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Sustainable work in arts communities

Happy Earth Day for yesterday (and I would also like to wish William Shakespeare a very Happy 405th Birthday today, hope you’re partying down)! If you didn’t get a chance to engage in some sustainable reflection on Earth Day yesterday, I hope this newsletter helps......

Feeling overwhelmed and unconfident? It might be a good sign

A few months ago I attended a freelancing workshop run by Alison Grade. These things can be hit and miss but since it was put on by the Guardian I thought I’d be in fairly safe hands (they often run useful and interesting masterclasses). My biggest takeaway wasn’t...

Is there such a thing as a capitalist artist?

A couple of months ago, I went to a ‘salon’ run by a company called Interintellect (which as far as I can tell just runs conversations on interesting topics with interesting people). The salon was called the Capitalist Artist:  “Writer, painter, and Gumroad founder...

Ep.13: Sarah Benvenuti

Ep.13: Sarah Benvenuti

Arts Grant Consultant Sarah Benvenuti joins host Vivienne Egan in a conversation about grants and fundraising for arts companies, the gaps in arts business practice, the importance of long-term planning and how to monetise and maximise your talents.

Ep.12: Geoff Rowe

Ep.12: Geoff Rowe

Comedy Festival Director Geoff Rowe joins host Vivienne Egan in a conversation about how he founded Leicester Comedy Festival and the Big Difference Company, the motivations behind his work, how humour can be used to connect with people and the necessity to be adaptable for evolving audiences.

Ep.11: Sukh Ojla

Ep.11: Sukh Ojla

Actor, Writer and Comedian Sukh Ojla joins host Vivienne Egan in a conversation about her journey to a full time creative job and writing a novel, managing imposter syndrome, the difficulties of saving for a house as a self-employed artist and forgiving past financial mistakes.

Ep.10: Dan Simpson

Ep.10: Dan Simpson

Poet, educator and performer Dan Simpson joins host Vivienne Egan in a conversation about creating a full-time self-employed poetry career, considering artistic work as an extension of the self, the trick to getting grant applications approved and how practices of teaching and self-reflection are helpful for writing poetry.

Ep.9: Sonja Bajic

Ep.9: Sonja Bajic

Artist, illustrator and map maker Sonja Bajic joins host Vivienne Egan in a conversation about how she created a sustainable income stream through creating maps, the difficulties of approaching businesses for work as an artist, setting yourself up to attract luck and developing new income streams through teaching your craft to others.

Ep.8: Benedict Salter

Ep.8: Benedict Salter

Actor, cake maker and calligrapher Benedict Salter joins host Vivienne Egan in a conversation about how he began his calligraphic cake business Baker and Scribe, the reliability and unreliability of taking up temp jobs whilst acting, managing industry expectations at drama school and navigating savings and pensions when self employed.

Ep.7: Ola Labib

Ep.7: Ola Labib

Stand-up comedian and pharmacist Ola Labib joins host Vivienne Egan in a conversation about juggling the comedy industry with an NHS job, valuing worth beyond financial means, the financial and family responsibilities of a Sudanese background, big dreams for meaningful causes and the exhaustion that can come with writing funny material.