Era’s expertise and creative thinking can transform an idea into a clear vision and a clear vision into a reality. Era plays a key role from conception through to the delivery of flagship cultural projects and has significant achievements to its credit in this respect including:

Tate Modern

Anna Whyatt has worked from 1994 with the Tate Gallery to develop Tate Modern at Bankside, creating initial project specification and the public interest case for £2 million public sector funding. Era helped to shape the Tate Modern into the success it is today and is committed to bringing such groundbreaking projects to life. Era has now been contracted to develop the fundraising strategy for 2nd stage development at the Tate Modern.

HeART of Slough
Era has been a retained consultant on this project since 1998. This 35 acre £400 Million project will create a national and regional cultural quarter for the creative, information and communications industries through a complex of world-class multi functional buildings, visual landmarks and an outstanding public space in the Thames Valley, bringing creative, visual and commercial focus to an area of high business activity which has not been publicly ‘visible’ in the past. The Initiative is currently envisaged to take the form of a star, with an elevated piazza rising from two main sites across the current central roundabout to create an open-air amphitheatre for sitting of public art, and cultural festivals. This will open into a second covered multifunctional space for performance, exhibition and film production at the bottom of a flagship building, the Creative Hub. The Creative Hub will also house a digital library, an 'interactive multicultural experience' and healthy living space, complemented by an enterprise hub and move on space for ICT and creative industries. Era's work on this project is mainly concentrated on 4 projects:

Creative Hub
The Creative Hub is the flagship building in the Heart of Slough development and will house a digital library, an 'interactive multicultural experience' and healthy living space, complemented by an enterprise hub and move on space for ICT and creative industries. Era has written the business plan for this building which included a full assessment of the potential market place, capital and revenue costs, options appraisals, and a marketing plan. This has led to an in principal commitment from the Arts Council of £3m.

Identities
An integral part of the Heart of Slough and designed for the new millennium, IDENTITIES will be the first UK focal point to profile people and cultures from the diverse range of UK communities. Focusing on multiculturalism and diversity, it will be an interactive and multidimensional experience, which draws on stories, memories and visual images of past and present, yet encapsulates the visions and aspirations of the future of indigenous communities to migrating groups. Located in a national flagship building for the Heart of Slough creative industries and ICT cultural quarter, IDENTITIES will reach virtually across the UK and globally.

Crossing Borders
Crossing Boarders is a three to five year projected programme of arts events and activities designed to reach national and regional audiences to create a national profile in the arts for Slough at national and regional level. Building on the five years, comprehensive activity in the arts in Slough at community and grass roots level, one of its primary aims will be to bring home-grown talent and companies to wider audiences. Its major focus will be multicultural, linking to the Identities multicultural experience and Creative Academy. Its creative focus will be in Dance and Visual Arts, Design and Screen-based Media, reflecting the key sub-sectors of the creative industries emerging in Slough. It will be supported throughout by the Creative Academy learning Programme and by a national on-line digital learning platform for creative industries currently being constructed with Manchester, Birmingham and Tribal plc. Several partners have joined together with the Heart of Slough to establish and deliver the Crossing Borders Programme. These partners include: SBC, Communications, SBC Arts Development, SYPC, Thames Valley University, SBC Library service, Creative Academy, Creative Partnerships, and The Enterprise Hub.

Creative Academy
The Creative Academy is a multi platform development involving virtual delivery, offline programmes and master classes in creative industries. It is a major component in the £450m Heart of Slough development and is critical to the success of the cultural quarter, providing facilities for learning and training for entrepreneurs and small businesses. The design draws on comprehensive research, conducted by Era, on supply and demand skills dynamics and is matched to the activities and processes that individuals and companies need if knowledge is to be translated into employment, production and economy.

View Multicultural and Creativity Briefing Document

Birmingham East Side Development
This is a small part of the overall regeneration of Birmingham but significant in terms of symbolism as well as redevelopment. The intention is that the East Side is developed into an integrated site to support the creative industries, enterprise, social and community activities and civic services. The symbolism is in the move from the older manufacturing industries towards a clustering approach to encourage growth in one of the newer industries of the UK.

Era Ltd has conducted a full and comprehensive analysis, prospectus build and programme delivery with Birmingham City Council and other partners. The intention is to identify and support those clusters and chains that exist, and to ensure that they become part of the national picture in terms of the marketplace, commissioning opportunities and brokerage. This will involve capacity building and learning programmes of an innovative kind that build on previous developments to support SMEs and recognise that businesses and freelancers rarely want formal training as such but need what they want, when they want it.

ERDF Creative Knowledge for Creative Companies, 2002-2005

A £1.2 million programme that is developing a framework infrastructure that provides resources to ensure a focused approach for the development and growth of the Creative Industries in Birmingham through an innovative range of services, products and programmes. Era has the major role in the co-ordination and development of pilot actions in the 10 sub-sector groups to develop the Framework, delivery of mentoring and diagnostic support and business development Workshops and Seminars.

Interreg IIIC, The Royal Arsenals Programme, 2003-2004

The work at the Royal Arsenal site at Woolwich over the past three years has enabled real mutual benefits to be established between the developers, the Local Authority, the London Development Agency and this historic heritage site, to a point where the two aspects have been married as an 'historic environment' package. Woolwich Arsenal points the way to an integrated approach to major heritage and brown field sites restoration and development for the good of both posterity and local communities.

Era has been commisioned by the London Development Agency to develop and INTERREG 111C proposal to develop a 5 country network programme to exchange knowledge, experience and methods for the preservation and development of European Arsenals in terms of heritage, archaeology, ‘brown field’ regeneration and commercial sustainability. The results of this prorgamme could be used to inform government and other agencies across Europe as well as raising the profiles of the targeted European sites. So far Venice, Copenhagen, Heraklion and Slovenia have expressed interest in becoming a partner the search continues for a final partner.For more information on the Royal Arsenal site in Woolwich click on the link below.

www.royalarsenal.com

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