The South West is nationally recognised as a region with a vibrant arts, crafts and music scene and has an increasing wealth of cultural diversity with a thriving community of craftspeople and artists working in glass, metalwork, textile, pottery, paint, woodwork, and jewellery. Looking to the future, some of the best and brightest minds are studying and researching at specialist departments within the region's universities. There are over 7,700 creative students, as well as several thousand students whose work covers technical areas of digital media. Many of these are leaders in their respective fields and have developed strong and synergistic links with business.
The region has established media clusters in the Plymouth, Wessex, Gloucestershire, Bristol, Swindon and Cornwall areas, providing an opportunity for growth and innovation. Furthermore, recent research shows concentrations of creative industries in Bristol, Bath, Plymouth, Bournemouth and Poole. For more information, please see the latest State of the South West 2011 Culture Chapter at http://www.swo.org.uk/state-of-the-south-west-2011/culture/.
In association with the National Council for Graduate Entrepreneurship (NCGE), the Universities South West Creative Industries Group (USW-CIG) is establishing a University Enterprise Network (UEN) for the Creative Industries which aims to provide a dynamic hub to catalyse enterprise and innovation through joint HE/industry initiatives. The UEN will embrace CI businesses, universities and key networks such as the CI iNet to maximise its impact.
An introduction to research and knowledge expertise that is located in south west England, relevant to members of the Creative Industries iNet (CI iNet) consortium and interested parties, is provided in the Creative Industries iNet Research Expertise Directory. It covers Higher Education (HE) institutions, and some non-academic organisations with a direct interest in creative industries research. Its aims are to raise awareness of the breadth and quality of research that takes place in academic institutions, and to highlight knowledge exchange services and initiatives for creative business in south west England.
Follow the links to read more about University Centres of Expertise and case studies of university and business collaboration in the Creative Industries sector.
Creative Enterprise Gateway
Arts Matrix
South West Screen
The Culture Module
Arts Council England, South West