198 Contemporary Arts Workshop
Last week I had the pleasure of delivering a live workshop in South London, for 198 Contemporary Arts and Learning.
The workshop was for a free training program 198 Contemporary Arts are delivering, called FAST FORWARD. Offered to young creatives aged 18-30, interested in taking the next step into a career in visual communication and graphic design.
My workshop was entitled Creativity on Purpose, around how creatives can discover and cultivate their purpose, values, voice, and how we can go about building a meaningful career.
The aim of the workshop was to cover all of the topics that aren’t commonly addressed in traditional art & design programs. Many key lessons that I learned along the way, but wish I had known at the start of my journey.
During the course of our education and working practise in the creative industry, we pick up and develop a lot of what we refer to as ‘hard’ skills – coding, Photoshop, web design, UX, illustration.
And these are all extremely valuable and necessary skills to work in these fields. But the work that creates real impact and measurable change, is not informed by our practical skills.
This work is informed by who we are. What our values are. How we approach our work. What we THINK.
Back when I was a struggling creative, it wasn’t just there weren’t enough jobs, or too many candidates, or biased hiring practises – thought all of those considerations are very real things – I was struggling because I had no purpose. I had no WHY.
When we know our purpose, what we want to contribute to the world, we are ready to produce work that matters.
We are better able to endure the challenges that come our way. And we can make meaningful choices about our careers, and our lives.
Creativity on Purpose – Workshop overview
- Introduction
- ‘Hard’ skills vs Value
- The power of WHY
- Exercise 1 – tell me why you’re here
- My background
- An unsuccessful start
- Asking better questions
- What kind of creative will you be?
- An overview of the creative industry
- Cutting through the noise
- Values are dynamic
- Why purpose matters
- Exercise 2 – hypothetical case study – aligning with a client
- Transformation agents
- Finding purpose
- Exercise 3 – asking questions of ourselves
- Finding your style
- The power of personal projects
- Developing principles
- Working with clients
- The three Ws
- Red flags and the power of NO
- Reframing interviews
- Conclusion – finding your tribe
If you’re interested in attending a Creativity on Purpose workshop in the future, please register your interest below:
Or contact me here.
Based in Brixton, 198 Contemporary Arts and learning’s mission is to nurture and support the career of emerging, under-represented artists and to advance public interest in the visual arts. Read more about 198 here. My thanks to Amanda and the team for having me.
-GB
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