CULTURAL AND CREATIVE INDUSTRIES – DÜSSELDORFS SUPERPOWER

11 sub-sectors account for the diversity and strength of the cultural and creative industries. Much is currently being done in Düsseldorf to further reinforce these sectors and make them fit for the future.

The part of "-dorf" in Düsseldorf meaning village, is possibly an indication of the way the key players of the cultural and creative industries based here interact with each other. They know each other, support each other and like to exchange ideas - at least that's the theory. We asked a few voices from the creative scene in the state capital how networking in Düsseldorf actually works.

The Wim Wenders Foundation is committed in many ways to the future of film and the promotion of young filmmakers. VIVID interviewed Managing Director Hella Wenders and Marion Döring from the Foundation's Board of Directors

Video games are the most lucrative segment of the entertainment industry. VIVID spoke to players in the regional gaming scene about the strengths of the gaming industry for companies in other sectors and about its role in Düsseldorf's cultural and creative industries. 

35 years ago, DJ Henry Storch founded the record label Unique Records and seven years later the legendary club of the same name in Düsseldorf's old town. The club closed its doors in 2006, but the label remained. After the sudden death of Henry Storch in 2018, his former employee Ina Schulz took over the management of the record label. In an interview with VIVID, the manager explains how she sees her job as label head of Unique Records and head of international product management at Schubert Music Europe, how the players in indie music have coped with the disruption of recent years - and what new revenue models there are for artists. 

The cultural and creative industries encompass a wide variety of markets: there are the classic areas of design, film and theatre, but also, for example, advertising, gaming and software development. The sector is characterised by a strong dynamic - and not least by creative people who want to realise their ideas. As many as 16 per cent of those employed in Düsseldorf's cultural and creative scene are self-employed - twice the average for the city’s economy as a whole. So it's no surprise that there are also many start-ups in this sector. Today we present three of them that impressively show how diverse the cultural and creative industries can be: an online shop for first aid posters, a platform for non-discriminatory recruitment and an app that makes teams more successful and employees happier. Here come: littleplan, DIVE and MONDAY.ROCKS.

Picture books create moments of closeness and at the same time open our eyes to the diversity of the world, says Martin Baltscheit, author and illustrator of children's books. A conversation about the foundations of our cultural education, about idiosyncratic characters and the obligation to create a happy ending.

As Chief Growth Officer at the marketing agency Publicis Groupe in the DACH region and founder of the Creative Hive platform, Christoph Pietsch is very well connected in Düsseldorf's creative scene. He spoke to VIVID publisher Rainer Kunst about his favourite football club KFC Uerdingen, spectacular new business campaigns, the importance of a well-functioning city society and his deep roots in Düsseldorf. 

Marius Helle is an artist, nature enthusiast, educator – and a resident of Düsseldorf with a passion. In May 2023 his innovative, sustainable design concept for the public space Urbatur (see info box) was among the five winning projects and was awarded by creative.nrw, the creative network of The regional government.

AI has the potential to accelerate, optimise and expand the creative process. But what impact is the technological revolution already having on art, music, architecture and design? VIVID spoke to creators from various disciplines.