The Only 3 ways Create Success for Yourself (Part 1 of 3)

As a creative there are only 3 ways to earn money from your creativity. These reduce down to; working creatively in the community, commissioned work and creative expression. In the next 3 articles I will outline each one and provide a little advice on how to succeed in that area.



1. Community



By community, I mean doing creative work with particular social groups as part of a project or initiative aimed at bringing the wider community into contact with creative cultural pursuits.



In the past I have worked on small circus projects with young people in Tyneside, a schools music project in Greater Manchester, theatre projects with homeless people in Wales among many, many others. These projects are usually designed around the achievement some kind of social impact with the chosen group, for instance, reducing anti-social behaviour or engaging the group with the community beyond their own social grouping.



In the UK this is where most of the grant monies, made available by bodies like The Arts Council of England and local authority arts teams are aimed. These organisations have targets for engagement and provide grants as a form of sub-contracting to creatives in order to hit those targets.



Usually working with creatives in the UK, one of the first questions I get asked is "where can I find a grant or funding?".

The answer is, that the only place you can get grants these days is by doing work in the wider community on behalf of the organisations I have mentioned above.

3 Top Tips For Working in the Community.

• Speak to your local Arts Development Officer - Most Local Government Offices have an Arts Development Officer, whose job it is to co-ordinate community arts projects within their area. Informing them of your presence and areas of expertise will help you to get involved in any future projects.
• Sign Up for Arts Council Newsletters and Updates. - All of the Arts Council regional offices produce a newsletter or email round-up of current projects and future funding initiatives. Mailout Magazine published in North West England is also full of excellent information.
• Speak to the Local Expert - All around the UK there are experts in working with community groups, find out who they are (the Arts Council or local Arts Development Officer will be able to tell you) and pick their brains about how to involve yourself in the local scene. They will usually be more than delighted to help you out with local information and contacts.

Part 2 of this series, commissioned work to follow.