CSAD Illustration graduate, Ian Cooke Tapia who has also just completed his year in the School’s Graduate Incubation Unit, has been selected as one of the thirty international delegates taking art in Kick-Start: Cardiff, a conference organised by Visiting Arts to support creative entrepreneurs.
Ian, a writer and illustrator, has just launched Ffangai, an initiative with the aim of establishing a creative hub in Cardiff. According to Visiting Arts Cardiff the fastest growing city in the UK and is home to 2,788 creative companies/organisations and freelancers. Ian has identified that despite more creative spaces being launched, there is still a demand for studios and shared spaces where creatives can support each other as they establish their careers. Ian is currently looking for a space for Fangai and for potential residents so gaining a place on the Kick-Start: Cardiff programme is well timed to help him develop his entrepreneurial skills and share experiences with the other delegates.
Kick-Start: Cardiff is part of the Creative Tracks programme launched in 2016 which boasts a network of more than 2,200 creative and cultural entrepreneurs, associations and networks supporting culture and creative industries throughout the world. The project is co-funded by the EU and supported by Wallonie Bruxelles International and Shenzhen Design Week.
The Creative Industries sector is the fastest growing in Wales, employing more than 24,000 people and contributing around £465m to the Welsh economy. Around 84,000 people work in the creative economy in Wales. The Kick-Start: Cardiff open programme includes an Arts, Creative Industries and Law Seminar (18 October) and Creative Entrepreneurship Expert Panel Breakfast (19 October). For more details and to book your place at these events visit creativetracks.org/ visitingarts.org.uk.
