With heavy hearts, we must announce today, Monday, 15 September 2025, the sad news that after 18 years of work for the creative industries in Styria, Creative Industries Styria GmbH must cease operations as of 31.12.2025. The shareholders were unable to agree on continued joint funding of the company – this fact was communicated to us today at 13.00. Creative Industries Styria is owned by the Province of Styria (Steirische Wirtschaftsförderung SFG), the City of Graz, and the Styrian Economic Chamber, and is financed largely through public funds.
After months of speculation and uncertainty, this news deeply shocks us. Even though the signs were already unfavourable, we had hoped until the very end for a positive outcome.
We will continue operational activities until the end of the year and will actively reach out to our community in the coming days and weeks to inform them in detail about what this decision means for all projects planned until 31.12.2025 that are already in progress, as well as for our ongoing core services (e.g. CIS Membership).
To quote our long-serving Managing Director Eberhard Schrempf, who recently retired, one last time: “Without Creative Industries Styria, the region lacks a creative backbone.” What was meant as a critical warning will, unfortunately, become bitter reality from January 2026.
Kind regards
The team of Creative Industries Styria
