Spark: Ignite returned for a fifth year on Thursday 15 February. The annual symposium for the creative sector is designed to turn creative talk into creative action by bringing together and promoting the growth of the arts and digital industries across Warwick District.

The event was structured around five core themes: voice, placemaking, pathfinding, engagement, and innovation, with 280 delegates attending from various creative industries, including film and TV, to the performing arts and the visual arts, to name a few.

For this year’s Spark event, the programme of sessions included ‘Creative Industries and the Climate Emergency', where the audience heard how three organisations are addressing the climate emergency; ‘Creatives and Artificial Intelligence’, which, during this session, a panel of three speakers explained how AI is being used within a variety of creative businesses and ‘Funding: how to make it work for you, yes you…’ where the Sasolo team provided advice on strategy and funding.

Other talks and workshops explored podcasting, social media marketing, empowering neurodivergent and disabled employees, funding, intellectual property, and Climate Justice.

Paul Roberts, Arts Manager at Warwick District Council, said:

“This year's Spark: Ignite was fantastic. It provided an excellent opportunity for us to bring together the creative community and celebrate the creative offering we have here in Warwick District. The event continues to grow from strength to strength and is widely regarded as the best local creative networking event in the area.”

Cllr Ella Billiald, Portfolio Holder for Arts and Economy at Warwick District Council, said:

"This event, now in its 5th year, provided all those from the creative community an opportunity to meet, engage, learn from one another, and feel inspired. The topics ranged from funding to A.I. Thank you to Paul Roberts and Johnathan Branson for their superb organisation and for providing such a key event in the creative networking calendar. We are proud to support events such as these."

The next creative events, brought to you by Warwick District Council’s Arts Team, are Ignite 2024 on Thursday 11 July 2024 and Spark 2025 on Friday 14 February 2025. For information on these events, subscribe to the Warwick District Council Arts Development newsletter. 

For further information on Spark 2024.