Colin, Creative Organisations Linked in Networks, is a network organisation for the creative industries initiated by NHTV, Breda University of Applied Sciences.
Colin's aim is to advise entrepreneurs in the creative sector, to organise informational and inspiring activities and events and to bring people together.
Colin makes networks visible, stimulates (starting) creative entrepreneurs and gets engaged in an exchange of knowledge between government, business and education. By means of projects, workshops and toolkits Colin inspires, connects and informs creative networks.
Colin's aim is to foster an inspiring collaboration that can bring about the further development and professionalization of the creative industries in Breda and Tilburg.
The overarching objective of Colin is to bridge culture and economy in a creative and inspiring way.
As a learning company of NHTV, Colin offers students the possibility to obtain practical experience in the heart of the creative sector as well as to expand their knowledge, competencies and networks.
Concretely, Colin tries to achieve its aims in the following ways:
The up-to-date website contains news, newspaper articles and reports from events and from research done in the creative sector.
Colin's online agenda promotes interesting and relevant activities for creative entrepreneurs.
In addition, valuable instructions, toolkits and reading tips offer much inspiration and knowledge to the creative professionals.
Besides being an important source of information, the website also functions as a platform.
The creative entrepreneurs can register themselves for the virtual network where they can present themselves by uploading their portfolios.
|
Network activities, workshops and events read more
On a regular basis, Colin organises activities and events centred on the exchange of knowledge and the meeting of creative partners. These activities vary in terms of their themes and their targeted audience. As such, there are four types of activities organised by Colin: workshops, inspiration events, portfolio presentations and creative marketplace. All activities take place in an inspiring environment that fits the concept being used.
Workshops
Workshops deal with the professionalization of entrepreneurship. They are organised around diverse professional challenges that the creative entrepreneurs encounter in their work. Colin organises workshops on topics such as intellectual property, financing, ways of dealing with client relations, presenting and networking, visions and strategies etc.
These workshops offer creative entrepreneurs the opportunity to obtain information and advice or feedback on the more practical side of their creative work. Via this, their entrepreneurial skills are enhanced. In an informal setting, professionals from the business sector share their practical knowledge and insights in the field of entrepreneurship. Workshops are smaller events aiming at 20 to 40 participants per event.
Inspiration events
Inspiration events are organised around the latest developments in the creative industry and provide information and inspiration for professionals dealing with the creative industries. The events are attended by people from different sectors (cultural, political or economical), who bring their own visions and ideas on the particular aspect discussed. An example of these inspiration events is Tape it or Leave it!, where the possibilities and advantages of using digitalisation as a marketing tool in the performing arts were discussed. Other inspiration events dealt with the opportunities of Second Life, the possibilities of using gaming in communication strategies, social design and customer loyalty in theatres. In general, these inspiration events attract around 50 to 100 participants.
Portfolio presentations
The aim of portfolio presentations is to offer the creative entrepreneurs a platform to present themselves and their work to their fellow creative colleagues but also to the business sector and other parties involved in the creative sector. The value of these presentations is that they provide the opportunity for creative entrepreneurs to meet and learn from each other, to discuss their work and to broaden their networks. These networks are in many cases the starting points for new collaborations and new project initiatives.
An example of this type of meetings is My Artistic Slideshow, or abbreviated: My ASS. In collaboration with partners Colin offers 15 creative entrepreneurs a stage to present themselves via a slide show of 15 slides where each slide stays on the screen for 15 seconds. Besides learning how to present themselves, creative professionals enlarge their network. My ASS shows the state of the art of the creative sector to the public, inspires the public, and fosters new collaborations. My Artistic Slideshow attracts around 60 to 90 people.
Creative marketplaces
Creative marketplaces are the largest type of events organised by Colin. It is attended by both starting and established cultural entrepreneurs, by businessmen, social organisations, and politicians from the local and regional government. The aim of these creative marketplaces is to bring the different sectors together, to offer a platform for exchange of knowledge and experiences and to foster the initiation of new networks. Creative marketplaces are composed of diverse activities such as best case presentations, speed and slow dates and brainstorm sessions. The power of the creative marketplaces can be seen in these brainstorm sessions in which the variety of the audience form think thanks with one another to discuss a current issue, question or challenge. Such sessions stimulate the participants to think outside the box, learn from each other's professional experience and bring about creative solutions to the problem or aspect discussed. Creative marketplaces are important meetings for broadening one's professional network and for fostering future partnerships between the various sectors present. Each time, these meetings attract 100 to 150 participants.
|
At Colin, knowledge and content are central. That is why Colin has its own research department that can contribute to the professionalization of the creative sector. By means of its own magazine, Uncover, and the diverse research reports published on the website, Colin contributes to the distribution of knowledge among those involved and interested in the creative sector.
In order to contribute to the exchange of knowledge between government, entrepreneurs and education, Colin conducts research on diverse topics within the creative sector. As such, there are three types of research projects carried out. First, professional research conducted by NHTV professionals and students that are part of Colin's team. In 2008-2009, research has been conducted on the possibilities and advantages of addressing urban social problems from the perspective of the creative sector. A second form of research within Colin is academic research which is conducted by master students Leisure Studies en Urban Geography. Here, various aspects of the creative sector are addressed theoretically, such as cross-sectoral collaboration and factors influencing the location decisions of creative industries. Project group research conducted by 4th year students of NHTV is a third type of research. Each year new projects are being formulated.
Colin interviews creative entrepreneurs as well as other important parties involved in the creative sphere of the city, such as policymakers, project developers, housing corporations and NGO's. The research results obtained by the Colin team appear as articles on the website, in the Uncover magazine and in professional journals. In addition, they are also used as a starting point for various workshops and events organised by Colin, in which themes and trends identified during research are discussed with the participants. Moreover, the research results also form the basis for toolkits for the creative entrepreneurs. Furthermore, it provides up-to-date content for the Management of Creative Industries courses of the Leisure Management curriculum.
|
The Uncover magazine is written by Colin's team members and comes out once a year. It presents an overview of the research conducted within Colin, providing insights into current developments in the creative industry. It analyses creative sectors and provide inspiration by describing best cases and interviews with artists, policy makers, economical and social parties.
So far, Colin published two editions of the Uncover magazine. Uncover 1 was centred around the theme of cultural clusters. How do these creative hotspots function? Which collaborations are formed? How do the clusters function? Several cultural clusters were visited and analysed (a.o. Custard Factory Birmingham, Winkelhaak Antwerp, Richmond 401 Toronto, Zollverein Essen, Veemarktkwartier Tilburg and Triple O campus Breda). Unfortunately, this magazine is only available in Dutch. Uncover 2 is titled connected. In this edition, research on factors influencing the location decisions of creative industries was presented. Furthermore, it also contains articles on several cultural sectors (a.o. gaming, theatre, graphic design, popmusic, textile). Uncover 2 is available in both Dutch and English. ou can download an English pdf version of Uncover 2 by clicking here. The third edition of Uncover, called People, will be available from July 2009 onwards. In this edition, the authors address and analyse the possibilities of using the creative sector to respond to various social issues such as social cohesion and integration, empowerment of groups and neighbourhood development.
|
Colin's partners come from diverse sectors, from education, politics and business. Colin is initiated by NHTV, Breda University of Applied Sciences. NHTV collaborates closely with Colin on diverse research projects and on organising particular events for the creative sector. In addition, Colin offers the possibility for NHTV students to do their internships at Colin, to gain practical experience and to expand their professional networks. Colin is also working in close partnership with Tilburg University. The collaboration is materialised in projects in which Colin and Tilburg University get involved. Also for the students of Tilburg University, particularly those studying Leisure Studies, Colin provides the opportunity to obtain practical knowledge in the creative sector. Similarly, Colin is also collaborating with Avans University of Applied Sciences.
Besides these educational institutions, Colin collaborates as well with professionally oriented organisations. These are: Syntens (part of the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs), Chamber of Commerce, real estate developer Red Concepts, Foundation Veemarktkwartier, Collabor8, Starterslift Creatief. Furthermore, Colin collaborates with several cultural institutions and organisations in Tilburg and Breda.
Colin is financially supported by the Municipalities of Breda and Tilburg and by NHTV.
|
Colin is created for and by the creative industries and therefore it maintains an accessible and informal character. Everybody who is involved in the creative industries can call on Colin. Please feel free to contact us for information or advice or to tell us your suggestions. Our e-mail address is:
