What does an 'end to end ecosystem' for the creative industries look like?

There’s a lot more going on in Toronto’s east waterfront area than just condos, restaurants, and retail, although there are plenty of all of those things popping up in the formerly industrial area that was perhaps best known as the site of the now defunct music venue complex The Guvernment. The area is rapidly turning into a full- fledged innovation district, with hundreds of thousands of square feet and hundreds of millions of dollars being invested into such large-scale projects as a recently announced partnership between U of T and MaRS aimed at serving the city’s burgeoning tech ecosystem and Sidewalk, the not uncontroversial digital mini-city from Google parent-company Alphabet.

Among all the cranes and steel and glass dotting the waterfront corridor is the so-new-it-still-has-the-new-building-smell Artscape Daniels Launchpad. The Launchpad is a 30,000 square foot multi-disciplinary arts and technology centre, comprised of studios for digital production ranging from music to film to photography and graphics, spaces for artisans such as jewellery, textile, and fashion designers, a learning centre for entrepreneurship programs and special events, and, of course, the requisite co-working space where creatives with laptops can already be found working away on album covers, merchandise plans, and even robots.

Debunking the myth of DIY

“When you’re working away in your bedroom you tend to think you have the things you need but in reality you don’t have the right toolbox”, explains Launchpad Managing Director Karim Rahemtulla. And this is indeed the predicament in which so many artists find themselves. They may have the tools to make the digital or physical thing that is their passion, but in today’s supply-heavy creative economy the mere act of making is not enough. “How do you find graphic designers, merchandise people, connections to industry”, continued Rahemtulla. “It’s about figuring out what makes up the creative ecosystem and creating collaboration points between talent, skills, and industry.”

And this is where the centre’s thinking is different. Launchpad is a manifestation of the question of what would happen if a physical space brought together the latest and greatest in studio facilities, access to coaches and mentors, entrepreneurship and business skills programs, and pathways to funding, all under one roof. The public-private partnership is the result of over a dozen years of research into the changing face of the creative economy around the world and may be the only centre of its kind in the world with such an all-encompassing model.

Rahemtulla and Launchpad Creative Studios Manager Robert McMahon described what they call an ‘end to end ecosystem’, one that supports the journey from the digital version of a sketch on a napkin to design, prototyping, and a go to market plan. As an example of this model they cited Launchpad’s state of the art jewellery design studio, which enables artists to go from digital design to 3D printing for a tiny fraction of the cost of the conventional method of creating molds and handcrafting or machining metals and gems.

McMahon also pointed to some of Launchpad’s not yet designated studio spaces. “At first were going to have the digital print studio as part of our opening but then we realized a better approach would be to see how people are actually using the spaces we do have. We want the creatives to dictate to us, not the other way around”, said McMahon. “We want them to tell us what SDKs (software development kits) they want to use, how they’re combining and re-combining different elements, what they need to work in VR and AR.” Added Rahemtulla: “then we layer on specialty skill sets like SEO, how do you grow your Instagram following, how do you get yourself in front of companies, basically how do you get yourself ready for a global market.”

And not unlike the parent that wants to be both supportive of their offspring’s creative endeavours while making sure the basement is not permanently occupied by them, Rahemtulla pointed out that Launchpad’s ultimate goal is to teach the skills that creatives need to have an actual career, to make money, and to be independent. As he succinctly put it: “How do we get you out of here” is a question that won’t be shied away from.

On the importance of 'strategic dependencies'

Rahemtulla believes that it’s all part of moving from thinking about system change, which is largely driven by policy, to network change, which is about how people interact, form relationships, and actually work. “One of the problems with the Canadian creative economy is that we have too many independencies”, he said, referring to the hundreds of thousands who work away on their projects largely in isolation, often supported by a combination of precarious work and grants. Rahemtulla then went on to describe the cross-disciplinary groups he’s been witnessing at work at Launchpad. “They might have a core of 1 or 2 people and then they add people for specific projects. People come and go and bring their skills and talents as needed and then go on to other things. We want to facilitate these kinds of strategic dependencies between creators who generally work independently. It’s a new way to scale and an entirely new model for the creative economy.”

Within Launchpad a prime example of this approach is House (pronounced ‘house’), an incubator and accelerator program integrated with for credit programs at George Brown College and OCAD and founded by LaMar Taylor, Creative Director for recording artist The Weeknd. In addition to the obvious connections to the entertainment industry that come with the participation of the Hxouse crew, the organization also includes a creative agency, with brand deals with Puma, Adidas, Nike, and others. “We came to the conclusion the system was broken and we didn’t want to complain about it”, said Taylor. “We just wanted to reverse everything we were taught and change the game.” Hxouse co-founder Ahmed Ismail added:“We have the kind of relationships where we can turn to our industry partners and ask: ‘what is the new trend you guys are hiring for? If they say they need an all-in-one video producer, editor and content creator, we can then incorporate that into our curriculum in real-time.” The result is a combination of creative expression, educational credentials, real world experience, and a path to revenue streams.

Taylor and Ismail’s thinking blends well with Rahemtulla’s larger vision for Launchpad. When asked how success of the centre will be evaluated he referenced his many years working in the NGO world with the Aga Khan Trust for Culture. “We use these metrics called SDGs– sustainable development goals – which are defined around all aspects of quality of life. We look at how members’ lives are impacted, physically, socially, creatively, and financially. This is how we create better communities and better urban fabrics.”

Note: This article originally appeared on Trends