Creative entrepreneurs usually need all the help they can get and the British Council’s Young Creative Entrepreneur Award intends to do just that. These awards give recognition to those in creative industries like design, music, fashion, communication, visual arts, screen, interactive, performing arts and publishing.
Rajat Tuli, co-founder of the quirky merchandise brand Happily Unmarried, received the award in 2009. According to him, more than the trophy, it was the trip to Newcastle, Glasgow and London to interact with his counterparts in the British design industry that made the winning worth it. “The award is important for entrepreneurs because you need a lot of exposure that you often don’t get when you’re engrossed in the day-to-day running of business,” he said. “It’s also good to meet winners from other countries who might have issues like you. For example, I met a guy from South Africa whose crafts were very good, but he didn’t have any money; then there was a guy from Dubai who had plenty of money and didn’t know what to do with it.” The highlights of his trip were visits to The London Design Festival, architecture and interiors design firm Studio Troika, space design enterprise Graven Images, textile and wallpaper design studio Timorous Beasties, and meeting the curator at The Aram Gallery.
Globally, creative industries are estimated to account for more than 7% of the world’s gross GDP. “The Indian economy has immense potential for growth by investing in creative enterprises,” said Rwituja Mookherjee, head of the creative economy programme, British Council India. “This award programme provides creative entrepreneurs with the international exposure, learning and platform to begin a dialogue with their UK counterparts leading up to collaborative initiatives and gaining a strong foothold in the UK creative industries.” The award is open to young Indian entrepreneurs between 25-35 years of age and working in the creative sectors. For further details, eligibility criteria and application form, log on to www.britishcouncil.org.in/yce or email yce.india@in.britishcouncil.org. The closing date for applications is July 10, 2010.
