Over 200 of Northern Ireland's leading creatives joined leading UK and Irish designers, musicians and craftspeople at a groundbreaking UU/Derry City Council event today to explore the potential of creating business opportunities in the fast-growing £14bn UK creative industries sector.

The line up of speakers includes leading international designer Wayne Hemingway, founder of Red or Dead fashion house; Scanner, a conceptual artist, writer, and musician who has composed a new National Anthem for Europe, as well as Michael Thomson, founder of business networking agency Design Connect.

Conference organiser Justin Magee, senior lecturer in product design in UU’s School of Creative Arts, said: “This  conference  highlights the interdisciplinary nature of the creative industries, and will raise awareness about the many opportunities in different sectors of the creative industries and showcase some examples of best practice of creativity in the north-west of Northern Ireland. 

"In the University of Ulster, staff and students alike through teaching and learning, imaginative research and commercially or socially relevant enterprise, produce new trans-disciplinary concepts – it is this creative promiscuity which drives innovation,” said Magee.

Creative industries – which currently employ over 1.7m people in the UK include areas as diverse as fashion, digital media, performing arts, crafts, graphic design and property development.

Attending the event were  current practitioners, potential students and graduates looking for advice and guidance on how to build successful careers in the sector.

Economic development organisations involved in the promotion of creative industries, including InvestNI were also on had to showcase their work.  

For further information, please contact:

David Young
Telephone: 028 90366074
Email: David Young