Advice and guidance for parents whose children are considering careers in the arts or media.
Creative Journeys was a careers event about working in the creative and cultural industries.
For a presentation about the types of jobs people do, the qualities they need and the ways in then click here
Teachers got in touch to tell us:
“… a HUGE THANK YOU for yesterday! My pupils really enjoyed the day!”
“We had a great day; the opportunity to meet industry professionals was enviable and gave a great insight into aspects of the creative industry which was really relevant to many of my students.”
Workshop leaders from the creative and cultural sector fed back to tell us they were impressed by:
“The number of young people who are confident of what they want to do for the rest of their lives.”
“The smooth running and organisation of the event, normally large events with young people can be busy, challenging and chaotic – however everything was very calm, made it better!”
As part of the event, we held a session for parents who had questions and concerns about their children’s interests in working in the arts or media.
Young people, during the careers event added their own Top Tips about what they had learnt about working in the sector. They also added their thoughts about what advice they would like given to their parents. To see those top tips click here.
“A Proper Job?”: an original piece of theatre created by The Birmingham REP.
This piece was commissioned by Creative Alliance for the Creative Journey’s Creative Careers event.
250 young people from schools across the region took part in the Creative Journeys event gathering top tips about the jobs there are, the qualities they need and the routes into working in the creative and cultural sector. At lunchtime they were all gathered back into the theatre at The Public and asked two questions:
1. What top tips have you discovered so far?
2. What advice would you like your parents to be given if they have questions or concerns about your ambition to work in the arts or media?
The young people gave us some great feedback. You can read some of that feedback here. A three person team from The Birmingham REP then used that feedback to devise an original piece of theatre to reflect what the young people had said. This piece of theatre was then shown at The Parent’s Question Time event later that afternoon to stimulate discussion. You can see the piece of theatre here.
A panel of professionals were on hand to answer questions and provide some insights from their own experience. They included:
Carol Jones is a Director and the West Midlands Region Representative for NCN, a membership organisation for those who share a commitment to improving the provision of high quality careers education, information, advice and guidance services for young people; helping them to achieve employability and a successful transition to adult and working life. www.ncnxn.org Carol has provided a lot of advice for young parents and people this summer. To see some of it go to: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-14526439
Carol said that:
Thought for Parents: research really matters so encourage your daughter or son to find out as much as they can about the job they are interested in. Very often young people are not aware of the wide range of opportunities in an occupational sector and the creative sector is no exception. As well as using websites encourage your son or daughter to talk directly to people in the sector; work experience is really valuable and doesn’t have to be a week, a day or two will give them a ‘flavour’ and help them relate their skills and interests in a work environment. In my experience, employers and professionals are usually very helpful and generous towards young people who are genuinely exploring their career options.
Ness Cole is a parent with two sons working in the arts. One of her observations was that:
“If young people have the passions and talent, and the parental support, then there’s no reason that a job in the arts or media is any less viable than anywhere else. Everything is high risk now. There are no guarantees about anything and so it’s better to do something you love.”
“I was asked to come along and be a panel member for the Parent’s Question time, even though I am not an artist, or an expert in the creative industries. What I do have is experience as a Mum of sons who have pursued careers in the arts, so I guess I was there to offer a listening ear and maybe some reassurance for parents who have sons or daughters interested in getting involved with another event like this in the future.
I have three sons and all of them have an interest in the arts. My eldest son Rudi (22) left home at 16 to study at Northern School of Contemporary Dance. Since graduation, he went straight into a job with Thor Dance Company in Belgium and has been touring with them ever since. I admit, I was initially concerned that it would be difficult for him to get a job in this competitive field, but dance was his passion and he was so driven to pursue it as a career, that it was the best course for him. He is now living a fantastic life and while not exactly cash rich, has had experiences and seen places that most people haven’t had the opportunity to.
Although pursuing a course in the arts can seem risky, it seems to be no more so than any other course and if young people have the talent, drive and passion for their art form, there is no reason that they can’t make a living doing the thing they love the most.
My middle son Azizi (18), has made the decision not to go to university at the moment, but is working to develop his music career while working part time. He is using his time to make contacts, ask other musicians for their advice, practicing his drumming techniques and getting as many gigs as possible. There are a range of options that he could pursue, but at the moment he is still considering these and like most young people of his age, he doesn’t have a static view of their career path. However, he is working hard to pursue his dream of earning his living as a drummer.Sherrazi
Son number three (15) is yet undecided, but interestingly, we won’t know where to start as parents if he takes an academic route – we’re just not used to that!”
Emily Chell is Team Leader for Performing Arts at Sandwell College. She has also worked professionally as an actor and director. The point she made, is that “although a Performing Arts course does not guarantee a student work, in a highly competitive industry, the experience of taking part will enrich and develop the student and prepare them for many other careers. They will always have a passion and an area of expertise which will be an invaluable asset to them throughout life.”
Jamie Dunn is the Managing Director of Made By Young People. MBYP deliver hands on enterprise education to young people, but also supply promotional goods such as Banners, T-shirts, Hoodies, Mugs and other products. Jamie is also a professional speaker that has now spoken in 10 countries and he has also won on award for Youth Excellence.
Mitra Memarzia is a freelance artist working in a variety of media including photography, film, installation, sculpture performance and interactive technology within various socially engaged contexts. With a combined theory and practice PhD in fine art on Contemporary Iranian Women Artists, her specialist subject is the construction and representation of identities and how art brings people together.” As a creative producer, I am an expert in bringing people and ideas together through collaboration and cross pollinating between a variety of creative industries and individuals. I relish in being where I am least expected to be!” She is currently
- Artist educator at Tate Britain
- Specialist Lecturer in Professional Practice – Art and Design at Sheffield Hallam University
- Associate Lecturer in Fine Art at Birmingham Institute of Art and Design
- Vice Chair at a-n The Artist Information Company
Roz Goddard, a member of The REP team used the tips and feedback collected from the young people to create a poem about a career in the creative and cultural industry.
Matt Windle
I’m a boxer, a poet, and have plumbing qualifications. Before the boxing I was a 100m and 200m sprinter. I was the Birmingham and Midland champion for both events. I was in the top ten in the country for 200m with a PB of 23.8 and 3rd in the country for 100m with a PB of 11.3. Outside of this I’m just a normal lad that enjoys socializing and chillin with my mates. I also support the blues – Birmingham City – for my sins. In 2007/08 I was Birmingham’s Young Poet Laureate and now I travel around the country trying to convince young people that poetry can be cool…