ZINC Shower opens the second call for proposals

ZINC SHOWER starts up the machinery for its second edition to help drive the cultural and creative industries. ZINC SHOWER opens the second call for proposals on the 13th January in order to choose the 100 business projects that are transforming the sector

• The invitation for proposals has been extended to projects from within the gastronomy and cultural tourism areas, which have been added to the different sectors that form the cultural and creative industries (CCI)
• The ZINC SHOWER meeting show at the Matadero Madrid on the 23rd, 24th and 25th May will be the big date for the new CCI
• The CCI are one of the major driving forces of economic transformation in Spain and Europe
• The cultural and creative industry activity represents 4% of the GDP and generates 3.1% of total employment in our country
• The movement that is transforming the CCI will be presenting a preview of the programme for its Meeting-Show on 13th January and will start selling admission tickets with special prices and discounts

Zinc Shower, the movement that is the driving force behind the creative and cultural industries (CCI), has started up its motors for the second edition. Created by and for the industry, the project will be a new international meeting point to channel investment, promotion, training and collaboration between professionals and companies from the CCI and other sectors.

The new creative industries are transforming the economy and society itself through creativity and innovation. Within this context, Zinc Shower once more opens the annual call for projects from 13th January until 17th March to select the 100 business projects that are transforming the new CCI. Those responsible for the selection will be the members of a jury with experts from the different areas covered by Zinc Shower, from investment and entrepreneurship to the different culture and creativity sectors.

The chosen proposals will participate in the second Zinc Shower Meeting-Show, which will take place on the 23rd, 24th and 25th May at the Matadero Madrid, the co-producer of the event. This meeting point, one of its kind for the CCI, counts with the participation of investors, professionals, institutions, companies and curious minds to support innovation, collaboration and funding in the sectors of the new cultural and creative industries.

One hundred innovative business projects

The call for projects will be open from 13th January until 17th March for projects, startups or companies within the field of the CCI. In addition to the two new sectors that are being added for this edition –gastronomy and cultural tourism –, proposals related to the following areas may also be presented: performing arts, visual arts, crafts, architecture, cinema and video, design, fashion design, publishing, music, television, radio, software and video games.

Zinc Shower is searching for business projects that transform, that reconsider distribution or communication systems in all of the CCI sectors. Start-ups or projects in the early phases of development or creation, as well as proposals with businesses that have already been implemented and are in a phase of growth, expansion and internationalisation. The value the panel of experts is looking for is the capacity to transform the established parameters within the industry in a creative, profitable and sustainable manner.

The selected projects will have access to a free training programme to strengthen its management capabilities and develop the proposal. Furthermore, they will be promoted and given visibility through the Zinc Shower channels and professional forums and media partners. They will be assessed in crucial areas such as viability, marketing and sales as well as internationalisation and they will receive guidance in order to make the most of the contacts, the exchange and the collaboration that Zinc Shower provides.

Meeting-Show at Matadero Madrid

The big date for the cultural and creative industry will be the Zinc Shower Meeting-Show, which will once again occupy more than 10,000 square metres at Matadero Madrid. The diversity of the spaces is the perfect setting for the staging of this creative shower, a hybrid and open format that mixes professionalism with a festive atmosphere.

This meeting point will become the place to meet the 100 selected business projects, interact with the creative community, or participate in investment forums.

The first edition of Zinc Shower in April 2013, gathered 5,000 attendees, 321 speakers, 100 entrepreneurs, 80 investors, 40 bloggers and 108 accredited members of the media. A shower of inspiration, collaboration and fun that will repeat once again with the whole creative community.

Zinc City: a new creative map of Madrid

Zinc Shower 2014 will draw a new creative map of the Spanish capital. From Matadero Madrid, as the vital point for change in the cultural and creative scene of the city, Zinc Shower will promote a route of activities in parallel to the Meeting-Show to discover the spaces and projects that are transforming the city.

This new proposal is Zinc City, a programme where Zinc Shower spreads out into the city and displays the contribution of the CCI to the economic development of Madrid. At the end of each day at Matadero Madrid, the meeting point will move to concert halls, art galleries and transformative creative spaces distributed about Madrid, where various shows can be seen.

But before this, from January 2014 there will be frequent Zinc Shower sessions at utopic_US, in the heart of Madrid. This is Zinc Shower 365 , in which a variety of proposals will be invited on two Thursdays every month, in accordance with the of Zinc Shower presentation formats (#zinctalks, #zinchshows, #zinclabs, etc.). Another clear example that the Zinc Shower movement is not stopping and is much more than just the Meeting-Show.

Culture and creativity: a profitable investment

The CCI are one of the major driving forces of economic growth in Spain and Europe. The activity of the cultural and creative industry represents 4% of the GDP and generates 3.1% of total employment in our country, according to data published by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport in the 2013 Cultural Statistics Yearbook.

The support and promotion framework for the cultural and creative sector approved by the European Union at the end of last year is also added to this data. In January 2014, the Creative Europe programme comes into force in the twenty-eight member states, with €1.46 billion over the next seven years –9% more than the current amount– to back the CCI sector, a huge source of employment and growth precisely in one of the traits that is characteristic of Europe: the ability to generate culture. And it is the European cultural and creative sectors that represent up to 4.5 % of the GDP of the EU and provide employment for more than eight million people.

Within this context, Zinc Shower is driving the sector via the most innovative companies and projects that contribute to the transformation of an economic and social model into one that is more equitable and sustainable.

Zinc Shower is a private initiative organized and promoted by Utopic_us, Andrés Lomander and Sara Magán. It is co-produced by Matadero Madrid, a centre that forms part of Madrid Destino. It has the collaboration of a variety of institutions whose aim is to support entrepreneurship, such as ICEX Spanish Exports and Investments, ENISA (Ministry of Industry, Energy and Tourism), Madrid Emprende (Department of Finance, Employment and Citizen Participation of the Madrid City Council), the Directorate General for Cultural and Industry Policy (Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport). On an international level, it has the involvement of the Creative Business Cup, the Center for Culture and Experience Economy (CKO) and the European Creative Industries Alliance (ECIA).

Collaborating as media partners are Sol Música, Radio 3, Emprendedores, Yorokobu, Vice, Anoche tuve un sueño, Deezer, Cinco Días, El Duende, Vicious Magazine and Ágora News; as well as Younoodle, as a technological collaborator. Other projects such as Sónar+D, Cultura Inquieta, Meetinarts.com, Dosdoce.com, eltenedor.es, Muwom, the Rafael del Pino Foundation, Madrid Music Days, My Major Company and the Higher Institute for Cultural and Creative Industries (INSICC) have also joined the movement. Additionally, this second edition also counts with the collaboration of large brand names such as Banco Sabadell and NH Hotels.

For further information, interviews and graphic materialAcerca ComunicaciónAleyda Domínguez and Cristina Ruizprensa@zincshower.comTel: +34 918316940 / 911289771Mob: +34 672 300 896 (Cristina Ruiz) / 672 300 897 (Aleyda Domínguez)