Six regions will receive £25 million each to grow creative industries including music, film, fashion and games. Britain has decided creativity needs room to flourish, then handed it a funding form with a section marked Explain Your Vibe.
Creative industries funding finds a chorus
The Creative Places Growth Fund backs Greater Manchester, Liverpool City Region, the North East, West of England, West Midlands and West Yorkshire. The money is intended to help creative businesses grow, innovate and attract private investment.
That can support real work. Musicians, designers, screen makers and game studios need space, skills and customers. The comedy starts when a region’s most imaginative people are invited to prove their imagination through a document that has selected Arial as its emotional support font.
Each region has its own strengths. The government expects the fund to build on them. This is sensible. It is also a brave request to make of a spreadsheet, which has never visited a gig but remains convinced it can measure a chorus using decimal places.
Creative industries funding asks for the feeling
The announcement also includes grants for small and medium sized creative businesses across more regions. Funding can help a company test ideas, reach markets and employ people. It cannot stop a meeting from asking whether a song has completed its stakeholder mapping.
Creative work often looks easy after it succeeds. Before that, it involves practice, risk and a remarkable number of cables. A regional grant may give those cables somewhere to go. It may also create a new clipboard with a particularly strong opinion about cultural impact.
Creative industries funding is an investment in places and businesses rather than a guarantee of instant fame. If the plan succeeds, more talent may grow close to home. If it does not, at least the chorus will know it passed due diligence with a score of Excellent.
