Some facts and figures
Nationally
UK creativity inspires the world, producing a stream of brilliant individuals and creative teams who have been hugely influential in global media, entertainment and the arts. The tradition of maverick individuality in the UK stimulates innovation and creates a fertile environment for commercial exploitation and development.
The passion and creativity of the UK creative industries are the envy of the world and give the UK a creative influence out of all proportion to its size.
The UK creative industries are hugely influential globally, and leading UK creative figures – including fashion designers, film directors, writers and artists – are household names throughout the world.
From The Rolling Stones to Stella McCartney, Ken Shuttleworth to Danny Boyle and JK Rowling to Rockstar North, the UK’s ideas spread throughout the world.
The creative industries (excluding Crafts and Design) accounted for 6.2 per cent of UK Gross Value Added (GVA) in 2007. Exports of services by the UK’s creative industries totalled £16.6 billion in 2007 – equating to 4.5 per cent of all goods and services exported[1]
As a percentage of GDP, the UK has the largest creative industries sector in the world[2].
UK creativity has a distinctive mindset, with a powerful drive to challenge and innovate, and a reputation for maverick brilliance.
A rich seam of creativity is deeply embedded in UK culture, characterised by a strong belief in individuality and originality, a tendency to challenge and provoke, and an edgy, sometimes unsettling, brilliance – typified by talents such as Mark Wallinger and Banksy in the visual arts, Amy Winehouse and The Cribs in music and Walé Adeyemi in fashion.
Traditionally independent-minded, UK creative leaders challenge established ways of doing things and value novelty and innovation. The inventor of the World Wide Web, Sir Tim Berners-Lee, and designer of the iPod, Jonathan Ive, are both British.
UK creative practitioners push forward the boundaries and are particularly in demand in sectors where consumer tastes require constant product development. These include fashion; digital communications; and television and film. One example is the fast-developing gaming market, in which the UK has produced genre-defining, global blockbusters like Grand Theft Auto and Goldeneye 007.
The UK is a world leader in creative education and an effective incubator of creative talent, with a large number of internationally respected institutions in the creative arts.
The Somerset side of things
Within Somerset the Creative Industries play an important role to the Somerset way of life. stretching from our illuminated carnivals to new developments in film and computer gaming, Somerset’s creative centre is ….
[1] Creative Industries Economic Estimates Statistical Bulletin 2010, DCMS
