Creative Estuary has launched a free online business directory to help individuals working in the creative industries to showcase their work. The directory is instrumental to the growth of the sector in the South East.
The ambition of Creative Estuary is to transform the Thames Estuary into one of the most exciting cultural hubs in the world.
Their online business directory, which is free to join, will help to raise the profile of talented workers, creative businesses and creative industry supply chain businesses located in North Kent, South Essex and East London.
Brian Warrens, Director of The Backstage Centre in Purfleet-on-Thames, says the directory will help to tackle the biggest challenge facing the sector.
He said: “The biggest issue we are facing as an industry is that so many people are independent workers or small companies who have a limited visibility and capacity to network.
“This directory will make it easier for Estuary businesses to understand the depth and breadth of creative businesses on their doorstep. We’re keen to work with local partners and companies as part of our supply chain. For us, it’s completely about the connection with what we have already identified as a number of organisations that sit within the footprint of the Estuary.
Emma Wilcox, Creative Estuary Project Director, said: “With more than 16,000 businesses supporting over 46,000 jobs and with significant headroom for growth, the creative and cultural production industry has grown rapidly in recent years. Not only will the online business directory provide a go-to place for anyone working in the industry, it will also showcase the breadth of creative businesses and talent in the region revealing the Thames Estuary as a world-leading hub of creative excellence.
“We invite anyone working in the sector to sign up and be part of something bigger. By using this directory and connecting with one another, together they will be part of the Estuary’s future.”
Creative Estuary is part of the Thames Estuary Production Corridor, which has the potential to double the size of the production sector across the Estuary, supporting the delivery of more than 50,000 new jobs and creating additional economic output (GVA) of more than £3.7bn per annum. Employment creation at this level will firmly embed the Thames Estuary as the UK’s largest concentration of creative and cultural production activity. In doing so, it will help deliver the UK’s Industrial Strategy.
Businesses interested in signing-up to become a Creative Estuary Business should visit https://www.creativeestuary.com/estuary-businesses.
