Create Birmingham’s mission is to invest in economic development in the nonprofit and commercial creative sectors including performing arts, visual arts and crafts, culture and heritage, media and film, design, and culinary arts. As the only agency in the region exclusively devoted to the creative industries, it is Create Birmingham’s privilege to collaborate with individuals, businesses, and organizations to identify opportunities, overcome barriers, and strengthen communities.

We also work to raise greater public awareness of our constituents’ talents, products, services, and skills. Birmingham’s creative class is part of a 21st-century movement that is creating real economic change. We are proud to advocate for the creative industries as a critical regional asset that enhances our quality of life and fuels our collective growth.

Our organization was originally established in 2004 as the Cultural Alliance of Greater Birmingham, based on a recommendation of the Cultural Master Plan for the Greater Birmingham Region, a comprehensive document addressing cultural needs and recommended strategies to address those needs.

By 2013, the creative landscape in Birmingham and the region looked very different than in 2003, and so we embarked on a new initiative to map a growth plan for Birmingham’s creative industries, the sum of both commercial and nonprofit creative work in the community. The launch of our new name, mission, and organizational model followed the 2014 release of our report Stoking Innovation in the Magic City: Birmingham’s Creative Industries.

Birmingham’s creative economy is only as strong as the spirit of community that supports its development, and we hope that you will join us in our efforts.