CreativeCH workshop on Industrial Heritage held in Plzen

The CreativeCH workshop ‘Business models for creative cooperation for industrial heritage’ took place in Plzen, Czech Republic, on 17 September. This initiative was held in the context of the preparation of Plzen 2015 – European Capital of Culture. As part of the preparation, ‘Culture Factory Week’ focused on the revitalisation of industrial heritage sites in Plzen, including the Svetovar Brewery, and their contribution to generating cultural activities in the city. The workshop was organised by Museu de la Ciència i de la Tècnica de Catalunya (mNACTEC) headquartered in Barcelona, Spain.

The workshop focused on the opportunities and challenges in the revitalisation and communication of industrial heritage sites. Finding adapted new uses of such sites often in the form of facilities for cultural organisations (museums, galleries, etc.) or work spaces for creative industry businesses. The workshop presented and discussed approaches for creative cooperation of site developers, creative businesses, S&T and cultural heritage organisations for communicating industrial heritage to new and young audiences. Europa Nostra’s Council member Laurie Neale presented development and management models of Public-Private Partnerships which have been successfully implemented in other parts of Europe.