University launches multi-million pound Creative Manchester project

The University is investing £3.3m in a new project, Creative Manchester, which will help to support its ambitious strategic vision in the arts, cultural and creative industries locally, nationally and internationally.

The creative industry sector is one of the fastest growing in the UK, which accounts for over 5% of the UK’s economy and employs 2 million people. Creative Manchester builds on commitments made by the Government in the recent Industrial Strategy White Paper by providing an opportunity to develop exciting new courses such as Heritage Studies, which will attract the very best students with the brightest talent to the city.

This compliments the wide range of undergraduate and postgraduate courses and programmes available at the University centred on the creative industries, including Art Gallery and Museum Studies, Arts Management, Creative Writing, Drama, Music, Film Studies and Screenwriting.

Several new creative and cultural academic posts will also be created, which will support the new courses and the University’s ambitious research agenda. A key feature of the project will also be to develop collaborative partnerships to support growth in the creative sector.

The University has a strong history of investment in this area, and hosts an array of cultural institutes including the Whitworth and Manchester Museum, the John Rylands Research Institute, the Centre for New Writing, the Institute for Cultural Practices, Multilingual Manchester and Digital Humanities (bringing together digital experts from across the University). It also led the successful recent bid for Manchester to become a UNESCO City of Literature.

“Manchester is one of the great cultural cities. It is home to world-class galleries, stunning Victorian architecture and of course the bustling MediaCity UK, the site of some of the UK’s biggest broadcasters. This investment by The University of Manchester will further boost the city’s booming creative industries and generate a new talent pipeline in the heritage, arts and culture sector.” said, Michael Ellis MP, Minister for Arts, Heritage and Tourism.

“The University’s investment in Creative Manchester represents a fantastic opportunity for those studying or working in the creative industries, and more broadly, for audiences living in and visiting Manchester,” said John McGrath of Manchester International Festival. “The city has an innovative arts and culture scene, and I look forward to opportunities to collaborate with the University through Manchester International Festival (MIF) and The Factory.”

Professor Alessandro Schiesaro, Head of the School of Arts, Languages and Cultures, support this: “We are delighted to receive this funding – it is a huge recognition of the importance of the University’s contribution to the creative and cultural sector, and will enable us to recruit additional academic staff, host brand new courses and enhance our facilities. We are extremely excited about developing more partnerships and collaborations with business and cultural organisations, and to cultivating future generations to work in the ever-growing creative industries.”

The investment is part of a wider project to invest over £31m of University endowment funding in a range of initiatives which will deliver real benefits to students, staff and the wider public. In consultation with the Charity Commission, work has been ongoing to maximise the effectiveness and efficiency of our endowments, and to make it easier for the Board of Governors to see how this money was being spent.