I CAN speak with some authority about the creative and digital industries in Liverpool, having worked in the city for several years as a specialist business adviser for this growing sector.
At the same time, I can take an objective outsider’s view, because my work helping creative entrepreneurs takes me to other parts of the country – and overseas to Europe, Asia and Latin America. So I can see Liverpool in an international context.
The view from abroad is that the UK is the world leader in the creative industries and Liverpool is part of this phenomenon. Music is central to Liverpool’s international fame but other creative sectors are now significant. Computer games, TV, film and video, design, and other sub-sectors all play their part.
In contrast to Merseyside’s old industries – shipbuilding, the docks, manufacturing – much of this commercial activity is invisible to the public. The creative and digital sector is characterised by relatively small enterprises, many of them clustered behind the facades of old factories and warehouses – for example, in the Baltic Triangle district, which is teeming with exciting and potentially high- growth businesses. Perhaps it doesn’t look very impressive from the outside, but inside businesses, jobs and wealth are being created.
Merseyside ACME has been supporting the creative industries for the last 13 years and its current “Creative Growth Initiative” project has already helped over 100 creative businesses in the city to grow. The potential for regeneration and economic growth is immense.
Creative enterprises often combine on a project basis, collaborating creatively to serve clients in the region and beyond. One of ACME’s achievements has been to strengthen this “creative cluster” in a variety of ways, not least its online Kin2Kin network, which has over 3,000 members and is still growing.
In my view, as well as facilitating business collaborations behind the scenes, this online resource has the potential to become an extraordinary showcase for Liverpool’s creative talent. This would bring more business into Liverpool from elsewhere, with clear economic benefits for the city as a whole. Furthermore, an online showcase visible to potential clients would help the wider community to see Liverpool’s hidden creative talent, which is an essential part of the regeneration and growth of this great city.
