This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Cities festival designed for success
04/02/2005
A new festival to promote Scotland's creative design at home and abroad and backed by £3 million of funding was launched today.
First Minister Jack McConnell said that the '6 Cities Festival' - beginning in 2007 - would involve major creative design exhibitions and events in each of Scotland's six cities.
Opening 'The Scottish Show' - a new exhibition of Scottish design at the Lighthouse in Glasgow - he said:
"Scotland is home to some of the most exciting creative designers working anywhere in the world.
"The breadth of their talent and the flair and innovation of their work has shown that Scotland has what it takes to compete with London, Milan and Scandinavia.
"An investment in creativity is an investment that will pay dividends. The creative industries support thousands of Scottish jobs and generate billions of pounds for our economy.
"If this festival can inspire young minds and show them what they can achieve, then its legacy will be a long lasting one. '6 Cities' is an event for all of Scotland.
"The challenge now is to make sure that we not only retain our existing talent, but that we attract others too. To not only compete with the world, but to do whatever we can to lead it.
"That is what '6 Cities' is all about. It will take Scottish design to a Scottish audience, but it will also show exactly what is happening in our country. It will be our advert to the design world."
Stuart MacDonald, Director of the Lighthouse, said:
"We are delighted to welcome the First Minister to open the Scottish Show as it comes home and we look forward to working with the Scottish Executive on the '6 Cities' project to ensure the continuing profile for the quality and diversity of Scottish design both at home and abroad."
The Scottish Show.s is an exhibition, initiated by the Lighthouse, which draws together a number of high quality designers operating in Scotland, following on from similar exhibitions held in London and Milan.
The designers exhibiting include:-
- Timorous Beasties: Specialising in fabrics, wallpapers, roller shades and interior products. They have been shortlisted for the UK Designer of the Year competition
- One Foot Taller: Product and interior design service also involved in furniture design and lighting
- Blue Marmalade: 'Green' furniture and product design company
- NORD: Innovative services within architecture, specialising in interior design, environmental/urban regeneration, furniture/product design gallery/exhibition design
- Slight: An events and exhibition design company
- Sooper Double D: Graphic design, illustration, interaction and animation
The creative industries and digital media sectors are a key part of Scotland's knowledge economy. Together they already support up to 100,000 jobs and generate more than £5 billion for the economy annually.
Scottish Enterprise expects this to grow by up to 30 per cent over the next three to five years - one of the fastest growing sectors of the economy.