Re:Create explores how AI can change the way of working in the creative sector

Wednesday, October 1, 2025

Artificial intelligence is rapidly changing the conditions for the creative sector. Re:Create is a central initiative that supports this transformation by systematically connecting established and unestablished actors, new technology, and future competence needs.

Flowy, different coloured fabric in the corner EU flag and text 'Co-funded by the European Union'

The project aims to demonstrate the possibilities of the technology and inspire actors to explore and define how the technology can be used – while preserving the sector's core values.

Martina Eriksdotter

Strategist for creative industries at AI Sweden

The creative sector is one of Sweden's most important industries with a new national strategy in place and an annual turnover of SEK 650 billion. But it faces an extensive technological transformation that requires new skills, working methods, and leadership – and there is a need to support actors in the transformative technological shift that is taking place. The challenge is not just about the sector's own development, but about a societal transformation where creative industries are crucial for cultural diversity, democracy, and innovation.

As part of the country's largest artistic faculty, HDK-Valand offers a broad and constantly evolving range of educational programs. Through Re:Create – an experimental arena where actors from different sectors meet to explore AI – we want to strengthen and shape the role and future of art in Sweden on art's own terms and conditions. The rapid development of generative AI means that creative industries must participate and experiment to determine how the technology should be used and what ethical frameworks should apply. Then the sector can continue to play its democratically important role in society.

Elena Raviola

Professor at HDK-Valand/Torsten and Wanja Söderberg's Professorship in Design Management and head of Business and Design Lab

Today, there is a clear gap between creative knowledge and the practical implementation of new technology. Many companies lack resources for innovation and development. At the same time, reports show that 88 percent of professionals in, for example, advertising and communication already use AI in some form, while half of them experience stress about not keeping up with the development.

Re:Create focuses on the areas of design, architecture, film, and fashion and has both a theoretical and practical focus as there is a need to test implementations that can strengthen existing design processes. The work takes place through open collaborations between academia, business, and the public sector through an inclusive and accessible approach.

Generative AI can enable smaller actors to produce with higher production values – especially if the competence in the sector is utilized. Therefore, we want to offer industry forums for knowledge exchange on the use of generative AI, support in technical concept development, and the opportunity to collaborate with universities and colleges to develop new work processes.

Andrea Nordwall

PhD in mechanical engineering at Blekinge Institute of Technology and technical advisor in the project

From an international perspective, the creative sector has a high proportion of professional roles that can be changed by generative AI, while the adoption rate is also high. With the right processes and competence, AI-assisted production processes can increase value creation in the sector, but without support, Swedish actors risk falling behind in international competition.

We participate in Re:Create because AI is a key factor in future-proofing the creative industries in Sweden. We hope that the project strengthens the industry's ability to understand, develop, and use AI in a way that both increases competitiveness and promotes sustainable creative development. By working from a system perspective, we can create conditions for Sweden to continue to be a leading creative nation, where film, games, music, and other cultural expressions develop in close interaction with new technology.

Mikael Fellenius

CEO, Film i Väst

Re:Create runs 2025–2027 and will continuously invite to lectures, presentation of case studies, workshops, and conceptual prototype development. The project will become a meeting place where the creative sector, academia, the public sector, and technology companies can test, learn, and build future competence together.

Additional voices from the project participants

The playing field is changing with AI – and with a system perspective, new business models can be developed, new markets can be opened, and opportunities can be created for startups in our network to scale internationally. As an incubator and business developer, we participate in the project for new collaborations, to build on our internal competence, and above all to ensure that our startup companies gain concrete value and benefit from it going forward.

Madeleine Sääf

Business Developer, Borås Ink

We are curious about how AI affects the design process, our role, and our offering. We appreciate that the initiative starts from clearly defined needs. Until recently, there has been a plethora of new tools where the technology itself has been an end in itself – often forced into various disciplines and working methods. Re:Create has the ambition to start from the other end, that is, to define the design process and develop methods, tools, and models that support it. To do this together with other creative industries and academia will inspire and develop us.

Mats Sjögren

Business Area Manager Design Projects & Strategy, Cliff Design

Blekinge Institute of Technology collaborates, among other things, through the Master's program in AI and Machine Learning and will be able to offer the Swedish creative sector support in technical product and process development. We have unique technical infrastructure in Virtual Production Studio Lab and also expertise in AI for the development of products and systems, so we contribute with competence and technology to the project to give participants the opportunity to strengthen their capabilities and competitiveness.

Tobias Larsson

Professor, Blekinge Tekniska Högskola

Chalmers participates in the project because AI not only changes how we conduct teaching, but in the long run also what we teach – that is, what knowledge and skills students need to acquire. Within the design area, this is particularly relevant as generative AI can be used to create ideas, visualizations, concepts, and more. In the project, we hope to get a clearer picture of what demands AI places on future professional roles in the creative industries and how the design process may change, but also to gain a deeper understanding of AI's development and opportunities in general.

Oskar Rexfelt

Associate professor in user-centered design and educational developer, Chalmers University of Technology

Join us for a Creative Connect

Creative Connect is a series of seminars organized by Re:Create during the fall.

Facts

Funding: MSEK 5.54 from Västra Götalandsregionen, The European Union, Tillväxtverket, and project partners

Participating organizations

Public sector partners; Borås Ink, Film i Väst, dialogue partner Borås Science Park
Academic partners; University of Gothenburg/Business and Design Lab, Chalmers University of Technology, Blekinge Institute of Technology
Industry partners; SMEs connected to Public Sector facilitating structures, Tengbom, Cliff Design, dialogue partner Wingårdhs

Project period: 250501-270430