Here's my take on the digital art scene in Stoke on Trent.

After commuting between Stoke on Trent and Birmingham during 2010 either for work or to perform gigs or installations, the contrast between the volume of digital art activities (events, gigs etc) between the cities is a little disheartening. 

Yes the scale of the two cities is vast so I will try to balance that out during my rant.

Birmingham's got talent, no doubt about that, it's got appeal, people will travel for gigs, events, exhibitions and the like, therefore it will drive the economy through a great cultural offer.

Stoke, the little satellite city has talent, loads of the stuff seeping out of bedrooms, universities, colleges, six forms etc. Through the bITjAM we have discovered many people with self taught skills in the art of digital creativity, however with limited places to meet, perform, exhibit and learn from each other many simply give up performing or leave for bigger places.

We're the unattractive little sibling compared to Brum and even Manchester, we're a city that some say is in decline or, as other's put it in transformation!

I believe we have to work harder at proving worthy enough to be invested in compared to the bigger cities!

My thoughts are, we need more support in forming relationships between local businesses and creatives so we can socially innovate. We need to increase the creative use of public space and empty spaces in the area, bringing digital artists together and creating digitally active spaces.

My concern is at present we have this high volume of fantastically creative people however we have a small number of social animators and innovators generating the social capital needed in the local creative industries.

Without financial support many prospect innovators will get stuck in day jobs leaving little time to provide activities for digital artists and so the creative scene moves slowly compared to the like of Birmingham.

I back the Save the arts campaign and also encourage, beg, plead for more support for developing social capital and social innovation in the Stoke on Trent creative communities.