GMIT has welcomed an Enterprise Ireland grant of €2.7m from the Regional Enterprise Development Fund (REDF ) for the Comhoibriú CLG ‘Creative Enterprise West’ (CREW ) project based at GMIT’s Creative Arts and Media campus.
The project involves the construction of a new Creative Enterprise Hub building on campus and refurbishment of some interior spaces in the existing building, which will be linked to the new building.
This investment will further be enhanced by additional financing of up to €1.1m and substantial in-kind contributions from a range of partners including GMIT, the Western Development Commission (WDC ), Galway Film Centre (GFC ), Údarás na Gaeltachta and TG4.
The project also provides funding for the employment of a manager and development team who will help develop Creative Enterprise networks, develop international market opportunities and provide support for companies in the new CREW hub and creative enterprises in other hubs throughout the west.
The Centre for Creative Arts and Media (CCAM ) was also recently approved for investment of €3m by the GMIT Governing Body. This investment will involve the re-configuring of existing buildings and addition of new buildings to accommodate increasing student numbers at the campus.
“We are delighted with these investments which are in response to the continued growth and success of both the GMIT creative programmes on campus and the creative industries in the West of Ireland.” says Dr Paddy Tobin, GMIT Head of School of Design and Creative Arts.
“These commitments by the GMIT Governing body to the Creative programmes, and by Enterprise Ireland and our partners to the Creative Industries, are a declaration of their confidence in the creative sector and in our plans to provide both the skilled graduates and the enterprise opportunities for them.”
“We are very grateful to all our partners and stakeholders for working so closely with us. I have no doubt that our graduates and the creative industries throughout the west will benefit enormously from all these investments and developments as they build a creative legacy from now (2020 ) into the future.”
Celine Curtin, Head of Centre at CCAM, sais they already have the largest community of creatives in the West of Ireland on campus.
“With student and graduate numbers increasing, it is the ideal environment for Creative Enterprise to start up and develop. We are also developing new programmes aligned with industry that will provide exciting opportunities for people right across the region,” she added.
GMIT Centre for Creative Arts and Media (CCAM ) currently offers undergraduate degree programmes in; Design, with pathways in Animation and Game Design, Graphic Design and Illustration, Industrial Design, and Textiles with Fashion Design; Contemporary Art, with pathways in 2D (Paint, Print and Photography ) and 3D (Ceramics, Sculpture and Digital Media ); and Film and Documentary, with Direction, Production, Cinematography, Audio, Editing, Screenwriting, VFX, and Production Design.
The centre also offers postgraduate MA in Creative Practice. See: https://www.gmit.ie/creative-arts-and-media/school-design-and-creative-artsPhoto 1: Moetion Films crew working on their animated feature film ‘Ooops!-Back in the Deep End’ in GMIT’s Centre for the Creative Arts and Media (CCAM )’s Creative Hub at the Cluain Mhuire campus, Galway city.
