Creative Industries Council

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Arts venues, museums, libraries and heritage buildings will receive a share of more than £270 million as part of a new Arts Everywhere Fund from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy will announce the new funding today at a lecture marking the 60th anniversary of the first-ever arts white paper by former Minister Jennie Lee, setting out how Lee’s vision of the ‘arts for everyone, everywhere’ will be made a reality as part of the Government’s Plan for Change. The funding package includes: ✅ A £85 million Creative Foundations Fund to support urgent capital works to venues ✅ A £25 million fifth round of the Museum Estate and Development Fund. ✅ A £20 million Museum Renewal Fund to help keep civic museums open and engaging. ✅ An extra £15 million for Heritage at Risk funding repairs and conservation to heritage buildings. ✅ A £5.5 million fourth round of the Libraries Improvement Fund, enabling library services across England to upgrade buildings and technology. ✅ A new £4.85 million Heritage Revival Fund to empower local people to take control of and look after their local heritage. ✅ An extra £120 million for the Public Bodies Infrastructure Fund, for essential works for national cultural public institutions. ✅ A 5% increase to the budgets of all national museums and galleries Other announcements include: ✅ £3.2 million for the Museums and Schools Programme, the Heritage Schools Programme, the Art & Design National Saturday Club and the British Film Institute (BFI) Film Academy. ✅ Appointees to an advisory panel supporting Baroness Margaret Hodge with her independent review of Arts Council England: arts fundraising consultant Helen Bowdur, Manchester City Council's Director of Culture and Creative Industries Dave Moutrey, Shakespeare's Globe CEO Stella Kanu, Chair of The Leighton Group Paul Callaghan, CBE, DL, FRSA, Samir Savant, CEO of St George's Bristol, National Museums Liverpool Director Laura Pye and Pawlet Brookes, MBE, founder, CEO and Artistic Director of Serendipity Institute for Black Arts and Heritage in Leicester. ✅ Museum Estate and Development Fund support for 29 local museums: Queen Street Mill Textile Museum, Furness Abbey, The Fusilier Museum, The Weardale Museum, Sunderland Museum and Winter Gardens, Preston Park Museum, Hartlepool Art Gallery, Museum of North Craven Life, Land of Iron, Bankfield Museum, THE PICKERING BECK ISLE MUSEUM OF RURAL LIFE, Millennium Gallery Sheffield, Tamworth Castle, Wolverhampton Art Gallery, Newstead Abbey, Creswell Crags, Peterborough Museum & Archives Sainsbury Centre, Bressingham Steam Museum and Gardens, Colchester Castle, Southchurch Hall, Bletchley Park Trust, The Lightbox gallery and museum, Nothe Fort, Dorset Museum & Art Gallery, @Wheal Martyn Clay Works, London Museum of Water & Steam and The Foundling Museum.

New research by The Royal Anniversary Trust and Erskine Analysis highlighting the opportunities and challenges of growing CreaTech - the intersection of the creative industries and emerging tech - is the top story in our latest newsletter. It's not the only CreaTech-related story in today's issue: ⚡ The first of five government-funded creative R&D labs, Live Lab, has opened at Production Park. ⚡ New research by the Creative Industries Policy and Evidence Centre indicates that skills gaps caused by the introduction of new technology and the development of new products and services are creating a particular challenge for creative businesses. ⚡ Art and culture guide Smartify - one of our CreaTech 'Ones To Watch' in 2020 - has just raised £1.5million in VC funding PLUS we feature news, events and opportunities from Channel 4, Bectu, Women's Prize Trust, MediaCityUK, Creative UK, British Film Institute (BFI), Film London, Department for Business and Trade, Drapers and London Games Festival. https://lnkd.in/eNEWQQkP

Britain’s creative industries generate £125 billion a year and support 2.4 million jobs—and there’s even more room to grow. The Labour Government is committed to expanding this dynamic sector through a bold strategy to boost careers, skills, and opportunities. 🌟 Join leading voices from across the UK’s creative industries, central government, local authorities, education, and academia as they explore the future of creative careers. 🎤 Hear from Creative Industries Council, Arts Council England, The Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), British Film Institute (BFI), National Society for Education in Art and Design (NSEAD) and more. Don’t miss this chance to be part of the conversation shaping the next chapter of Britain’s creative economy! Register your place with code LINK4482 for 20% off here 👉 https://loom.ly/fSS2JXw #CreativeIndustriesWM #creativeindustries #arts #culture #artanddesign

A new report has called for a "radical overhaul" of the UK education system to build a skills pipeline that will secure the UK's place as a global CreaTech leader. The report, published by The Royal Anniversary Trust and Department for Culture, Media and Sport, explores how the UK can harness the full potential of the convergence of creativity and innovative technologies such as AI, VR and 3D printing. It argues that building on the UK's existing strengths in CreaTech would help to drive economic growth and cultural soft power, while CreaTech skills may also benefit other industries such as healthcare, for example with the use of augmented reality in surgery or VR roleplay in psychotherapy. There are currently 350,000 professionals working in CreaTech and 14,000 creative businesses leveraging emerging tech, according to research conducted by the report's authors, Erskine Analysis's Eliza Easton, Dr Allan Watson, Tom Webster and George Windsor. They consulted with more than 80 experts from academia, industry, and government to produce the report, which outlines five policy recommendations aimed at fostering CreaTech growth, strengthening the talent pipeline, and ensuring that the UK’s creative industries remain globally competitive. ✅ Drive a CreaTech skills revolution: build a CreaTech skills pipeline by reforming education to integrate creative and technical subjects from primary to secondary school education and create targeted CreaTech-specific programmes in further and higher education.  Enable lifelong learning so professionals can adapt and thrive in new markets. ✅ Boost investment in CreaTech R&D: policymakers, industry, and funders should work together to build a five-year plan to increase public investment in R&D that supports the creative industries. ✅ Transform the UK's CreaTech capability by introducing a new CreaTech Catapult: create a collaborative hub, fostering connections among creative businesses, educational institutions, and technology developers. ✅ Leverage new private investment in CreaTech by supporting access to R&D tax reliefs: providing an active research pilot offering support to creative businesses wanting to apply for R&D tax reliefs. ✅ Create new funding mechanisms for scaling CreaTech businesses: creating a government-backed Fund of Funds to provide Series B+ investment for UK-based CreaTech companies.  

What are the barriers to growth for AI and creative tech companies in the UK - and how do we overcome them? That's the topic of a new report from the UK House of Lords Communications and Digital Committee, which has been exploring how we can more effectively support the UK's AI and CreaTech startups to thrive domestically. More than 80 leaders working in the AI and creative tech field contributed evidence to the enquiry, identifying barriers such as limited access to capital compared to other countries, challenges in recruiting in-demand tech talent and a business and investment culture that can be too risk-averse. Among the witnesses were industry leaders including Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC)'s Christopher Smith, Innovate UK's Esra Kasapoglu, Ukie's Nick Poole OBE and Creative UK's Caroline Norbury, OBE, as well as CreaTech founders Victor Riparbelli of AI video creator platform Synthesia, Peadar Coyle of AI audio production startup AudioStack and Simon Barratt of virtual spaces specialists Cooperative Innovations Ltd and sector investors Paul Murphy of Lightspeed and David Glick of Edge. The report sets out key recommendations for change including: ✅ Ensure join-up – The Government’s industrial strategy should provide a coherent, cross-sector vision for how technology scaleups will be supported to drive economic growth. ✅ Accelerate financial reforms – Unlocking domestic growth capital is key to boosting institutional investment in UK innovation. ✅ Champion entrepreneurial success – Do more to celebrate successful wealth creators and foster a culture where founders are incentivised to stay in the UK to grow their businesses, or fail and try again. ✅ Streamline public support for innovation – Simplify and consolidate existing support to innovative companies with a clear pathway along their growth journey. ✅ Commit to AI Delivery – Deliver the AI Opportunities Action Plan with a laser-sharp focus on removing obstacles to growth for homegrown AI companies and robust political commitment. ✅ Sustain investment in the creative industries - Make longer-term commitments and an increased commercial focus. Baroness Tina Stowell, who chaired the inquiry, said the UK has great advantages in the AI and creative tech fields, including world-leading creative industries and universities. However, she said the UK runs the risk of becoming an 'incubator economy', where UK start-ups develop innovative products and services before selling out or moving abroad, so other countries derive the economic benefit. "We urgently need to simplify the help available and ensure it is set up to support our most innovative scaleups to grow, while also offering value for money to the taxpayer," she said.

🌷 February is a busy month in the UK's creative industries calendar for 2025, with conferences, festivals, launches and more. Here's a sample: MUSIC *Albums out this month from North Shields singer-songwriter Sam Fender, East London singer-songwriter Nao and Everything Is Recorded, the collaborative music project centred around London-born producer Richard Russell. *Leicester MusicFest, a two-day performance and education festival, begins on 15 February. Then, on 28 February, the Leicester Music Conference, hosted by HQ Recording / HQ CAN (Creative Arts Network), will bring together artists, studios and industry professionals. Speakers include Michelle Escoffery, Bishi Bhattacharya, Manish Khullar, UK Music Ltd's Dr Oliver Morris, TikTok UK's Rachel Young, Grace Meadows FRSA of Music Minds Matter and Claire Cordeaux of BAPAM Performing Arts Medicine. CRAFTS * Collect, the Crafts Council’s international contemporary craft and design fair, begins on 28 February. DESIGN * To tie in with its Tim Burton exhibition, the Design Museum is hosting a half term digital camp with workshops for eight to 14-year-olds on digital character design, interactive storytelling, architecture and stop motion animation. PUBLISHING * The shortlist for the £10,000 Unwin Award - a new literary award recognising non-fiction authors in the earlier stages of their careers, run by The Publishers Association - will be unveiled on 28 February. FASHION * London Fashion Week, hosted by the British Fashion Council, begins on February 20. ADVERTISING *Advertising's value to the economy, the role of AI and brand safety are among the topics to be discussed at the industry's annual summit LEAD this week, co-hosted by the IPA (Institute of Practitioners in Advertising), Advertising Association and ISBA. GAMES * guildford.games Festival and Developer Summit on 14 February will feature networking, portfolio reviews and talks by local studios including Glowmade, Two Point Studios, DPS Games and Supermassive Games Ltd * London's Games Growth Summit takes place on 28 February. ARCHITECTURE *Excellence in contemporary healthcare architecture will be explored at the L.K.E. Ozolins Lecture 2025 at RIBA on 11 February with speakers including Stiliyana Minkovska of Matrix Health & Care, Antoine Chaaya of RPBW Renzo Piano Building Workshop, Ernest Fasanya of Hopkins Architects and Michael Woodford of White Arkitekter.  TV & FILM *BAFTA Film Awards on 16 February. *'Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy' and documentary 'Becoming Led Zeppelin', while small screen delights include 'Miss Austen' (BBC) and Steven Knight's new crime drama set in Victorian London, 'A Thousand Blows'. *British Film Institute (BFI)'s Future Film Festival kicks off later this month with industry panels, masterclasses and workshops for the next generation of UK filmmakers.

🌳 Here's our regular round-up of the brilliant work being done by the creative industries to tackle the climate crisis. Anything interesting on this topic you've created, watched or read recently? Please do share in the comments. 🐑 Dundee-based textile artist Sandra Junele collects yarn waste from across the UK and turns it into biodegradable custom wall art and signs. https://lnkd.in/ePuxJ3iY 👗 UK fashion brand Nobody's Child aims to cater for two often conflicting consumer demands - affordability and sustainability. It’s a formula which saw sales grow 30% in 2024. CEO Jody Plows talks to the Guardian's Sarah Butler about the company’s approach to traceability and accountability in the supply chain. https://lnkd.in/eNA9xpXk 🔋 Theatres, museums, and music venues are among the cultural venues taking part in a Julie's Bicycle programme to fully decarbonise their buildings by 2030. https://lnkd.in/e7e29vhn 👟 Stella McCartney’s new S Wave Sports trainer is made with Balena, a compostable bio-based plastic alternative. https://lnkd.in/eZcWETrV 🎬 Jimmy Keeping MSc from Sustainable Film spoke to ScreenSkills about how sustainability coordinators can help to reduce the carbon footprint of productions. https://lnkd.in/ez7URwA4 📺 Sustainability experts Samuel Quashie-Idun, Byungdoo Kim, Rupa Ganguli FRSA and Isabella Childs discussed the hidden costs of fashion and barriers to reducing fast fashion consumption at a King's Climate & Sustainability seminar. https://lnkd.in/ejwvWpsC 📝 The British Fashion Council is rolling out Copenhagen Fashion Week’s Sustainability Requirements framework, beginning with its NEWGEN initiative, where the Minimum Standards will be embedded into the existing mandatory criteria for admission. https://lnkd.in/eUGVJf4E ⛈️ Five research projects exploring how developing countries can respond more effectively to the challenges for cultural heritage resulting from natural disasters and climate change have won funding from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC). The projects will be led by UCL's Rodney Harrison, Cardiff University / Prifysgol Caerdydd's Tania Sharmin, Queen Mary University of London's Paul Heritage, University of Nottingham's Francesca Salvi & University of Oxford's Bill Finlayson. https://lnkd.in/gDa-S8Hw

⚡ Our latest newsletter is out today on Substack. It's jam-packed with useful news, research, events and opportunities from across the UK creative sector, including the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, Pinewood Group Limited, Creative UK, The National Lottery Heritage Fund, British Film Institute (BFI), Guildford.Games + more.

Businesses are being invited to learn more about hosting T Level Creative and Design students on an industry placement. T Levels - a vocational, industry-specific alternative to A Levels - can prepare students for a range of creative and design-related roles, from content and creative media creation to the design and production of jewellery, ceramics, furniture, fashion and textiles. The Strategic Development Network (SDN) is hosting a series of information sessions on behalf of the Department for Education (DfE). 📅 29 January - Hosting T Level placements in media, broadcast and production roles (online) https://lnkd.in/dsVJEgbe 📅 5 February - Unlock the Future of Craft and Design with T Level Students (online) https://lnkd.in/dmU-pjZX 📅 13 March - Mini Conference: Unlock the Future of Creative and Design with T Level Students (London) https://lnkd.in/dD6zCHrN One-to-one support is also available for those wanting to talk through their planning or a particular issue. Contact the team and find out more about T Levels at https://lnkd.in/dEauuhUx PIC CREDIT: The UK's first jewellery T Level students, studying at Birmingham's Aston University Engineering Academy (AUEA), began their training with a visit to The Goldsmiths' Company. #TLEVEL #TLEVELS