[Chad]

HAMILTON (February 24, 2012) – A crowd of over 200 people gathered last night in CHCH's Studio A to celebrate the eighth art form, digital media, and it's growing impact on Hamilton's economy. The event, hosted by The Art Gallery of Hamilton, Channel Zero, Hamilton Economic Development, Innovation Factory, McMaster University and Mohawk College, was an offering of community support to the new digital media artists that have discovered Hamilton as an ideal location to do business.

Hamilton is becoming one of Canada's leading centres for digital media and creative industries. This video is a complilation of reels from Hamilton-based companies who have originated or relocated to Hamilton.



Included at random in this reel are: Chuck Gammage Animation, Circus Orange, Echo Bay Media, Elliott Animation, FreshTV, MellaniuM, Peregrine, Pipeline Studios and Topic Simple.

“The Kauffman Foundation, which monitors areas that grow and redevelop by focusing on cultivating startups has unexpectedly found that communities that involve their creative sector in economic development are far more likely to thrive than those that don’t,” said Ron Neumann in his opening remarks. “Hamilton has a great creative industry here, but not just at the creator level. The support systems are here as well”.

Guests included employees from Hamilton gaming and animation studios (including Pipeline Studios, Chuck Gammage Animation Inc., Snakehead Games, and Battlegoat Games), local digital artists, city officials, students from Mohawk’s integrated animation program, members of the press, visual and performing arts community members, software companies, and members of Innovation Factory’s “innovation ecosystem.” The City of Hamilton’s Small Business Enterprise Centre, The Cossart Exchange, and the Imperial Cotton Centre for the Arts also came out to show their support for Hamilton’s blossoming digital media sector.

[lux]

This is impressive! More people should know about this..