Accelerating the Creative Industries
The Creative Industries Network is dedicated to the growth of Pittsburgh's specific creative technology-related capabilities. The network focuses on the region's seven core creative industries: design, fine arts, software/hardware, communications, entertainment, data science and industry support services.
MISSION To foster, connect and sustain emergent intersections of creativity and industry.
PURPOSE To serve as a collaborative hub that ignites creativity and innovation, enhances interconnectivity and provides opportunity for creative, cultural transformation.
The Creative Industries Network originated in 2008, as the Art + Technology Initiative, to unite and cultivate the creative and technology communities in the Pittsburgh region, and beyond. Founded on the idea that creativity and technology share the fundamental characteristic of innovation, as well as a synergy at the forefront of cultural progression, the network is a thriving community that feeds the region's creative and economic ecosystems.
IDEate. INNOVate. INTEGRate: Art + Technology Explorations
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Network Programs
The Creative Industries Network provides regional creatives with business development events, educational workshops, partnership & collaboration links, and opportunities for national engagement.
Creative Clash Mixers One of our most popular nights out, the Creative Clash Mixers are fun at the intersection of Art and Technology. We hang out at some of the coolest spots in the city and make friends to the backdrop of innovation. Popular mixer venues have been Techshop, the Carnegie Museum of Art, The Andy Warhol Museum, The Mattress Factory, ASSEMBLE, Wigle Whiskey, Woodstreet Galleries, SPACE and The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre.
CMO Insights: Marketing Innovation Series This series focuses on the region's top marketing leaders, and what they are doing to keep their companies ahead of the curve. Presented in partnership with the Pittsburgh Advertising Federation, this educational and inspiring series features top industry leaders and CMOs who share their knowledge and experience on the latest marketing and technology trends. Featured companies have included: PPG, Giant Eagle, Dicks Sporting Goods, BRUNNER, Mullen, 4Moms, MARC USA, Vector Security, Dollar Bank, Schell Games, Covestro.
DIY Workshops In these hands-on workshops, creatives and enterpreneurs learn from industry experts with the latest strategies for business growth. These workshops are designed to empower individuals to take ownership of their success with insider tips and secrets from some of the most successful thought-leaders around. Workshop expert topics include Google, SEO, Social Media, PR, Marketing, Web Analytics and Advertising...and much more.
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Research
Creativity and Innovation is Here. Inclusion, Innovation and Integrative Design: Pittsburgh's Creative Clusters
It’s no secret that Pittsburgh’s creative economy is rich with potential. In 2014, the Pittsburgh Technology Council and Carnegie Mellon University set out to discover the realities of the region’s creative assets, and what it takes do to elevate them to the next level. Partnering with the University of Toronto’s Martin Prosperity Group and Echo Strategies, world-wide leaders in creative economy research, the PTC launched an in-depth study of regional companies, organizations and individuals who are contributing to the region’s creative growth and innovation.
The study focused on the seven key creative sectors in Pittsburgh’s 8-county region: design, communications, entertainment, fine art, data science, software and hardware, and creative industry support services.
Click the link below to download the full version of the 2014 Pittsburgh Creative Industries Report:
Pittsburgh Creative Industries FINAL REPORT
Click the link below to download the 2016 follow-up report, The 2016 Pittsburgh Regional Asset Map and Live/Work Study:
COMING SOON
THE CREATIVE CLUSTERS, including the seven key meta-clusters: 
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History
2009-2014: DATA: The Design, Art and Technology Awards + the 15 Minutes Gallery
The Art + Tech Initiative kicked off with a bang in 2008 with the first-ever Design, Art + Technology Awards at the 15 Minutes Gallery— the Tech Council's innovation art space. Nearly breaking fire code, and featuring over 75 artists and technologists, DATA became the foundational element of the Art + Technology Initiative. The event has been hosted by scads of cool people, including: Pop Artist, Burton Morris; Cirque du Soleil; Will Wright, creator of The Sims video game series; J Moses, founder of WeChi Social Media and former President of BMG Interactive and MTV Russia, Chip Walter, CNN Bureau Chief and Author of Last Ape Standing, career guru and blogger Penelope Trunk, and co-founder of YXYY, Willo O'Brien. In 2015, DATA 2.0 has emerged as the CREATE Festival, a three day gathering for innovative creatives, part of the Dollar Bank Three Rivers Arts Festival.
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2011-12: The Pittsburgh Entertainment Technology Project
From 2010-2012, due to a flourishing Hollywood presence in Pittsburgh, the Pittsburgh Technology Council partnered with Carnegie Mellon University’s Entertainment Technology Center, the Pittsburgh Film Office, and Idea Foundry as a resource for connecting Pittsburgh innovation to the Hollywood pipeline. The project connected companies to numerous Hollywood producers and box office hits.
2013: SXSW: Innovation City
Pittsburgh's recent presence at Austin’s SXSW Interactive was a collaboration with Carnegie Mellon University called Innovation City, an official SXSW event that featured a night of night of futuristic tech, innovative robotics, cutting-edge startups and ubergeek DJs. With a line around the block, it was quite a party!
2012-Present: Creative Clash -- The Creative Industries Network
In 2012, the PTC launched partnered with the Carnegie Museum of Art to host the Creative Clash!, the launch of the first-ever Creative Technology Network — consisting of a dedicated program of events, educational workshops, visibility initiatives and business development/investment opportunities for companies, artists and organizations working at the intersection of creativity and technology.
2014: The Art of Technology @ Currents, Santa Fe International New Media Arts Festival
Pittsburgh headed to Santa Fe in June of 2014 to lead a panel discussion on the new era of interactive creativity. Participants included representatives from the Pittsburgh Technology Council, The Carnegie Museum of Art, The Andy Warhol Museum, Carnegie Mellon University, Dollar Bank and the Benedum Foundation. Pittsburgh Artist Sandy Kessler Kaminski's work was featured throughout the two week festival, showcasing the best art and tech works around the globe.
2015: CREATE FESTIVAL - National Art + Technology Festival, Part of the Collar Bank Three Rivers Arts Festival
CREATE is Pittsburgh's signature creative industries festival. It features a full day of workshops, talks and interactive activities, including the Innovation Salon art exhibition and capped off by the CREATEFest party in the evening. With over 1000 attendees, CREATE 2015 hosted nearly 300 creatives from over 35 cities around the country, in addition to the several hundred regional artists, presenters and attendees native to the Pittsburgh region.
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Contact
For more information on The Creative Industries Network
contact Shelby Mastovich @ 412.918.4244 or smastovich@pghtech.org.
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Header and sidebar artwork created by Sandi Kessler Kaminski, Kessler Studios, Pittsburgh, PA
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Copyright © 2014 Pittsburgh Technology Council. All rights reserved.