In this age of digitisation and an increasingly knowledge-based economy, the fast-growing industry creative and cultural industries will play a significant role in the future. The Saxons are well aware of that, and proud of their creative minds.
The sector has far-ranging roots in the state, receives varied funding and enjoys a positive reputation thanks to its high level of innovation and great potential for creating jobs and growth.
In mid-2017, an important step was taken to bolster it even further when the “Creative Saxony” initiative was set up. Ever since, with start-up financing from the Free State of Saxony, the Saxon Centre for the Cultural and Creative Industries has been a central point of contact for all stakeholders in the cultural and creative industries.
Culture has always been a gauge of social change. Thus, over recent decades, the creative industry in Saxony has not been immune to the gradual decline on the book market and in the press, caused by changing media habits. This is offset by enormous potential for growth in other areas, thanks to digital applications.
The creative industry in Saxony is optimistic about the future – a future that will be heavily influenced by digitisation.
The creative and cultural industries are economically stronger in Saxony than any other large east German rural district, occupying a midfield position by national comparison. In 2015, the sector accounted for 2.4 per cent of the federal state’s entire economic turnover. Every Saxon company in the cultural and creative sectors generates around €331,000 in annual sales, and the number of companies has risen significantly.
The urban cultural areas of Chemnitz, Leipzig and Dresden are developing particularly dynamically, but the cultural industry is also benefiting from this positive trend in areas outside these Saxon metropolises. The different profiles of Saxony’s cultural localities mean they are home to distinctly different sub-markets of the creative and cultural industries. While the cultural area of the Vogtland and Zwickau is a centre for musical instrument production, for example, the Ore Mountains and Central Saxony enjoy a far-reaching reputation as a location for handicrafts, in particular woodwork.
The cultural locality of Meißen/Saxon Switzerland/the eastern Ore Mountains is considered Saxony’s central manufacturing base for timepieces and porcelain. Meanwhile, Leipzig is dominated by the submarkets of design, software/games and advertising, and the book market is also influential. In Dresden, architecture and the software/games industry are exceptionally common, and yet other specialisations are pursued in Chemnitz and the cultural locality of Upper Lusatia/Lower Silesia.
The twelve subsectors of the Saxon creative and cultural industries have been funded since 2015 by the Saxon Regional Association for the Creative and Cultural Industries (LVKKW). Three sub-associations for Chemnitz, Dresden and Leipzig are committed to increasing the individual sectors’ and players’ visibility and networking. Their members also provide concrete support.
The creative and cultural industries are unmistakeably on course for growth.
“Creative Saxony”, the Saxon Centre for the Cultural and Creative Industries, is the first institution in Germany to be run by members of the sector it funds. Three sites in Chemnitz, Dresden and Leipzig act as central points of contact. From these locations, the seven members of staff work with creative workers and cultural operators throughout Saxony, plus players from business, education and politics.
