About

The european centre for creative economy (ecce), founded 2011, stems from European Cultural Capital RUHR.2010. The cultural and creative economy combines eleven creative and artistic industries: from art to music, literature, film, the media, design, architecture to games development. In the Ruhr area, the creative economy stands for approx. 86,000 persons working in this field and more than 10,000 businesses – yet it’s not only an economic factor but also a cross-sectional factor as regards content. It is equally involved in culture, urban development and education.

For ecce, the Ruhr region is a young region, which has change both behind it and ahead of it. We bring players and institutions together with the aim of driving the changes to the creative and future location Ruhr and making this visible nationwide and throughout Europe.

Creation

Ruhr.2010

The european centre for creative economy (ecce) originated in the Capital of Culture RUHR.2010 – the first European Capital of Culture that understood cultural and creative industries as the mainstay of their programme and recognised them as a component of cultural diversity. Already as an institute of RUHR.2010, ecce was committed to directly supporting players from creative industry sectors and the development of locations and spaces for creativity. It was an important driving force in communicating the Ruhr region as a location of cultural and creative industries.

First successes

For the Creative.Quarters Ruhr structural project ecce collaborated with local authorities, planning offices, cultural offices and business development agencies on the basis of the concept of integrative urban development. In close cooperation with initiatives from the independent scene, artists, creative professionals as well as companies and owners, ecce moderated processes that have led to successful results: examples of this are the Atelierhaus in Essen's northern inner city, the Creative.Quarter Lohberg in Dinslaken, the Games Factory Ruhr in Mülheim and the music centre in the Viktoria.Quarter Bochum.

2011: Foundation

In October 2011, ecce and the business development agency Wirtschaftsförderung metropoleruhr GmbH (wmr) were commissioned by the sustainability resolution of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia and the Regionalverband Ruhr (Ruhr Regional Association) to supervise, in close coordination, the process of developing the Creative.Quarters Ruhr into a prominent address for creative industries and cultural locations in the region. In consequence of this, ecce GmbH was founded at the end of 2011 with its head office at the Dortmunder U.

New accents and networks in Europe

Along with the further development of creative centres through the initiation and moderation of multi-city and cross-departmental working groups, communication and promotion of the Ruhr region as a creative location, ecce is continuing to make its mark in Europe, to mediate, coach, inform and operate networks at the interface of industry, urban development and culture.