Make Space for Workshop: Skåne's creative places have been put on the map!
Skåne has over 70 creative workshops of various kinds. Together, they create a diverse ecosystem that responds to the many different needs of many audiences, from amateurs to creative entrepreneurs and researchers. Unfortunately, many workshops are dragged by resource problems, difficulty in reaching out and insufficient familiarity with each other. By strengthening cooperation and pooling resources and expertise, Skåne's creative sector can have a strengthened infrastructure. This is stated in the project “Make Space for the Workshop”, which has been carried out under the auspices of Lund University. Anneli Xie is the project manager and in collaboration with Birgitta Persson she has put Skåne's creative places on the map. Here are some conclusions from the project!
Finanisär
The starting point of the preliminary study Make Space for Workshop” was that all sectors, including cultural and creative industries (KKN), have a need for an infrastructure that helps them develop, innovate and become more entrepreneurial. It involves everything from physical spaces, tools and machines to skills and networks. It is also important to have access to entrepreneurial support, financing and scaling support.
Makerspaces, researchlabs, studios, workshops, creative workshops and more make up the infrastructure of the KKN sector. Access to these spaces, with their equipment and expertise, is fundamental for professionals in the creative sector to be able to successfully innovate, create, build and take the first steps in their production. Despite this need, access to these spaces is often limited, and in a research paper conducted by Kulturnavet Österlen In southern Sweden, 69 per cent of creators in the region listed creative workshops as something they need but to which they currently lack access.
Make Space for Workshop is a React-EU project led by Lund University It is funded by the Swedish Agency for Economic Development. In 2021, the project has surveyed and investigated the needs of different locations and laboratories in Skåne through forms and interviews. More than 70 creative workshops, ranging from recreational farms to FabLabs, as well as 38 test beds (14 of which are directly linked to cultural and creative industries) have been identified in Skåne. While most of these sites can be found clustered in Skåne's three largest cities: Malmö, Lund, and Helsingborg, it is also noteworthy that some of the very active creative workshops are located in cities and rural areas outside the main city centres.
Main results
The main findings of the mapping and initial research on the typology can be summarized as follows:
● There are many different types of creative workshops and labs, each with their own way of describing themselves. The typology of creative workshops is therefore extensive, ranging from leisure centres, artist collectives and creative hubs, to fablabs and prototype workshops.
● Together, they form a diverse ecosystem that caters to diverse needs and audiences, from amateurs to professionals and researchers. Depending on their mission and focus, they have different types of equipment, resources, service and availability.
● The creative workshops are largely organised as non-profit associations, but many workshops are also run by the academy or the municipality. The academy is aimed at researchers and students while municipalities largely focus on providing spaces and activities for young people.
When the leaders of the creative workshops describe needs, challenges and opportunities, they are quite in agreement.
● The economy and business model are constrained making the business vulnerable and long-term planning difficult. Many organizations depend on uncertain project funding from their municipality and users cannot pay market price to use the equipment.
● The creative workshops do not know each other, are not in the same network or are not even coordinated. There is a network organization at the national level, Makers of Sweden, with the goal of connecting all manufacturers and makerspaces in Sweden, but with a limited range of outreach and activities.
Initial analysis and conclusions
The conclusion of the project is that the existing ecosystem and infrastructure for creative workshops are fragmented and highly dependent on the persistence of engaged individuals. It is also evident that the various creative workshops and laboratories belong to different types of institutions and organizations in education, culture, industry, science and more. There is a lack of comprehensive policies, such as a regional KKN strategy, which would allow for a much more dynamic and efficient use and development of infrastructure.
In a situation where interdisciplinary innovation and development is in demand, a greater degree of coordination between the potential of workshops would make a big difference. If each lab and creative space would be aware of the available equipment and expertise in their region, they could better recommend to the creative professionals where to go. This would probably also lead to more collaboration and resource sharing, as well as new ideas, projects and business opportunities.
There is also a need for business development and consulting for many of the organizations so that they can become more sustainable. They also need support on how they can become more visible and accessible. This type of capacity building and training is also needed in a broader sense among creative professionals across the sector.
At the international level, there are several strong networks that support the exchange of knowledge, skills and that promote collaborative projects between its members. Examples of these are Fablab Network, European Creative Hubs and Trans Europe Halles. There is great potential to leverage their capacity building programmes and offerings.
In order for the regional innovation ecosystem within KKN to flourish, it is necessary to work much more comprehensively and connect all the resources within the ecosystem. The existing support structures for innovation and entrepreneurship, for example, are rarely linked to the creation of workshops and creative workshops, only to being co-working spaces.
It can also be added that new technologies combined with new types of consumption patterns can initiate a reindustrialization of Europe, an Industry 4.0, and build local production. This is one of the keys to creating sustainability.
