An innovative partnership between arts institutions, creative businesses and universities in Europe's next City of Culture has been praised by the Chief Executive of Creative & Cultural Skills.
Speaking at the launch of Liverpool's new Culture Campus, Tom Bewick said the initiative would bring education and employers closer together and help to further boost Liverpool's status as a centre of culture and creative enterprise.
Culture Campus is a collaboration between the University of Liverpool, LJMU (Liverpool John Moores University), the Liverpool Biennial, the creative commissioning agency FACT and Tate Liverpool. Its purpose is to create and develop opportunities for under graduates and post-graduate students, graduates and others in the visual arts and contemporary culture; attracting and retaining creative talent and enabling Liverpool to thrive.
"As an employer-led body, an important part of the work of Creative & Cultural Skills is to ensure that colleges and universities are responsive to the needs of our industries and actively preparing graduates for careers in a vibrant and rapidly growing sector," says Tom Bewick. "One particularly impressive aspect of the Culture Campus is that it sees two universities joining forces to deliver benefits to the city they serve."
"The Culture Campus is a fitting adornment to Liverpool's creative and cultural infrastructure as the city prepares to become European Capital of Culture in 2008. It's also something that other UK cities seeking to develop a critical mass of creative enterprises may wish to take note of".
Tom Bewick applauds Liverpool's new Culture Campus