity and the improvement in the effectiveness of cooperation. However, we can say that in 2009 the people of our sub-region asked the local authorities about their plans for Dunakanyari Nyari Jatekok, which shows that sooner or later this festival will become a tradition. Can a municipality ask to make much more of an impact on its cultural life than to establish a tradition? branding cooperation quality living history We concentrated on these four areas in response to research that we undertook in 2007 that found: 1. In our sub-region there were summer cultural events in almost every city. Although the programs of these festivals interested and engaged many local people, the events did not attract as many visitors as we believed they had the potential to, given the quality of their cultural output. 2. With strong local interest, local authorities worked hard to maintain these programs (by dint of their repetition, seen locally as traditional to their locality), despite not having the financial resources to market these events on the tourism market and hence have the potential to draw a larger audience from further afield. 3. Not every production onstage was of comparatively high quality, with many of the actors and performers being amateur or semi-professional. These added findings added were seen alongside other research, conducted in 2006, that found very little evidence that local people defined themselves through a regional identity. There was little or no I belong to the Danube Bend identity. One potential cause of this lack of regional selfidentification was another finding of the 2006 research: there was little evidence of cooperation across the sub-region in terms of cooperation between organisations within the cities themselves, between one city and another and with individuals and businesses beyond the sub-region. This lack of cooperation was reflected at a business-to-business and municipality-to-municipality level. Alongside these challenges were opportunities, such as the rich cultural heritage and good natural habitats mentioned earlier. These provided strong cultural foundations on which to build. In the face of this evidence, we therefore set our objectives as increasing the Danube Bend identity and developing the ability to cooperate among people working in the creative and cultural industries in our sub-region. Our solutions Pócsmegyer Festival 1. Identify a strong foundation on which to build a local identity Faced with these objectives, we first had to more precisely define how we could best approach them. This was necessary because it is difficult to achieve a goal with such a wide-ranging target such as Increasing the Danube Band identity, especially considering the limits that a municipal authority works within in terms of finance, resources and 2. Find the funds to improve the quality of production and encourage cooperation If we wished to improve the quality of production, we had to raise the funds to allow this to take place. Simply, if you want to put more and better productions onstage, you have to have the means of inviting more prestigious groups who require higher fees. In this respect, we were perhaps fortunate that the Hungarian national tourism development policy tended to support regional cultural programs over and above local events. In other words, cultural cooperation in sub-regions was a national priority in tourism policy. So the management of our sub-region thought we could best profit from national intentions if we put together a cultural festival in which all settlements were involved. We decided to make a marketing action plan to serve the festival and to build a new trademark for the summer festival in our subregion. So the elements of the solution were: A new event brand (Dunakanyari Nyari Jatekok) A strong marketing campaign co-financed by the Hungarian national government The new brand was built upon the good image of King Matyas We conditioned participation in the festival on people working in the local authorities of the 13 settlements cooperating with one other more effectively. This involved steady and sustained communication with all the active parties to develop communication channels and to explain the advantages of cooperation. This was also helped by the promise of funding for cooperative ventures. *Sharing our learning Base your cultural activities on strong national historical heritages. Build upon what s really there in terms of history, culture and heritage. Research broader perceptions and local habits, then listen to the research and act upon it. Be aware that quality costs more, but it is worth buying. People want to belong to social subgroups. This feeling of belonging can extend to a subregion identity, too. Cost-effective solutions are the base for cooperation - with a sub-region of 13 cities, none of them further than 70 km from the capital, there is not only a risk of small, individual initiatives going unnoticed next to the neighbouring capital city, but also by operating together there is great potential for building economies of scale with cooperation. For instance, this could take the form of stronger buying power and negotiating position with third-parties and the ability to pool duplicated back-office functions. Luck plays some part in success (for instance, where national priorities align with local ambitions). 28 best practice guide best practice guide 29

17 GIJÓN [SPAIN] GIJÓN FETEN European Theatre Fair for Children Feten. Gijón Background and Context Gijón is a municipality located on Spain s northern Asturian coast. With a population around 280,000, it is a regional economic and cultural centre. The city has an important network of business, commercial, educational, sanitary, cultural and leisure instruments and resources. We believe it s a good example of a place that generates the three C s : Concepts (to generate new ideas and knowledge), Competences (to develop know-how, production and consumption capacities) and Connections (access and communication). All of this makes Gijón more competitive and efficient, able to generate synergies to develop its innovation and research potential. Europe s premier Festival of Theatre for Children FETEN is the most important theatre-for-children fair in Spain, and it is one of the most important theatre fairs overall, so stakeholders of this sector are eager to attend and participate. A successful appearance at FETEN can result in a year s worth of bookings for a theatre company, but aside from its importance to the theatre sector itself, we believe FETEN has raised cultural awareness among Gijón s citizens was the festival s 19 th edition. To give an idea of the rate at which the festival has grown, in the first year there were 15 theatre companies and almost 50 guests. This year there were 65 companies and 430 guests (6 from Asturias, 53 from Spain and 6 from different parts of Europe). The festival focuses on: children babies (0-3 years old) Bringing a geographically broad range of theatre to our city (from Asturias to Europe) A variety of artistic expression A broad variety of exhibition space (from open-air to small stages to big theatres) Attracting programmers and producers (they can attend a lot of shows in a short period of time. They can attend premières and they can see the public reaction to different performances.) Activities in the festival include: dance, opera, storytelling, circus, magic, puppetry, shadow theatre, theatre for families and even theatre for babies. More than 100 shows are held in different parts of the city, which means that the entire population can share the event and participate in it. The role of the city council The main FETEN objective is to foster cooperation and exchange of information among the stakeholders from different theatre-forchildren sectors (creation, exhibition, etc.). At the fair, producers, programmers and theatre companies from all over Europe gather to watch performances, exhibitions and plays. Producers and programmers make contact with the theatre companies in order to show plays and performances in their country of origin. However, in the municipality, we believe that there are strategic reasons for supporting cultural resources such as FETEN. Local creative and cultural initiatives improve economic diversification. Gijón, as a city where research and development are a very important part of its economic framework, has a very extensive cultural offer suitable for everybody. Moreover, we believe that there is strong synergy between the cultural offer and the tourism sector. Gijon City Council offers an extensive variety of cultural activities with the objective of facilitating access to information and culture for the Gijón population. As a result, Gijón City Council is the organisation involved in the management and implementation 30 best practice guide best practice guide 31

18 Feten. Gijón [photo by Palmira Escobar] Feten. Gijón [photo by Palmira Escobar] of this project. The Festival is organised with Gijon City Council resources in terms of staff, premises and places. We have a dedicated communication team in charge of marketing FETEN. We work closely with an advisory and monitoring committee, comprised of performing arts professionals, to choose the final programme. We also support a small number of programmers, covering their accommodations and meals, as we see this as an economic opportunity for the city. The festival s effect We believe that the festival: Improves citizens access to information and culture. It makes Gijon a better place to live in. Fosters creativity and cultural industries as a part of Gijon city life and enhances the city s distinctive identity over and above competitor cities (i.e. other places where people might be considering living, working or visiting). Generates synergies among business networks by bringing together a critical mass of activity working on a single programme of events. FETEN increases the capacity of Gijón to produce events of any kind. After 19 editions, organisers have a great deal of expertise and a wealth of contacts. Most importantly, we believe that the festival reinforces the local economy, not just directly in the theatre sector, but also the hotels, restaurants and transportation industries. 65 European theatrefor-children companies and 430 producers and programmers met in Gijon in FETEN is also attractive for cultural tourism. The audience is very large, as tickets for most of the shows and plays are sold out. All this means that FETEN is a meeting point for all theatre-for-children stakeholders - all Spanish companies and many European ones strive for a place in FETEN. To find out more information about FETEN, visit our website at and follow the links. We look forward to seeing you in Gijón very soon! *Sharing our learning If you d like to improve your city with a festival, here s some of the things we ve learnt along the way. 1. Don t worry about language. Language is not a problem. For plays and performances that are not in Spanish, the Selection Committee prioritises body language, dance and music to select the plays. 2. From the beginning, the project started with a draft, explaining main objectives, long-, medium-, and short-term plans, how to make contacts with exhibitors, programmers and producers, etc. Good planning is crucial. 3. FETEN is the most important European theatrefor-children fair held in Spain, but it is not the only one. There is another one held in Valencia, fostered and supported by FETEN because there is enough market niche for both of them. If you have a growing number of competitors, it probably means that your market is growing! 4. The comprehensive know-how (management, administration, marketing, etc) that you develop is an important transferable element to other places - for instance, amongst municipality staff for projectmanaging events or activities not related to the festival itself. 5. The expertise you develop is exportable and can be a bridge-building tool to create partnerships with other places. FETEN provides technical support and assistance to other Theatre-for-Children Fairs. 6. An excellent festival, with a strong and distinctive brand, is itself exportable. This has been learned by festival franchises such as WOMAD. FETEN is a consolidated event in Gijon, after 19 editions, and we can see that FETEN is an exportable experience to other European cities. This is something we d like to explore in the future. 32 best practice guide best practice guide 33

19 SEVILLE A space for creative businesses Sacred Art Industrial Park SEVILLE [SPAIN] Seville Cathedral The local context The southern Spanish city of Seville is the capital city of Andalusia and has a population around 700,000, with 1.3 million in the metropolitan area. With more than 2 million visitors per year, Seville is a main international tourist destination. It s a vibrant city, combining tradition and modernity - it has one of the most vital historic centres in Europe, with excellent cultural infrastructure and top-level research and technology centres. Its public and private universities host more than 70,000 students. According to recent local studies, amongst the most appreciated cultural assets that the city has to offer are its customs and tradition for cultural preservation; Holy Week in Seville is traditionally considered to be one of the city s most important cultural events. The origins of Holy Week in Seville are to be found in the late 14 th century. Organised around the Christian tradition of the penitential, Holy Week sees many processions, managed by the different hermandades (religious brotherhoods), and includes a whole variety of religious items, such as pasos (religious images), penitential robes, hoods, or the traditional mantillas. The sector in charge of producing and restoring all these items is known as the Sacred Art sector and includes a variety of activities such as jewellery-making, sculpting, goldsmithing, etc. It is a creative sector in which Seville is a world leader. This pre-eminence was one of the motivations for supporting the Sacred Arts sector by building a dedicated business park for the sector s businesses and craftspeople. The Sacred Arts Sector - Creative & Traditional The businesses and craftspeople who comprise Seville s Sacred Arts sector are currently scattered around the city. Comprised of many single-person operations and microbusinesses, this means that the sector currently does not benefit from the economies of scale that would be available if the businesses clustered in one location. For instance, a place for people to share ideas, a single point of delivery for supplies, delivery and collection (offering the possibility of lower costs in these areas). Although we believe that Seville s Sacred Arts are amongst the world s best, we do not believe that this is a reason to relax or become complacent. We believed that there was one single intervention that could help our Sacred Arts businesses to achieve their potential. Sevilla Global, the city s economic development organisation, is in charge of the management of this project. We believed that one of the best ways to support the Sacred Arts sector and help it achieve its creative and economic potential would be to create a new space able to offer all the most suitable services for sacred art production and retail. We wanted a place which would facilitate access to different businesses and foster cooperation and exchange of information among the stakeholders of different companies and clients. Finally, these premises would aim to articulate and organise the sector, as well as facilitating the development of joint services to improve their competitiveness. We didn t want the design to look like a conventional industrial park, so we organised an international competition to find the project s architect. From the 10 entries, the jury unanimously awarded the contract to the Bilbao-based architectural firm, Santas Suarez. In December, 2010, their design won the prestigious Bauwelt Prize for Architecture (sponsored by Bauwelt Architecture magazine, based in Germany), 34 best practice guide best practice guide 35

20 Industrial Park of Sacred Arts, Seville Artisans Workshop [Castellar Street, Seville] beating over 100 competitors in the Public Structures category. At the time of writing, the Sacred Arts business park is finished and awaiting occupation. Over 75% of the spaces have been acquired by businesses. Economic Growth New markets and clients An opportunity for the joint development of large new projects *Sharing our learning There has been some resistance from some sections of the sacred arts sector; however, we believe, like the architects, that the project will not see its full potential until it is open and operational. We believe that the park will lead to increased economic activity within the sector, create synergies among business networks and serve as a flagship project for the promotion of Seville. The benefits of the project fall into three categories: Modernisation: Extended studios, specifically designed for the sector Improved accesses Investment Studios at cost price Excellent financing conditions This project is still not developed nor all units sold out. However, we have learned a lot in the course of instigating and managing the project thus far. From the beginning, any such project should be developed with the association of businesses representing the sector. This ensures that there is broad buy-in across the industry and serves as an early warning system should there be resistance. When putting together such a project, and then marketing it to the sector for whom it will benefit, it is important to develop a comprehensive offer, including all relevant information. Projects such as these, regardless of the source of investment capital (i.e. private or public) are business projects. Therefore, it is important to have a comprehensive commercialisation plan to ensure return on the investment. In any long-term project such as this, political buy-in is vital. The Sacred Arts Park is a strategic economic asset that will repay its investment over many years. As it is a long-term project, which will most probably see changes in the political landscape (through elections, etc.) it has been vitally important to obtain the commitment of all the political parties included in the Council which oversees the project. Common services 36 best practice guide best practice guide 37

21 MODENA [ITALY] MODENA CreaMos Creative & cultural industries network Modena Creative business space The internal and external context Modena s economic production base is characterised by the presence of heavy, traditional industry, formed by thousands of SME s. More than 35% of Modena s enterprises have less than 5 employees and around 70% of Modena s businesses have less than 50 employees. Mechanics, ceramics and textiles/ clothes are the most traditional and deep-rooted sectors in the territory, although biomedical and agro-industrial sectors are becoming more and more important. As such, Modena s economic activity has allowed it to attain economic and welfare levels similar to the ones of the most advanced European regions. Modena s businesses are dynamic and often highly specialised. They are used to working in close contact with customers (normally other enterprises) to develop products and services and are really able to satisfy production problems. A clear example of this is the mechanical sector. The mechanical and metal products sector mainly involves manufacturing and intermediate products for the various mechanical sectors producing finished goods; this includes over 1,700 firms which constitute one of the richest networks of subcontractors operating in the mechanical sector in the whole of Europe. This industry segment may be considered as a large reservoir of skills available to anyone who wants to produce a mechanical product in the area of Modena. For instance, there are a number of super-specialised small businesses producing pieces specifically designed according to the customers needs. This tailor-made production represents an important step in the innovation and quality chain of the system as a whole, and allows small businesses to find new technical solutions to their customers production issues. Modena s industry is strongly integrated at the international level. About half of all goods and services produced (4,500 million EUR) are destined for foreign markets. Modena s main market for foreign trade is the European Union, followed by Ukraine, Russia and Turkey. Modena s enterprises also have a propensity for internationalisation, mostly in the final part of the value chain (commercialisation of the products, logistic hubs for distribution, customer care, etc.), but there is an increasing attitude towards a more radical approach to internationalisation, for instance, the building of new production sites in foreign markets. Within Modena s industrial sectors there is a strong tradition of association and cooperation. Cooperatives as a type of business are pretty common, not only in the care sector, but also in industry distribution and agriculture. Besides that, Modena people have a great attitude about joining cultural/volunteer associations. The cultural and creative industries in Modena In Italy the creative sector does not have a clear identity, as understood as a distinct industrial sector. Neither is it recognised as a particularly dynamic or strategic economic sector by strategic authorities and policy-makers. This influences what is happening in Modena. There is no special attention paid to the creative and cultural sector; there is no common (and official) definition of what is to be considered within this sector and what is to be considered outside it. There are no studies or surveys available. This is despite the number of growing industries within this sector in Modena, according to our mapping. One consequence of this lack of identity or recognition is that there is no legislation that has been passed specifically pertaining to the needs and requirements of the creative sector. Consequently, it is difficult not only to identify the creative and cultural industries, but also to support and promote their development. 38 best practice guide best practice guide 39

22 Our intervention was developed to address these problems, but to address them in a way that was appropriate to the Modena context. Building on real issues for real creative businesses The Cultural Department and the Economic Policies Department of the Municipality of Modena, with the help of an external expert (The Hub, a consultancy based in Milan) who had already carried out a similar survey in other regions of Italy, began a process of identifying the problems and needs of the creative sector through mapping, interviews, workshops and focus groups. We started in the spring of 2009, following a viral methodology. First, we contacted people from the creative sector that we already knew. Then we looked for individuals and businesses in industries which were underrepresented in our existing network in order to balance the sample. We asked creative people to answer a survey with information about who they were and what they did. As part of the survey we also asked them to give us new contacts within the creative sector; i.e., creative people they knew or they were working with. We used these contacts not only to answer the on-line survey, but also as a target for some qualitative interviews we did as a follow-up. At the same time, we asked a more general target group of creative people to answer an online survey using mailing lists of Modena s creative groups, for example, the Young Artists Archive, Modena Music Centre, etc. In a couple of months we had collected about 170 questionnaires. Our initial findings were: 1. The businesses were small; about 40% are microbusinesses. Creative people who answered the questionnaire were mostly working alone (sole traders) or inside companies with a maximum of 5 people. 2. The industries were poorly networked, and they didn t know each other. 3. Despite many of the industries conducting a large part of their business beyond Modena, locally, the demand for creative products and services was weak. direction. However, we chose not to people our support group with representatives of the local cultural institutions, but instead with the creative individuals willing to work with us. This formed the nucleus of a network from which we could build. So, armed with this small, committed network (about 15 members) and the findings of our survey, we were able to discuss the creative sector s needs, problems and opportunities and work together on a plan to address these issues. We resolved to implement projects/activities to: Enlarge the network Experiment with the mutual collaboration among the members Give visibility to the project and to the network itself Improve the network Of the findings above, we felt that we were in the best position to improve the networking of the creative industries. We felt that if we addressed this matter as our priority, we could better develop support mechanisms and initiatives that addressed the other findings. We used these findings to direct the way we took part in the CITIES Project. As with all partners, as a component of the project we had to put together a local support group to help steer us in the right The Kublai Network and the Temporary Hub In order to identify a way to cultivate a larger local community of creative industries and to give it visibility in the town, we started to build a network through a programme of meetings and through discussions on the online social network, Kublai. Kublai is a network of over 2,000 creative individuals in and around Modena, created on the Ning platform. It is sponsored by the Department of Economic Development of the Municipality of Modena. The network can be seen at net. The conversations pertaining to the CITIES network can be viewed from within Kublai s CITIES group. The group has 119 members. All discussions are in Italian, but can be translated via Google Translate (available as a plug-in for most browsers). In the autumn of 2009 we had the chance to use empty premises owned by the Municipality as a temporary base for creative people. We did our best to spread the information about this concrete opportunity, using both the network (word of mouth) and the web. The meetings we had in that period were well attended, with persons actively participating in person, and another 30 following through the web. Unfortunately, the opportunity to use these empty premises, due to an internal problem in the Municipality of Modena, disappeared in January, We felt that this was a blow to our nascent network and a potential killer of the trust we were trying to build among creative people. Without a meeting space, our fears were realised: we soon lost half of the people of the network. However, the ones that remained were determined to go on even without the Temporary Hub and they proposed bringing Modena s talent to the squares and streets of our city through a small festival of creativity. This concrete proposal acted as a hook. It acted as a reason to invite other people to join the network. A Festival of Creativity The creative businesses and individuals saw the festival, which they named CreaMos, as an experiment in collaboration. Working together for an event would be a means of both of testing relationships among members (i.e. strengthening the network) and of promoting Modena s creative industries locally. CreaMos took place over 6 days in June, 2010 in three different areas of the town. Over 30 creative business took an active part, with many more businesses in attendance. Around a thousand people attended the CreaMos festival. The network created its own website for this festival as part of the Municipality of Modena s site: comune.modena.it/cultura/creamos-spazi-creativiconnessi. The website went live just before the press conference which announced the event publicly and which was held simultaneously in a traditional way and through the online social network, Second Life. We felt that working in this way, both online and off-line, was important in order to highlight the importance of networking and of connecting people, spaces and experiences in a variety of ways and suitable for a variety of audiences. Many people worked collaboratively to carry out the events. Creative individuals worked with other CreaMos network workshop network members to design the logo and to create communication information (such as leaflets and posters). Two people acted as a press agency of the initiative. Three acted as coordinators (one for each different area of the town involved in CreaMos), collecting proposals of micro-events from the creative people/businesses in their area and acting as local ambassadors of the event. The Municipality of Modena provided a person in charge of the general organisation of the event, providing authorisations and so on. The event in itself was a mosaic of micro-initiatives, taking place on different days in each different area. The events themselves were quite diverse, reflecting the multiplicity of the creative sector: art performances, comedy, video animation, site-specific performances, ballet in town squares, photography exhibitions and others. Some of the events were themselves creative approaches to networking. For instance, one of the most successful initiatives, called Osteria web 2.0 put together ICT, gastronomy and conviviality. We set up a small temporary restaurant in which the waiters served sandwiches and wine to customers, and then sat down with the customers and talked to them about social networks, ICT products and services. In the festival and its organisation, creative people worked for free, whilst the Municipality covered the cost of the 40 best practice guide best practice guide 41

23 *Sharing our learning materials needed for the initiatives, promotion and setups. The cost for the Municipality was about 18,000 Euros plus 2,800 Euros to pay for secondary staff taking care of general organisation. Our creative network The network that we have built in Modena is an open network for industries, sole traders, associations and people who work in the creative sector. Businesses and individuals joined the network not only to present their activities, but also to promote both towards the institutional subjects and towards the town of Modena a common vision in which creativity and innovation play an essential role in the development of the city. We are still working to consolidate and enlarge the network. The core (at the time of writing, about 30 active individuals) is now writing a Creativity Manifesto to express their idea of creativity and their vision, mission and goals. They are defining their own identity and building up a cultural association. Until the end CreaMos Festival talk show of the CITIES Project, the Municipality of Modena will support the network by: Introducing the network to local enterprise associations, Chamber of Commerce, bank foundations, etc. Helping the network to organise events and activities to enable these creative people to keep in contact with other creative people and with the traditional economic sector of the Modena area Gaining visibility in the town through the second edition of CreaMos Our plan has proved to be sustainable. People involved in the network are currently planning an association for creative people, without the guidance or direct support of the Municipality. They are also considering construction of a portal dedicated to the members of the community and to be used as a smart way to disseminate information, as well as planning the second edition of the CreaMos festival. We ve learned a lot about how to better network creative businesses and individuals through this project. Some lessons that we ve learned include: 1. For creative people, working together on a concrete project is a brilliant way to experiment with new partnership and to generate new initiatives. We re not saying that creative people aren t thinkers, but they definitely thrive on activity. They re doers. 2. Although most worked for free, some creative people asked for reimbursement for their expenses or payment for the time that they dedicated to the CreaMos festival. It was difficult to adopt a single policy for all requests. For example, dancers spent one week rehearsing their performance and they asked for this time to be paid (as they were finding this time by cutting short their paid work teaching dance at dance schools). We paid the dancers, but this caused some discussion within the network. Creative people are in the business of creativity. But it is a business. Just because they love what they do, it doesn t mean that they will want to do what they do for free! 3. Initiatives composing CreaMos were a really broad variety. For some, this was good, for other people, it wasn t. The main remark was that it was too difficult for the public to follow a thread and to understand the vision behind the event. This is a potential drawback of a crowd-sourced festival open to all creative people. Strong programming skills and signposting of events or streams of activity are important to orientate the audience in festival events such as these. 4. We put CreaMos on in three different parts of the town, but the next time we put on the festival we will focus on one. To concentrate all the initiatives achieves the critical mass that gives a festival atmosphere and thus produces a greater cumulative impact. Of the three areas we used, for the next festival we re currently favouring an area called Villaggio Artigiano. It s an industrial and residential area built up in the 50s and not so far from the town centre. Whilst it s a challenge to bring the public there, as from 6 p.m. on it s all but deserted, in the first festival we found the location was really perfect. Creative initiatives there were surreal and astonishing. 5. If you are going to set up a network such as this: a. Be sure that the people involved share a common vision of the network s goals; build a strong and shared identity (through a bottom-up process) b. Maintain a variety of ways to join and to take part in the network (i.e. web platform, physical meetings) and communicate the information in every way c. Reinforce the connections through different steps (web, meetings face-to-face, collaborations) d. Create chances for collaboration in which the roles are clearly defined e. Maintain high level of interest and involvement through consistently updating the network with new information. This needs someone dedicated to this task. It is very unlikely to happen on its own. This should be through a variety of channels, i.e. social networks, mailing lists, newsletters, phone calls and meetings. 42 best practice guide best practice guide 43

24 KLAIPEDA [LITHUANIA] KLAIPEDA Private and public partnerships The Art Dock Pop Music Concert at Klaipeda Art Dock Context Klaipeda city is a county and municipal centre of 183,000 inhabitants, the third largest in Lithuania. It has an attractive natural environment and excellent infrastructure, alongside a strategic location as the only seaport in the country and the northernmost icefree port on the eastern coast of the Baltic Sea, serving both European and CIS markets. The most prevalent economic sectors in Klaipeda are: shipbuilding and repair, transport & logistics, PET/Plastics, furniture & wood processing, food and beverage industries and tourism. In all, there are currently around 6,100 business entities in operation in Klaipeda. Klaipeda s population has an average age of just over 39 years old, and is home to five colleges and two nationally accredited universities: Klaipeda University and LCC International University. These seven institutions educate over 18,000 students. Klaipeda s creative industries map consists of more than 600 creative businesses principally across music and perforating arts, architecture, visual arts and design, media and digital arts, film, TV, radio and photography. These contributed almost 3% of value added to Klaipeda city s GDP in Klaipeda city hosts around 30 cultural and creative festivals annually, which contribute to the city s cultural richness, as well as its economy. The most popular are the Sea Festival, Lithuania s largest summer event which regularly attracts over half a million attendees, and Klaipeda Castle s Jazz Festival, now approaching its seventeenth edition, which has hosted performances by international artists from such as Belgian harmonica maestro, Toots Thielemans, to US stars like Billy Cobham and Victor Bailey and UK stars such as Soweto Kinch. The property sector, culture and the creative industries In common with many economies around the world, Klaipeda s property sector has been badly hit by the economic downturn in recent years. In Klaipeda, the cultural and creative sectors have been used to (albeit partially) fill this economic gap by establishing new communities of creative industries in industrial areas. At Klaipeda City Council we have found that municipal authorities can play an important role in strengthening this link, and highlighting it when it works. We have found that, compared with public sector interventions to develop cultural infrastructure, these private sector initiative have been much more successful both in terms of the cost-effectiveness of the investment and their impact with Klaipeda s public - with a large number of cultural events taking place (which, as a result of taking place, where none would have before, stimulating the cultural and creative industries sector). The largest, most ambitious and most successful of these privately-led initiatives (all three contain similar activities and ideas) is Švyturio menu dokas, the Art Dock. At the Art Dock, there now resides a successful, active creative community. The Art Dock is a good example of a public private partnership (PPP). It has served as a model project in Klaipeda for finalising the city s concept for Klaipeda s Cultural Factory (which is a public investment project). For instance, Klaipeda s city municipality applied learning from the Art Dock in its regulations, status documentation for the proposed Klaipeda Cultural Factory. Moreover the pricing and business models in the Art Dock project will be used as a good example for attracting private creative business to Klaipeda Cultural Factory. We see the Art Dock as an experimental format contributing to thinking which will inform a bigger 44 best practice guide best practice guide 45

25 The first concerts and performances organised in the Art Dock attracted many local citizens and city guests. The new cultural space attracted not only a large audience but also other performing arts initiatives like theatre performances. The future Švyturys has now pledged initial funds to renovate hangar and the surrounding waterfront in order to apply it to cultural activities hosting festivals, concerts, theatre, dance, cinema, conference, etc. Classical Music Concert at Klaipeda Art Dock Whilst it is undeniable that this will have a positive marketing impact for the beer company (perhaps more positive than traditional top down forms of marketing, such as advertising, or traditional sponsorship of other producers events), their investment will also provide new quality to the image of Klaipeda. It will create a specific, nontraditional, lively, all year-round attraction centre in the old town. In a space where no cultural intervention before had existed, and with substantial partnership between the private sector in what is, in essence a publicly owned asset. Art Dock stage building public project: Klaipeda Cultural Factory. Klaipeda city municipality plans the public support schemes for other possible private cultural business initiatives in the Klaipeda industrial sites. Memel City & the Art Dock The Art Dock project is located in the territory of a future real estate project Memel city. This was planned to complete the construction of a mixed use residential-commercial complex. However, due to the unfavourable economic situation investors have postponed the project for 3-5 years. In order to attract residents to the empty area real estates leaseholders made public advertising campaigns presenting space for lease at a very attractive low price (0,87 EUR /1 sq. m). Event & entertainment organisers, PR and advertising agencies were the first businesses to be interested in the space rent. Following these pioneers, a theatre was established in the area and the space began to attract other cultural and creative industries businesses. Not only creative businesses were attracted. Space was offered to a local beer company, Švyturys, for use in marketing and social projects. Like the other tenants, they were offered their space at attractive rates, over the short term. However, as the area was starting to develop a cultural identity of its own, the beer company used their space, a former ship repair company hangar, for cultural events, and as these events grew, the hangar which the beer company rented, and its surrounding dockland area over a 6 hectare area, became an unofficial cultural quarter: The Art Dock. The new cultural space, the Art Dock, is now an open public and democratic place in Klaipeda for all possible cultural activities: music, theatre, cinema, dance, fashion, various kinds of festivals and conferences, educational lectures and interdisciplinary projects. The Spaces The overall dock space is around 1100 square meters. The area of the Art Dock is composed of 2 main spaces: a large and small stage. Both stages can be used at once or separately. The smaller of the two is dedicated to projects with small budgets such as parties, club style events, conferences, mini performances etc. Major projects are held on the big stage: concerts, festivals, movies, performances, fairs, exhibitions and other. There are around 1200 places for standing and 500 seats in the dock. The effect on the town The Art Dock has created a new place in Klaipeda. One we did not have before. It is a place of new nature, open all year long in the centre of the Old town. During the summertime the area beside the dock is arranged as a dynamic leisure and entertainment waterfront zone, with daily open air events, and the area outside the dock decorated with beach handball nets, deck chairs, hammocks, a library, bars and shows. *Sharing our learning From our experience in Klaipeda, we believe that private real estate developers, leaseholders and owners have a number of compelling reasons to engage with culture and the creative industries: 1. They are agile. They can take and make use of underutilised or derelict property very quickly. 2. They are low-maintenance. They can take and make use of property with very little infrastructure in advance and offer a variety of solutions for industrial, post-industrial or disused office space. 3. They are vibrant. Cultural activity brings new life to derelict areas. It promotes an area as vibrant and so can add to the attractiveness of future developments (e.g. residential sales which would not have been attracted to the area without the cultural activity to brand the area) 4. They are distinctive. Arts, culture and the creative industries will offer a distinctive identity to an area, which otherwise may struggle to establish a compelling brand to give business and residential tenants a reason to move to a new place. 5. They offer a short-term financial solution - administrational maintenance expenditures are partially or wholly covered from collected rent. However, this last reason can also act as a warning. The future of the Art Dock and other creative projects in Memel City greatly depend on the will of private investors. It is very likely that creative projects will probably be asked to leave the territory when the economic situation recovers and construction of the new mixeduse development commences. We believe it is up to strategic authorities, such as city councils, to work together with private developers and the like to alert them to the advantages to them of working with the culture and creative industries. We believe this is especially important in times when public finances are likely to be stretched, so public authorities will be looking more closely at how to effect public-private partnerships. We believe that real estate developers should consider the long-term positive impact of the presence of cultural and creative activity and, where possible, build it into the fabric of new developments. For more information on the project, you can go to our website: or follow the project on Facebook: dokas. 46 best practice guide best practice guide 47

26 BRAGA Using your cultural heritage BRAGA [PORTUGAL] Encontros da Imagem [Image Meetings] Braga, Portugal Background & Context Situated in north-western Portugal, Braga is a city and a municipality with more than 2,000 years of history. It is one of the country s major cities, with an urban population of 109,470 (2001). Braga is also the centre of the Great Metropolitan Area of Minho, which has a population of 826,833 (2007), the third largest in Portugal. The city of Braga and the surrounding region is a territory of huge entrepreneurial dynamics, characterised by the presence of business clusters in both traditional industries, such as textile and clothes and agro-food, and technology-intensive industries like ICT s, software and nanotechnologies. Braga s businesses have strong international links. Recently two competitiveness poles were created in the region: one linked to health and the other, to design and fashion, as well as a regional cluster related to creative industries. The traditional sectors blend with emergent sectors, originating the creation and production of innovative and creative products and services. Braga is gifted with an amazing cultural and historical patrimony, but Braga s also a young and lively city. Braga s long history can be seen in its monuments, churches and splendid houses, especially those from the 18 th century. Other attractions include the religious and civil architecture and archaeological heritage, as well as new categories such as contemporary and military architecture and innovative urban spaces. Braga has a large concentration of knowledge centres: universities and training centres, research and development infrastructures and university-industry interface institutions ( spin-outs ). The city is the headquarters and main campus for the Universidade do Minho (Minho University), a public university founded in In 1967, a branch of the oldest private university in Portugal, the Universidade Católica Portuguesa, was also established in the city. Recently a major international research centre was founded in Braga - the International Nanotechnology Laboratory. The great diversity of cultural initiatives throughout this lively city shows the dynamism of Braga. From music to theatre and dance, photography and cinema, there is an array of venues and festivals that have become true traditions due to their richness and popularity. Walking around the city streets, exploring the city s downtown or the student area we also discover all the entertainment, bars, cafes and nightclubs Braga has to offer. Encontros da Imagem (Image Meetings) is one of the most prestigious events in photography in Portugal, with a very strong international reputation. Encontros da Imagem A world-class festival of photography Encontros de Imagem was created in 1987 and has brought to Braga some of the most prestigious creators of classical and contemporary photography in an annual twoweek festival. The event was the idea of an old association linked to the practices of amateur photography and film, but now the Municipality of Braga is the principal driver of the initiative. Encontros da Imagem has been taking shape, redefining itself to gradually adapt to formal and aesthetic developments of creative photography, which is the central subject of the event. The nature of this intervention is social and cultural because it allows all citizens access to photographic art. The event is spread throughout Braga in several historical buildings, museums and galleries. The public has approximately 30 exhibitions available, mostly related to the central theme of 48 best practice guide best practice guide 49

27 the event. The festival is considered one of the most important photographic events in Portugal and in the Iberian Peninsula. The 2010 festival (its twentieth edition) saw the launching of a new prize for the best contemporary photography portfolio. The prize, Emergentes, is awarded by the Critical Reading Portfolio which gives photographers the opportunity to present their work to commissioners, gallery owners and specialised editors, which is the preferred means of promoting their work. Emergentes is sponsored by Domingos da Silva Teixeira, S.A., one of the largest construction companies in Portugal and which is based in Braga. The photographer Virgilio Ferreira won the prize of 7,500 Euros and a solo exhibition in the next edition of the event in The festival s impact - giving birth to new cultural infrastructure Encontros da Imagem led to the creation of the Museum of Image and most recently to the school GARE - Escola dos Encontros da Imagem. These substantially add to the cultural infrastructure of the city. We believe that it is unusual for a festival to be the birthplace of a cultural institution, let alone two. The Museum, opened in 1999, puts on an annual schedule of exhibitions together with ongoing work to preserve an estate of about 130,000 negatives from the beginning of the twentieth century which document the history of the city. The school, GARE, opened in Its name derives from the space that the Council of Braga provided - the old railway station. It was created with the aim of promoting study in the field of visual arts and photography, constituting itself as a centre of cultural effervescence. It also aims to provide artistic training and to create art groups. GARE aspires to be a place of arrival for new knowledge and a starting place for new artistic adventures. It is foreseen that the school will function as a place for meetings and exchange of experiences associated with Encontros da Imagem. We believe that the event contributes to a new urban dynamic. It attracts new audiences and creative talents to the city. During the event Braga takes on another colour. It s a space for exchanging experiences related to culture and creativity. The aims and the vision of Encontros da Imagem elevate the event to being an important initiative in the field of creative industries. The event is considered a way of developing the cultural and creative life of the city. Braga s old city *Sharing our learning Braga is known for several characteristics, such as a strong religious tradition, heritage and cultural life. This profile led to the creation of Encontros da Imagem. The festival builds upon already established strengths. When supporting or creating cultural infrastructure (festivals, museums, etc.), we believe that the choice should resonate with the reality of what is there. Encontros da Imagem originated the creation of a museum and a school. It represents an initiative for the recovery of visual arts and culture, and, therefore, a good example of betting on the creative industries. However, success does not come quickly. The municipality has invested in the festival over a long period of time. Leadership of cultural infrastructure should not be underestimated. Encontros da Imagem has been well led from the beginning, with the festival s executive board having vision, ambition, excellent local contacts as well as international profile. Investing in culture means investing in people. Like all festivals, the event attracts different audiences and creative talents; however, the fact that the exhibitions are held in different city areas and open spaces allows a broad public to have access to this initiative. We believe that if festivals have an ambition to broaden their audiences, and are not multi-venue, they should invest in a strong and credible outreach programme. Festivals need to refresh themselves constantly. Encontros da Imagem always searches for new talent and especially to promote national talent. The museum, the new prize and the school - it s continually innovating. Festivals are competing for attention. Innovation is the only way to stay ahead. For Braga itself, we believe that Encontros da Imagem makes the city a better place to be. It contributes to a more active cultural life in the city and to developing a stronger urban cultural and creative sector. 50 best practice guide best practice guide 51

28 Supporting individual creative industries BRAGA [PORTUGAL] Increasing innovation in local fashion businesses Museu da Imagem, Braga The fashion industry in Portugal Fashion industries are highly important to Portugal s economy, especially in the north of the country, where Braga is situated: 80% of Portugal s fashion businesses are located in the northern region and the employment in the sector is of almost 200,000 jobs. In national terms, fashion industries represent: 3% of the Portuguese GDP; 14% of Added Value from the Manufacturing Industry (30% in Northern Portugal); 27% of manufacturing industry employment; A traditionally strong export vocation: 66% of produced textiles and clothing are exported and 90% of produced leather goods. However, our industries are mainly traditional and somewhat old-fashioned. Few companies invest in research and development, design activities or have marketing or branding strategies. Most of Braga s fashion businesses only integrate with the parts of the value chain directly related to manufacturing. Unfortunately, for the most part, Braga s fashion businesses in textiles and clothing, footwear and leather, and jewellery and watch-making conform to this pattern. In this context and as way to change this situation, a Pole for Competitiveness in Fashion was created by the regional and national authorities with the aim of transforming the industry into a highly technological and innovative sector of activity. Towards a more innovative fashion industry The intervention was supported by the national policy within the Competitiveness Poles Programme - Strategies of Collective Efficiency, which is part of the Portuguese National Reference Strategic Framework The pole for competitiveness in fashion, started in 2008, aims to increase the concept of innovation in companies whilst creating synergies with other clusters and other innovative activities, such as technical textiles and advanced materials. The pole also intends to reinforce the value chain through an increase in design activity, R&D, marketing and brands development, as well as to renew human resources in the fashion system. The aim is also to support young entrepreneurs and qualified workers in all kinds of activity in order to create not only more companies, but also companies better prepared to compete worldwide. The pole joins 26 institutions of different natures: business associations, companies, technological and scientific research centres, all of which are connected to textile and clothing, footwear and leather, and jewellery. The intervention represents an investment of 2.15 million Euros and will be developed over three years. The founders of the pole are institutions of different natures: The National Clothing Association The Young Entrepreneurs Association The Footwear and Leather Association The Designers Association The Textile and Clothing Association of Portugal The Technological Centre for the Textile and Clothing Industry The Technological Centre for Footwear The Information Technology Institute Several textile and clothing companies and designers Several footwear companies and designers The pole created a formal Association with the same name, which is located in Porto. The intervention consists of 4 strategic actions and 6 structuring projects. 52 best practice guide best practice guide 53

29 Strategic Actions: - Fashion - Technological Innovation - Internationalization and Image - Social Responsibility and Training Structuring Projects: - Portuguese Fashion Institute (fashion centre) - Responsible Competitiveness (environmental and social responsibility certification) - Fashion Business Survey and Intelligence - Technological Innovation (product, process and materials) for fashion activities - Portugal Fashion Image Campaign, internally and abroad - MBA in Fashion Business for top managers The project s effects The pole is important for all northern cities, especially cities like Braga, with a great concentration of textile and clothing companies. Among other reasons the development of the pole is of major importance because it attracts investment, enhances international projection, creates new jobs and induces an increase in qualifications in the region. Besides this, it contributes to blurring frontiers between traditional sectors and innovative competitiveness factors, such as design, marketing and R&D. *Sharing our learning The principal idea of the pole is to transform the traditional fashion cluster into an institutionalised, modern and competitive cluster. We believe that large, traditional and fragmented industries (such as fashion in Portugal) stand the best chance of being reformed with a strategic step change, in the style of the competitiveness pole that has been set up in northern Portugal. Contemporary art, in Braga 54 best practice guide best practice guide 55

30 Velha-a-Branca Estaleiro Cultural BRAGA [PORTUGAL] Building a vibrant creative community from the ground up Lip dub making of. Velha-a-Branca Velha-a-Branca is a renovated 4-storey town house in Braga operating as a cultural cooperative. It was opened in 2004, coming out of discussions by the artists and cultural actors engaged in a previous informal project (www. projectobragatempo.net). Their intention was to find a permanent home for experimental culture, regardless of genre, and address the lack of cultural facilities of this sort in Braga. Its founders were 26 people from different Portuguese cities, but mostly students or recent graduates between the ages of 20 and 30. Today there are more than 60 members. The cooperative has several employees, but the Executive Management and most of the promoters of specific cultural projects are unpaid volunteers. The name Velha a Branca Cultural Estaleiro was chosen for the way it could be represented, and thus marketed, using the image of an old lady in white: velha (meaning old, in its feminine form) and branca (white) due to its location in Braga s Senhora-a-Branca Square. One of the project s aims was to demonstrate that independent cultural projects could be sustainable and generate their own income without regular public funding. After two years, this model was proven. Even today, some 8 years later, Velha-a-Branca has never applied for any public funding or formal support. Objectives and mission As a location for a cultural venue, Braga has a large cultural potential. Its location is central. Braga has over 2,000 years of heritage, two universities, good road and train access and proximity to an airport and to Galicia. Velha-a-Branca seeks to tap such potential and its mission is stated even in the name: Estaleiro (construction site). It presents itself not only as a provisional cultural space in permanent construction and adaptation, but is also used as a cultural hub for activities that happen outside its walls by promoting other projects. Besides its own agenda, the cooperative hosts and supports initiatives presented by other entities and individuals, seeking to nurture all cultural projects that are presented and promote a few creative industries. Velha is rooted in the city of Braga, whose history and culture it seeks to promote by organizing of affordable courses on the history of the city, collecting video testimonials of the oldest citizens in Braga, hosting concerts of new and emerging local music bands, promoting competitions strongly linked to the city, etc. Contributions and results At Velha it is possible to attend a diverse range of activities (talks, poetry recitals, concerts, thematic weeks, among others), to visit exhibitions (photography, painting, sculpture, etc.) and to participate in courses in many different subjects. The short film festival Fast Forward Portugal, Conversations in the Tanque, Velhacine, Braga Stories, Café Scientifique and Deutsch Stammtisch are a few of its regular events. Since its foundation, dozens of artists, teachers, scientists, musicians, cultural groups and associations, as well as hundreds of students, have been in Velha. Between 2004 and late 2010 Velha-a-Branca has been responsible for 154 courses or workshops from photography and video editing to creative writing and garden design, has hosted more than 180 exhibitions and produced or supported over 1,300 different activities. Velha-a-Branca became within a few years a cultural space that has had a great impact on the city and a cultural project known throughout Portugal, particularly in the north. It has been noted that, while on a small scale, its effect has acted as a multiplier. Velha s activity has seeded the cultural landscape with the proliferation of new cultural initiatives, some of which present a regular cultural agenda, inspired in Velha-a- Branca s program and concept. 56 best practice guide best practice guide 57

31 Lip-dubbing of Velha-a-Branca New initiatives Contacts Velha-a-Branca current main challenge is that it has outgrown its premises. The current building is not sufficient for the myriad of initiatives. Concurrently, the small dimensions of the different rooms prevents larger initiatives, which impacts also on Velha s economic potential. Therefore, Velha-a- Branca has increasingly been promoting initiatives using different venues in Braga - Theatro Circo (900 seats), Museu D. Diogo de Sousa (160 seats), Parque de Exposições de Braga, etc. In 2011 Velha wishes to actively promote international (and, particularly, European) networking with cultural partners of a similar dimension and shared objectives. Velha-a-Branca. Estaleiro Cultural Largo da Senhora-a-Branca, Braga, Portugal. T. (+351) / (+351) info@velha.org youtube flickr facebook A musical presentation of Velha-a-Branca, in Lip Dub format, can be watched at watch?v=d6-d8oufy3e. *Sharing our learning Some of the characteristics of Velha-a-Branca s business model could be useful, at least for similar projects. Among others, a few can be stressed: Existence of a few more commercial ventures (subrentals, coffee-shop or bar, training, etc.) to sustain free cultural activities Rental of large buildings its versatility allows for limited combinations, most of which are unimaginable beforehand Low-cost recovery of an old building instead of costly reconstructions or building Rigorous financial management and hard negotiation with every supplier Use of digital and free information systems in every possible aspect document sharing, online presentation of proposals, Skype meetings, etc. Regular use of video as a communication tool Logistics support to external cultural initiatives and partnership with other institutions. 58 best practice guide best practice guide 59

32 European Creative Cities Shared Learning Design and layout: Isa San Martín [cyandiseño] Photographs: Velha-a-Branca - Estaleiro Cultural; Luís Tarroso [ Fotomacs [ flickr.com/photos/ @n07/. Using a Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike Creative Commons License]; Miles.18 [ Using a Attribution-NonCommercial Creative Commons License]; Gregor Katič; Palmira Escobar; José Gonçalves [GNU Free Documentation License] and Mauro Ventura [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlikeBraga License] Front page photo: Lip dub making of. [Velha-a-Branca - Estaleiro Cultural] Printed by: Gráficas Asturias D.L.: AS-XXXX

33