In addition to enriching the city, art and the creative industry can also result in significant economic benefits. This is the main message of the panel ‘The Power of the Creative City: From Innovations to Global Recognition’ held at Lider’s 48 hours conference. As was heard in the introduction of the panel, creative cities are becoming key players in the development of urban communities around the world. This way of thinking is increasingly present in Croatia as well. In this context, it is worth recalling the Project Ilica: Q’art, and its most important features and how it came about were presented by Ivana Nikolić, co-author of this festival-action.
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The project was initiated by a theme that has been very important in recent years, namely abandoned spaces and unresolved property-legal relations in cities, said Nikolić. – There is also the syndrome of decay of historical city centers. We examined several experiences from foreign cities, such as Paris and Berlin, and how to transfer them to Zagreb. Therefore, we sought to obtain abandoned spaces in the short term – emphasized Nikolić. The Project Ilica: Q’art is now spreading to other neighborhoods in Zagreb. – We have managed to achieve a participatory model that enriches – added Nikolić.
An example of what the creative industry can do is the project ‘Filming in Croatia’. This is a program to encourage the filming of audiovisual works, such as films and series, in Croatia, where the Croatian Audiovisual Center (HAVC) allows a return of up to a quarter of the money invested in production, explained Tanja Ladović Blažević, head of the investment promotion department in HAVC. However, the criterion for the return is that the production budget amounts to at least 250 thousand euros. – So far, 139 projects have been filmed in Croatia, which have brought a total of 280 million euros to our country – claims Ladović Blažević.
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The city of Varaždin decided to seek economic benefits through music. After two unsuccessful attempts, Varaždin became a UNESCO Creative City of Music last year, succeeding after connecting with the Hungarian city of Veszprém, emphasized Mayor Neven Bosilj. Among neighboring cities, Sarajevo is a UNESCO Creative City of Film, and Ljubljana is a Creative City of Literature. Neven Bosilj points out that applying for this UNESCO status is quite demanding, and Varaždin is ready to share its experiences with cities that would like to join this group.
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– We are trying to spread this story, so starting next year, the music festival from Samobor will move to Varaždin, where it will be elevated to a higher level – emphasized Bosilj. As he added, at the University of North, it will be possible to study the field of film music. The economic potential of culture, art, and creative industries is illustrated by the fact that the creative industries sector, which has a total of 12 branches, is the third largest contributor to GDP at the global and European level and employs eight million people, emphasized Ivana Nikolić.
Concrete benefits have also been recorded by Croatia, especially its tourism due to the filming of ‘Game of Thrones’ at locations in Dubrovnik. Tanja Ladović Blažević reminded of scientific research that claims that ‘Game of Thrones’ resulted in a positive economic impact for Croatia of 400 million euros between 2012 and 2018. – In production budgets, typically 12 percent is spent on accommodation in hotels, which are thus filled outside the main season – claims Ladović Blažević.
Varaždin has engaged its artists and craftsmen, in addition to the well-known Špancirfest, now also for Advent. Mayor Bosilj claims that for this year’s Advent, 34 buses of visitors from neighboring countries have already been announced. – Advent in Varaždin is becoming a winter Špancirfest – concluded Bosilj.
