Boosting the creative industry through social enterprise
More and more companies working in the creative industry are choosing to become social enterprises. A young actor explains why he decided to become a social entrepreneur
di Staff
Someone in the UK seems to have found a good strategy to help the creative industry survive these difficult times. How about the arts join forces with the third sector? According to a recent study, social enterprise is thriving and the creative sector, which contributes 6% of GDP, employing 2 million people, is one of the fastest growing in the UK.
Wayne Ingram, a 22 year old actor wrote his story on the Guardian and explained why he decided to become a social entrepreneur.
“The best thing about being a social enterprise theatre company is that our desire for social change is pushed to the forefront of what we do.” He writes, “Most theatre companies are looking to create social change – they make work that reflects society and try to communicate messages they hope will make a difference. But for many theatre companies it's all about putting on a show, and social change is often a by-product. What we do differently is make social change the sole driving force behind what we do.”
Founded less than a year ago, Tap the Table Theatre deals with youth unemployment and it offers workshops and development programs to help tackle this issue. The interesting thing is that the company has kept a strong connection with the non-profit world, as Ingram has explained: “The projects that keep our company moving along are those most heavily centred on making a social impact.” Explained Ingram, “These are the projects that garner interest from the larger organizations and it is these contracts which allow the company to grow to a larger extent. “
According to Ingram being a social enterprise has helped the company build a brand identity and increase the audience, the market share and the profits.
“If more artistic companies create a business model around social enterprise, the creative sector could become less fragmented”, wrote Ingram, “and far less reliant on public funding”.
