Get creative at XPO North event
XPO North is the industry network that supports people in the creative industries across the Highlands and Islands. Following on from the success of the XPO North Festival held in Inverness, the Xpo North team has created a unique ‘mini festival’ for Argyll Enterprise Week on Friday November 4 at Kinetic Studios in Oban. This fantastic event will bring together creative industry experts from the field of textiles, writing, design, publishing, screen, broadcast, craft, gaming and music. The eight sessions on offer are all free and open to anyone who has a creative passion. Go to argyllenterpriseweekxponorthontheroad.eventbrite.co.uk for further information and to book. To find out how Creative Scotland can help businesses, join Helena Ward, creative industries manager at Creative Scotland, at a presentation on its new creative industries strategy. There will also be an informative session around the creative journey of award-winning contemporary jeweller Melanie Muir. This is aimed at craft people or people working in textiles and addresses some of the challenges of running a business in a rural location. There will also be experts from the Glasgow School of Art who will be informing participants on how designers can apply their skills to provide services to non-creative businesses. There is a strong emphasis on the music industry with specialists on hand from PRS for Music who will deliver a broad overview of digital licensing and what this means for music users and copyright owners. For those interested in using music on projects then the ‘Music placement across multimedia’ is a must, offering a practical perspective on how music supervision works across the TV, film, advertising and gaming sectors. For budding writers, there are sessions on how to raise money through crowdfunding and the self-publishing options available, plus an insight into writing for children from award-winning writer Barry Hutchison and innovative publisher Lorna Freytag. The BBC also has a presence and will introduce ‘The Social’, which is a digital content stream which showcases work from creative people from all over Scotland, including poets, comedians, adventurers and many new talents. Learn about how to get involved in this virtual community and the BBC’s social media strategy. Speakers throughout the day include industry experts from Think Sync Music, singer/songwriter Joe McAlinden, as well as the opportunity to have one-to-ones with creative industry experts.