UK Creative Festival 2023 Highlights

Picture this: the sun is blistering off of the stones it's shining on. You approach Dreamland as the sea to your left opens up in a big blue swell of light (okay, there was what felt like a small monsoon at midday when most were having their fish and chips but we’ll let that one slide). Walking through the doors you’re met by a swarm of smiling faces, there to make everyone who sets foot inside feel welcome. Out back reveals swirls of rollercoasters and carousels, igniting familiar feelings of simpler, younger days. 

The hosts and speakers of most talks begin by describing what they’re wearing, their skin colour, height, age. You wonder what’s going on. Then a flash moment of recognition, “ah, they’re making sure those who are visually impaired are able to imagine the stage in their mind's eye." That’s a little anecdote that sums up the general vibe of the entire thing - it feels considered. Walking by a marquee you can hear speakers talking to young people about the power of neurodivergence in creativity. When you appear to have a lost look on your face, a nearby stranger spots it and shows you the way. 

Walking through the entry building, you hear a hum to your left. Upon investigation, you notice it's the massive roller rink where 20 years ago folks would have met for dates to skate around in circles hoping they wouldn’t lose their ankles. Today, it’s filled with stands hosted by smiling faces. It's so far removed from the career fair kinds of moments you have been dragged to in your youth. Inside there are industry leaders, eager to meet the creators of tomorrow who have taken the time to come down and ask, “hey, what do you do and how the hell do I do it?” 

If you're one of many already working within the industry, you might know what's what, and what's going on. Afterall, you’ve been to many festivals, and plenty of awards. But here, you're struck with a feeling of newness. Of wholeness, of roundness. We know the Creative Circle funds the Creative Foundation, which supports young people getting into the industry - especially those who come from underprivileged backgrounds. Anyone who has been to an award show knows that it's quite professional in a lot of ways and you are there brushing shoulders with the best of the best. The difference with the UK Creative Festival is that whilst the best of the best are watching the best of the best give talks, salt and peppered in the crowds are young people bursting at the damn seams with desire to learn - to have a turn of the magic key that unlocks an otherwise closed-off and aloof industry. 

The lines between “am” and “could be” became blurred in the most beautiful way. Here’s what that looked like:

The talks are held in three locations across the venue. 

Hall by the Sea 

Characteristics - Massive. Tall domed ceiling, the height of the inside of a cathedral. Beams covered in lights. Big stage with two sofas; navy and mustard, with plants on either side, creating a living room feel. Long bar along the sides. 

Dodgems

There’s an oval track with metal floors, covered in granite. The ceilings are so low that you worry if some of the taller speakers might bash their head. There are rows of beach chairs that make you feel silly to sit in because they’re so low. You can’t sit up straight and are forced into a deep slump. The sides are lined with dodgem cars which grown adults sit in with long legs forcing high knees listening to talks. 

The Ballroom 

The most normal of the lot. Everything flooded with the colour white, ceiling with panels. There’s a built stage that looks industrial. More plants on the sides. Speakers are sat in ‘S’ shaped chairs. 

Themes: Headliners. Artificial Intelligence. Reinvent the wheel.

Tracy Emin & Russel Tovey

The headliners this year really made for some cracking listening. The infamous British artist, Tracey Emin, known for her autobiographical, confessional work, took to the stage alongside her friend and esteemed actor, Russell Tovey.  Russell had the task of interviewing Tracey and did so in a way that had the audience hanging on her every word. Her conversational tone had us feeling like we were being talked to, rather than at. It was as if she was having a 1:1 conversation with every member of the audience. She gave an account of her journey which at times had us swallowing lumps in our throats. 

She was wearing a fine gold chain and matching earrings, hair tied back in a high ponytail, as she told us about her Turkish Cypriot father who took the family to Margate when Tracey was young to open a hotel. After falling on hard times, they squatted whilst her mother worked in the kinds of hotels that her family previously owned. She reminisced about being a talented runner, who everyday would sprint to beat the bus in order to get to school on time. Often, on the days she didn’t win the race with the bus, she’d be scolded for arriving to school late. She recalled with the kind of fury that had a tinge of sadness, how teachers would notice she was late, but fail to notice her unwashed shirt, the stench of her breath from not having brushed her teeth, and the fact she was wearing no socks. All of these, painful signs that she didn’t have a mother at home. Art class was always an escape for her; a place where school felt like play. 

After meeting some punks whilst working her part-time job scraping dinner scraps into bins, the world opened up before her eyes - there was more to this world than she had thought, and she couldn’t wait to see it. After heading to London she studied print before getting into the Royal College of Art to get to grips with painting. They asked her in the interview why she wanted to attend the college; “Because I want to learn how to paint” she said, with the kind of honest candour that seems typical of her. And learn to paint, she did. She tells us how her years at RCA were some of the most difficult of her life; acting always as a painful reminder of how poor she was at the time. The best metaphor she could use to describe the fact was a particular colour of paint - costing a sharp £16 per tube. Others were able to walk into a store and buy it, then squirt it freely, whilst she would spend a full day learning how to mix that particular shade of pink. 

It’s the hardship she’s experienced that has made her the philanthropic individual she is today. Current endeavours include the Trainee Kitchen - a place in Margate working in collaboration with local restaurants to train young chefs. She’s also in the process of buying multiple flats in the area and renovating them, so as to rent them out to young creatives at an affordable price. “I think the government should be ashamed of themselves” she says; and what follows from the crowd is a thunderous applause upheld by cheers and whistles. 

Russell in his final question asks, “Are you proud of what you’ve achieved?”

She replies, “I ain’t finished yet.”

Henry Holland 

Henry Holland gained his fame as a fashion designer turned ceramicist. He crafted the awards for the festival, creating beautiful structures that can be repurposed as vases so as to avoid sitting gathering dust on shelves. They are styled in his signature Nerikomi technique and can be collected to form a full circle, representing the Creative Circle itself. After being asked to create the awards for the show, he spoke in conversation with friend and editor at Red Magazine, Sarah Tomczak. The pair bounced off of one another in the way you would expect old friends to. Henry’s colourful shirt and loud trainers are outward representations of a matching bright personality. His northern accent means you trust him instantly - and of course, he has you cackling within minutes. His unusual journey and commitment to authenticity is something to be admired. We’re going to be doing a deep dive into this in our next piece. So watch this space. We promise it’s a good’un. 

Artificial Intelligence

If you thought you were making it through this article without AI being mentioned, you’re very wrong. Every conversation referenced this topic in one way or another, even when you didn’t think it was relevant. It turns out, it's always relevant. 

Generative AI was at the forefront, and to be honest, most speakers were of the same opinion - generative AI for the purpose of creativity, is a really good thing. We’re told about how creatives are already utilising ChatGPT and MidJourney to speed up processes and ignite new ideas. 

What was really interesting however, was the conversation around “Prompting”. Prompting is the process of speaking to the AI model in order to request specific results. What we didn’t know, is that prompting itself is on its way to becoming its own skill. Maybe even a career. Dentsu creative told us that they are currently implementing a ‘Prompt Academy’ in order to train individuals on the craft. We were told how creative output will never be null and void. Rebecca Rowntree, creative director at Leo Burnett, spoke about how two individuals can have the same brief, and yet depending on how they've prompted MidJourney, for example, will generate two completely different results. The creativity is still there- it exists from the moment of input and thus will forever exist in the output. 

The expected conversation about AI stealing jobs was touched upon too. But there was a resounding agreement, initiated by Dentsu’s Alex Hamilton, that is - AI will not steal your job, but the person who knows how to use it might. One point the panels were sure to mention was the importance of recognising that AI is not inherently bad, but what we feed it might be. After all, it works on the basis of human input, which is often flawed. There is a real rush to ensure that what we are informing the machine is sound enough to prevent unwanted results which can reflect the worst parts of society. 

Speaking to the legal issues, Sheridans’ Jamie Smith spoke about issues of intellectual property. The legal world is facing a whole new set of complexities that it hasn’t faced before; as a result, the law is learning as it goes. Worries about lawsuits are at the forefront of creative minds at this moment in time - something exemplified in Adobe saying it’ll cover legal bills for any legal problems faced by users of its centralised AI tool. The fact that there is no real legal ownership over AI generated content however, leaves creatives in the sort of limbo that can feel uncomfortable to lean into.

Reinvent the Wheel 

This theme was one of the most prominent of all. It fits in nicely with the overarching purpose of this year's festival which was to assist with the progression of young creatives. Within the industry, things have been done the same way for a long old time. With talks like “F*uck it, We’ll Create It Ourselves” and “F*ck the System” there was a tangible undertone of being in a moment of renaissance. The main barrier that seems to be visible  is not only access, but lack of knowledge. Young people don’t know what options are available and the plethora of roles that they could avail of. Creation of short form content is quickly becoming as important as long form. Gone are the days of having to follow traditional routes. TikTokers are now wearing hats of director, EP, producer, sound designer - and that’s only scratching the surface. The lines are blurring in the sense that there is no longer one set approach. When the old stuff stops working, which our speakers agree that it has, we need to say “F*ck it, we’ll create it ourselves.” In a society that loves to pigeon hole people into specific roles, we need to let go of what has been and be aware of the significance of wearing multiple hats. “You can be multi-hyphenated” Shiva Raichandani tells us. 

There was also a strong focus on the question of whether or not creative industries are remaining too silent on issues they should be speaking out about. We shouldn’t be relying on the government to fix the problems that we as a society are facing - the creative industry has such broad-reaching powers that could be tapped into to inform societal outcomes and progression. The show Will and Grace, few know, was actually one of the main contributors to breaking down prejudices within society towards the LGBT community - it changed hearts and minds in ways that in turn changed legislation. There is so much that can be achieved, if only we choose to see the influence that we have. That’s how we, “F*ck the System”.