Heritage Alliance Releases New Report
Published: 17/09/2019
Inspiring Creativity, Heritage & The Creative Industries
The Heritage Alliance releases new report demonstrating the importance of heritage organisations, buildings and places in underpinning the creative industries.
The Heritage Alliance, England’s largest coalition of heritage interests, has published an original report on the independent heritage sector’s relationship with the creative industries. The Inspiring Creativity, Heritage & The Creative Industries report, sponsored by The National Trust, Moment Factory and Kinver Business Solutions, and written by researcher Hannah Shimko, makes recommendations for building on the collaborative effort of the creative industries and heritage sectors to continue their fruitful partnership. This is an exciting contribution to the advocacy of the heritage sector in the UK.
The Heritage Alliance will be launching the Inspiring Creativity, Heritage & The Creative Industries report at The Ragged School Museum in London on 17 September, from 3-5pm.
The report showcases a whole host of creative and successful collaborations and demonstrates just how important heritage and the creative industries are to cultural identity and place-shaping in the UK, particularly in the face of Brexit uncertainty. Peter Ainsworth, Chair of The Heritage Alliance said: “Historic places or objects are not just a decorative incidental backdrop to contemporary creative work, in each case they are integral to the whole enterprise”. Heritage is by no means monolithic.
“There is no Downton without Highclere and no Poldark without the Mines. Heritage is our great national asset and an integral part of ‘Brand Britain’”, Lizzie Glithero-West, Chief Executive of The Heritage Alliance, has suggested, continuing that now is the time “to consider the bedrock – the muse, the backdrop and the arenas of such activity”. The importance of heritage is greater than ever.
Helen Whately, Minister for Arts, Heritage and Tourism, said: “Both our awe-inspiring heritage sites and our spectacular creative industries play a pivotal role in defining how the rest of the world sees us. This report contains some inspiring examples of how these sectors can thrive by working together more closely. This is something I’d love to see more of as it can be instrumental in helping those organisations and businesses involved realise their true potential”. Her support is no doubt shared by many.
England’s heritage directly generates at least £13.1 billion in gross value added (GVA) and indirectly generates 2% of national GVA (£29 billion). This is more than the agriculture and aerospace sectors combined. Heritage jobs account for 1% of total national employment and the sector underpins other crucial and growing industries such as the creative industries, as covered in the report, which evidence shows thrive better in old buildings and areas. Our heritage is our future. It breathes life into our towns, cities and countryside, creating places that people want to live and invest in. It tells our nation’s stories and supports social cohesion, pride in place, learning, identity and wellbeing.
The Inspiring Creativity, Heritage & The Creative Industries report highlights the breadth of innovative projects that heritage organisations are delivering with creative industries partners, ultimately making the UK a more exciting, engaging and inspiring place to live, work and visit.
Kate Mavor, Chief Executive of English Heritage, highlighted: “This report shows these links are stronger than ever and I am proud of the way our industries are working together to create a richer artistic and cultural environment”. Through a series of case studies from The Heritage Alliance members and some affiliated projects, this report demonstrates the best that can emerge from effective and supported partnerships between these two sectors. Despite the potential challenges and pressures faced when working together, such as securing funding, we see the delivery of groundbreaking cultural experiences that engage the public in novel and exciting ways.
The report’s recommendations are a starting point for Government, funding bodies and policymakers in the ongoing mission of The Heritage Alliance to advocate for the role of the heritage sector in the success and economic impact of the creative industries. Louise Stewart, CEO of the Alexandra Park and Palace Charitable Trust, outlined: “This Heritage Alliance report rightly promotes the relevance of heritage in today’s society and economy” as a “symbiotic relationship” between the sectors.
The Heritage Alliance’s Inspiring Creativity, Heritage & The Creative Industries report outlines 6 sets of recommendations to consider:
• The need for improvement in communication between and within both sectors achieved through training, symposia and best practice guidelines;
• Improvements in evaluation techniques, and effective advocacy of the impact of creative heritage projects;
• Capacity building programmes and opportunities for heritage organisations and creative practitioners to come together and learn the skills they need to improve their relationships;
• Recognition of the lack of funding capacity for creative heritage projects which can be addressed through changes to funding guidelines;
• Both a community-level focus on challenging stereotypes and welcoming new audiences, and a national and global level focus on the positive role of creative heritage projects in placemaking, broadening engagement, accessibility and diversity of the creative and heritage sectors;
• Related wider recommendations including, a future immigration and visa regime that works for heritage and creative practitioners, clear planning policy guidelines and improvements to rural transportation.
