Claire McKeown, one of the best-known figures in the creative sector, died this week. Here Kevin McManus, director of industry support body Merseyside ACME, pays tribute to her

NEXT Wednesday we have another of our Kin2kin network events for creative and digital businesses.

What you may not know is that the development of Kin is largely down to Claire McKeown (nee Walker), who died tragically last weekend. But this remarkable young woman has left behind her legacy on the city’s creative sector in so many other ways.

Claire was at ACME for five years and, as well as being much loved by everyone around ACME, she cemented trust and respect across the city’s creative organisations, setting about the task of developing the Kin concept with the same infectious enthusiasm she brought to all her work.

She went out, listened to businesses, got them on board, and helped translate what they wanted into the very practical platform that was Kin.

But that’s not the only legacy Claire leaves behind. For two or three years Claire and I both spent large parts of the working week developing an idea that, with the support of Liverpool Vision, eventually became Baltic Creative Community Interest Company. This was one of the most challenging projects I’ve ever been involved in and Claire helped ensure that we maintained momentum and kept the sector involved even at the most trying times.

Baltic Creative is now a stand-alone organisation that owns and manages 40,000 sq ft of property on behalf of the creative industry sector.