The creative industry in the UK is one of the biggest contributors to the GDP, with a huge 8% and is continuing to grow. This is one of the main reasons I myself decided to peruse a career in the arts, almost two years ago.
After I lost my job due to ill-health I found it very difficult to get back into work. Many companies weren't hiring and if they were, the hours they were offering just weren't enough and with the emergence of zero-hours contracts, job security was non-existent. Add that to the fact that what I was trained for, many others had the same qualifications, the same experience and the same level of competence that I was boasting about on my CV's, it literally felt I was lost in a proverbial sea of Business Admin!
After speaking to the National Careers service during a scheduled meeting set up by the Job Centre itself, I got to speaking about my love of art and how I would have loved to do something with it. Lorna was thrilled by this, though at the time I didn't completely understand why and after we discussed the ways in which I could get myself back into education, she explained that, even in a recession, the creative industries continue to grow and thrive, unlike many others.
The UK as a whole is known for their creative exports, with £1 in ever £10 coming from the creative sector. Boasting the second biggest design sector in the world, employing over 1.5 million people and worth a staggering £36 billion a year, the UK is a cultural role model, with London one of the most influential cities in the world.
So what is happening now? Up and down the country there are exhibitions and events that draw the creative elite of the UK for a chance to display their work on a very influential stage.
The House of Illustration opened its doors to its first permanent home at the heart of Kings Cross regeneration area of London. They host all matter of illustrations, featuring masters past and present as well as emerging art. From adverts to animation, political satire to scientific drawings, the House of Illustration is definitely the place to be seen.
https://www.houseofillustration.org.uk
The London Illustration Fair is another unique home grown event for artists to come together and sell their work to a wide audience of people, who come from all over the world to purchase original pieces and affordable prints.
http://www.thelondonillustrationfair.co.uk/about-us/
There are many events and stages for any budding illustrator to launch themselves from in London, but what about our own region, the North East?
The Animex, in Middlesbrough an annual animation fair, hosted by Tees University. A number of leading animation artists and the studios they represent, come to display their work and provide workshops for this interested in breaking into the industry. Studios involved include Dreamworks and Disney Pixar as well as many others.
SCENe, which stands for Sunderland Creative Enterprise Network is a social networking team who advertise and inform the public about events happening in and around the city of Sunderland. This is a great way to stay up to date about events happing in and around the city of Sunderland. Events such as the Sunderland Shorts Film Festival which will be taking place in various places around the city on the 2nd July 2015.
We also have a host of galleries and exhibitions in institutions like MIMA and North East Art Collective.
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