Creative Industries

Nottingham is a city with creativity at it's core. Well known during the industrial revolution for its lace-making industry the city is now better known for 20th century design icons Speedo, Raleigh, Paul Smith and more recently Games Workshop and software developer Serif.

Nottingham's two universities are creating thousands of talented graduates each year, with Nottingham Trent University alumni including Turner Prize and British Fashion Council Award winners. Elsewhere in the city, Nottingham's former fashion centre building has recently been transformed into Antenna, a Digital Media Technology Centre, to bolster the city's stake in the creative industries and as a leading Science City in the UK.

The city is home to many creative industry centres such as Lakeside Arts Centre and the exciting new Nottingham Contemporary; one of the largest contemporary art galleries in England which opened in November 2009.

Nottingham was proud to host the UK's international interactive entertainment festival Gamecity in October last year and is hosting other events around the city in 2010. These events explore videogames in new ways and celebrate them as a key part to today's modern culture.

The vibrant Broadway Media Centre provides an important platform for businesses to grow. It is one of many essential hubs for networking and support for the creative talents. It also provides production, exhibition and training facilities for film and digital media as well as incubation space for creative individuals to start their own media enterprises and is where International Film Director Shane Meadows started his career.

Nottingham is also the home town of world-renowned fashion designer Sir Paul Smith, who has his flagship store in the city as well as lending his name to the Sir Paul Smith Auditorium in the Broadway Media Centre.

"Obviously I am biased about my home town being full of interesting and creative things, but I think it is helped by the Nottingham and Trent universities which means that we have got a lot of young people and young ideas flowing through the city constantly. Plus we have the Broadway cinema, for instance, which has been established for many years but always kept it's interest in artistic films and never over commercialised it's approach to cinema." - Sir Paul Smith

Nottingham Creative Industries pioneers
  • Sir Paul Smith
  • Wolfgang and Heron
  • Shane Meadows
  • Jon Burgerman
  • Phillip Watts Design
  • Lief Design/Medessin
  • Davenports Cabinet Works
  • Eternal Spirits
  • Casciani Evans Wood
Key contact
Project Manager, Creative Industries / Retail & Leisure
james@investinnottingham.co.uk
+ 44 (0)115 915 5382