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Creative Industries Federation celebrates first anniversary

The Creative Industries Federation (CIF) celebrated their first anniversary this month, with more than 500 people packing into Television Centre, West London, to hear the Chancellor George Osborne hail the value of the creative industries and endorse the importance of public investment.

The packed Television Centre
The packed Television Centre

Chancellor George Osborne told the audience that the Government had chosen “to put money where it counts and where it says a lot about our country”

Speaking to a packed crowd of more than 500 guests, he said: “One of the big choices we have made is to invest in the arts.”

The Chancellor was the key speaker at the event, which was attended by leaders of the UK’s arts, creative industries and cultural education – having given endorsement to the Federation and the creative industries at its launch a year ago.

“When we made the decision just a month or so ago, not just to increase spending on the Arts Council and on our national museums and galleries at a time when we were cutting spending in other areas, it was a conscious choice,” Mr Osborne said.

“When we made those choices I would like to pretend to you I was sitting there as your Finance Minister looking at the pounds and pence of the return that you get. It’s true that if you do look at the pounds and pence return you get for investing in the arts, it’s pretty impressive. You put money in, you get money out as a country.”

Sir John Sorrell, Chancellor George Osborne, Katie Derham and John Kampfner
Sir John Sorrell, Chancellor George Osborne, Katie Derham and John Kampfner

But he said: “ It’s not simply an economic calculation because there are other investments you can make. It’s also an investment in who we are as a nation.”

Mr Osborne offered “a big thank you” to arts and creative leaders for the choices they made in creating great works of art in a period of “incredible creativity” to rival the ambitions of the Sixties when the country was dominating world culture.

Opening the evening, Federation Chief Executive John Kampfner stressed the importance of the arts and creative industries at the heart of British life and what defines the country internationally. “It is the centrality argument – that the arts and creative industries are not something soft you do on a Saturday night. They are the heart of everything we do, of every community and individual’s well being. They define our global reputation,” he said.

“For so long, perhaps because each discipline was operating in its own silo, the sector did not have the heft it deserved. We hope that, working in partnership with others – as may have been evident in the run-up to the Chancellor’s spending review – we have begun to address that.”

The Creative Industries Federation is the representative body of UK arts, cultural and creative industries. As a membership organisation, the Federation represents the views of the UK’s creative industries, while challenging and assisting the sector to stay ahead of the international competition.

Richard Alston Dance Company
Richard Alston Dance Company

The DBA is a founding supporter of CIF, recognising the value the Federation can bring as a strong and fearless advocate across politics, policy-making and the media as a unified voice for the creative industries.

The DBA’s CEO, Deborah Dawton sits on the Advisory Council of the Creative Industries Federation, providing ongoing policy advice and input to the organisation’s small but growing team, alongside her fellow Advisory Council Members.

And of the DBA’s membership of CIF, Deborah says, “The DBA’s involvement with the Creative Industries Federation enables our members and the design industry to connect and stand shoulder-to-shoulder with other arts, creative and cultural industries in proactively shaping the future of this fantastic sector.”

For more information on the Creative Industries Federation visit: www.creativeindustriesfederation.com.

Image credits: © Cjwhitewine Dreamstime.com | © Ben Broomfield Photography

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