The Blue Mountains creative industries hit another milestone last week with the launch of a new Mtns Made campaign.
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Mtns Made was launched in 2015 by Blue Mountains Economic Enterprise (BMEE) as the cultural identity for the creative industries in the Mountains, designed to position the city as a creative hub of excellence, attracting new clients, investors and talent to the region.
More than 150 people gathered at Blue Mountains Solar in Katoomba, which was transformed into a warehouse party venue, for the unveiling of a new 2-minute video, seven film vignettes and a broadsheet profiling over 10 local creative professionals, including actor Rachel Gordon and filmmaker Michael Joy.
Each artist profile provides an insight into why they live and work in the Mountains, and highlights the importance of place for each of them.
“Mtns Made is an example of collaborative industry development, which we know is boosting jobs and growth in the creative industries sector,” said BMEE CEO Jacqueline Brinkman.
“The social media campaign and other promotion is driving traffic to the Mtns Made directory where over 450 local creatives are listed.
“The brand has allowed local makers and artists to stock their produce in retail outlets with over one million customers, such as Scenic World, Featherdale Wildlife Park and council’s visitor information centres,” she said.
Local creative professionals can list themselves free on the Mtns Made directory, mtnsmade.com.au.
“The Blue Mountains is a natural fit for the creative industries, with the sector accounting for 8 per cent of locally available jobs, more than twice the national average,” Ms Brinkman said. “The creative industries is the third-greatest contributor to our gross regional product, with an estimated $592 million in output.”
The event was also an opportunity to officially release a report showing that four local film productions generated an overall economic impact of $13.59m over 12 months and created 40 local jobs. The producers acknowledged the work of BMEE and the Creative Industries Cluster in keeping the production in the Mountains, said Ms Brinkman.