The dark side of creative careers?

By Sam Hastie- Culture Talks host

I am terrified of the future, and maybe you are too.

From a young age we have an expectation of what “work” is; a big, scary monster that makes parents come home grumbling in the evening, and sends them off dead eyed in the morning, always awaiting the glorious two-day reprieve before its “Back to the grindstone”.

Well, that's the impression that I got, anyway.

In the shift from a child to a “Young person”, my perspective changed. I remember being fifteen and eagerly awaiting my birthday so that I could apply to as many minimum wage jobs as possible and start funding my own hobbies.   It wasn't until 17 (after many hair-pulling, teary eyed crash outs on the Indeed website) That I got myself the minimum wage job of my dreams, working in an independent restaurant. Well truth be told, my dream first job was to be a sandwich artist- but I was happy with this regardless.

However, while this job was an absolute gift for the short term, I was constantly aware of the looming threat of ‘the C word’.

Career.

In year 11, I was sat down with my school careers advisor and asked what I wanted to be when I grew up. I was going through a bit of a phase at the time and passionately detailed to her my plan to join MI5. (I told everyone actually, so I probably wouldn't have made a very good spy). Since then, I have cycled through:

·       Outdoor Pursuits instructor

·       Nurse

·       Paramedic

·       Author

·       Journalist

·       Politician

·       Lawyer

·       Teacher

·       Director

·       Actor

In the span of two years. My neck hurts from the whiplash.

In those two years though, I was able to uncover the thread that tied it all together, that I always came back to, and that was the theatre.

This passion led me to investigate more careers in the arts and become very interested in the culture sector. So, with my interest recognised, I hurled myself full force at it, joining multiple programmes within the field- Where we are, Bookish Club and now, Culture talks. I met the most amazing people doing jobs that I have never even considered, and I wanted in.

The grand result of this whole convoluted journey was work experience with Peterborough Cultural Alliance. I was ready to see the underbelly of all the programs I'd done, the gruelling fights for funding, the bitter boredom of sitting through hours and hours of unproductive meetings, culminating in a “lets circle back”, minefields of corporate jargon to wade through in conversation. The whole field seemed so interesting to me, and so far, it had almost felt too enjoyable. I was sure there was to be some sort of catch, and I was on a mission to unmask it. Maybe MI5 would have worked out.

Imagine how sheepish I felt when I was purely fascinated by every task I was given. The hours of pointless meetings turned out to be information packed, productive 45 minutes with some of the loveliest and most committed people I had ever met. Everything was accessible, understandable, and best of all, everyone was so supportive of me, genuinely asking for my input.

Another element I realised was the flexibility of the job. I was mostly expecting to be working from a laptop all day, but in one week, I got to:

·       Record a podcast episode

·       Do some proofreading

·       Visit a primary school

·       Sit in on meetings discussing project funding

·       Gather and organise information

·       Analyse Data

·       Visit the brilliant Nene Nursery

·       Dabble in event planning

·       Have far too much fun with Canva

I am at a point in my life right now where I know what I want from higher education, and while this week hasn't changed my plan- which is to attend a Drama school- It has helped me realise that theatre is not an evening-time-only sector, 8 shows a week and no exceptions. It takes a whole team of dedicated and talented people to help inject that creativity and passion into everyday life.  

Art and culture are what bind us together as people, and as communities. So as long as there are humans, there will be art. And as long as there is art, there will be innovation.

So maybe I don't need to be too afraid for the future, now that I've found my passion. I just need to take it in my stride.