Celebrating the Moldovan Festival of Creative Industries 2023!

From June 2-5, building on past success, the fourth edition of the Festival of Creative Industries (FIC), organized by Artcor creative center and Creative Industries Association (COR), brought together a community of over 30 local and international speakers, 50 artists, more than 1,000 professionals from design, music, film, game development, photography, marketing, and more with overall attendance coming in at over 2,000 participants. The event was organized under the patronage of the President of the Republic of Moldova, Maia Sandu, with the support of the

Ministry of Culture, the Future Technologies Activity funded by USAID, Sweden, and UKaid, the Moldova Investment Agency, and the Moldcell Foundation.

The festival celebrated the diversity and depth of the creative and media communities of Moldova and explored various sectors of the creative industry through activities held over four days, including design, digital art, technology, film, music, games, and creative entrepreneurship. Participants interacted with international experts, developed practical skills in interactive workshops, and established partnerships.

The festival was visited by over 1000 participants from Chisinau, other regions of Moldova, and Romania, who appreciated the economic and creative potential of the country. Approximately 50 activities took place at Artcor and its partner spaces, including museums, libraries, art galleries, creative agencies, photography studios, and architecture firms.

The festival featured presentations by local experts and an exploration of this year’s theme “Artificial Intelligence (AI)”. Professionals from the film, music, design, journalism, and other fields shared their ongoing projects, some of which already involve AI tools.

Attendees explored exhibitions and installations by local creators, including an AR Exhibition within the Future Museums Artist Program created by resident artists at Artcor; an exhibition by Constantin Șarcov and Mihai Stamati titled „Roadsigns of Tomorrow” which made its debut this year at Dutch Design Week; and a Poetry Exhibition by Ioana Isac. Each evening, local band concerts were also held on the Artcor stage.

Free workshops were held for graphic designers who received portfolio reviews from Marcel Ziul, photography enthusiasts learned about vintage photography with Octavian Bâlea, and creative business developers had the chance to improve their market positioning with Joel Pilger. Additionally, a session on Music Export was organized, featuring experts from Romania.

The largest event of the four-day FIC 2023 was the International Speakers Conference, which brought together eight remarkable international speakers from five countries and approximately 400 unique participants took part in the conference and workshops. The experts shared their own experiences and visions of the future of creative industries, discussed current and future trends in the creative industry, and inspired the community for new projects. Among the speakers were Dutch street artist Frankey; Sho Sato from Japan, the CEO of one of the largest gaming, animation, and Manga groups; Marcel Luiz Pereira designer-animator and creative director at The State Design; and Daniel Ionescu designer at EA Games Romania.

One of the highlighted topics during the event was the production of the soundtrack for the film „VARVARA”, and is already available in cinemas. The final day, June 5th, was dedicated to public policies and government interventions in the development of Creative Industries. Topics such as the establishment of a film fund and museum sustainability were discussed to allow more funding flexibility and to addresses the financial challenges faced by museums.

The festival was designed to show creators in Moldova the potential opportunities available to them and a look into the future of the industry. Viorica Cerbușca, the director of Artcor said “the energy displayed by the participants at the Festival of Creative Industries 2023 was truly impressive. Currently, in the Republic of Moldova, the creative industry consists of more than two thousand companies employing over ten thousand people, the majority of whom are young. Our goal is to create opportunities for these young people and offer them a future here, at home. I would also like to thank all the participants and partners who contributed to the success of the festival.”

Dumitru Alaiba, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economic Development and Digitalization, stated, „This festival comes to celebrate innovation and creation. Creative industries have great economic potential and can provide a living and working place for many talents in our country. We stand by and support creative industries, which can bring more value. From any field, you, the creative industry professionals, are the ones who add value to any product.

Sergiu Prodan, Minister of Culture, stated, „Creative industries play a special role in that they represent a Terra Nova. Is there any industry that does not involve creativity? I don’t think so. To create a product, you have to design it. Anything related to industry actually means creativity. This festival aims to shed light on creative industries and showcase what the creative field brings.”

These statements highlight the recognition and support from government officials and international partners for the creative industries in the Republic of Moldova. They emphasize the economic potential and value that the creative sector brings to the country, as well as the importance of fostering innovation and creativity in various fields.

Moldova’s creative industries have great potential for growth and can be an engine for the country’s economic development, social cohesion, and national brand; they are represented by over two thousand companies with 10,000 employees and 2,500 freelancers in the fields of design, advertising, digital media, architecture, music, film, theater, animation, book and game publishing, and AR / VR. Over the last few years, the industries have seen significant growth in employees, sales, and profitability, with revenues in 2020 reaching $150 million.

The Festival of Creative Industries 2023 clearly demonstrated that creativity is a powerful engine for innovation. This annual event occurs every first week of June in Chisinau. The partners for this year’s event include the Ministry of Culture, the Moldova Investment Agency, the Future Technologies Activity funded by USAID, Sweden, and UK aid, and the Moldcell Foundation.