Money, skills and work: How emerging creatives can meet the market

No matter if you are a recently graduated creative or an industry veteran, you will stumble upon the same questions as many before you: How can I bring my project to life? How can I share my work with other people? Where can I learn the skills I need to improve my communication strategies, making skills and explore new markets to showcase my work? You may long for innovative funding mechanisms, and like to learn how you can make your project work. The creative industries are buzzing, and at times it can be hard to make your project shine through. Kickstarter and the Distributed Design Platform are joining in a collective discussion to explore innovative funding mechanisms-- such as crowdfunding-- and creative ways to accelerate your project. We will elaborate on values such as open design practices, knowledge exchange, and collaboration between designers, makers, and creators.  Kickstarter is a pioneering crowdfunding platform for creative projects, essential to a healthy and vibrant society. By helping creators connect directly with their communities, its mission is to help bring creative projects to life across many categories including: Art, Crafts, Dance, Design, Fashion, Film & Video, Food, Games, Journalism, Music, Photography, Publishing, Technology, and Theater. The Distributed Design Platform acts as a networking hub for the European maker movement and is nurturing and promoting designers, makers and creative talents to connect to emerging digital and local markets. The platform brings together a diverse member-base from 17 cultural and creative institutions from 13 European countries.