Creatives help spread sector message round Europe

Two not-for-profit bodies aimed at growing Scotland’s £5 billion creative economy have been commissioned by the British Council to help nurture the sector around Europe.

Janine Matheson of Creative Edinburgh

Creative Edinburgh and its counterpart in Dundee have now created a “digital toolkit” aimed at forging closer links between those working in the sector to support the development of their business plans.

Janine Matheson, executive director of Creative ­Edinburgh, said: “The ­creative hub movement is getting bigger and we all share a commitment to support and inspire our members.

“Collaboration between hubs throughout Europe helps us all to innovate.”

Matheson, who co-auth­ored the HubKit with Gillian Easson of Creative Dundee, added: “The creative community is very div­erse and each hub and environment where a hub exists will be different.

“This is not a prescriptive guide – it’s about making our experiences accessible to others and people can take the learning that will be most useful and adapt it to fit their own situation.”

Creative Edinburgh has more than 1,800 members and Matheson said that the soc­ial enterprise wanted to help other hubs learn from its experiences in developing collaboration between the city’s creative talent.

Beatrice Pembroke, director for the creative economy at the British Council, said: “Over the last ten years the number and profile of hubs has grown rapidly because of changes in technology, economics and audiences, but there is still much to be done to fully understand and support their potential.”

Pembroke added: “The HubKit explains why engaging with your community of users from the start can lead to a much more holistic and sustainable model.”