Author: Diya Vaya
The Creative Careers Commitment (CCC) is a revolutionary campaign which aims to create sustainable opportunities for upcoming, young creatives. Art partners, including Contact Theatre, Royal Exchange, Beatfreeks and Poet in the City, share the vision of an industry that allows for emerging talent to be immediately harnessed and celebrated. The campaign, directed to the industry, highlights the vitality of creating space for young people. This is achieved by ensuring there are enough opportunities, resources, and roles for upcoming artists.
The significance of having young minds in the industry is voiced by Catherine Nicholson from Poet In The City who explains, “art must be reflective of our society, and therefore ideas need to be generated across the generations, not just from those who have been doing it for years.” Additionally, Nicholson explains how emerging creatives can introduce a new light into the industry. Fresh minds are not constrained by previously placed limits, which people working in the field for a long time may have become accustomed to. Instead, new minds can break perceived notions and the traditional way of doing things. They “have the power to show us new ways of doing things, new ideas and new formats for presenting creative work.”
In the current climate, young people have been caged in ‘participatory roles’, in which organisations offer short-term, free youth schemes, but not employment opportunities. The Creative Careers Commitment has made it a priority to re-shape the hiring narrative that the youth face. This is being done by tackling subject areas such as fair pay, diversity, peer support and role transparency. Role transparency helps create a sense of belonging, and a better understanding of the industry for the youth. The CCC campaign aims to create opportunities that not only generates ‘exposure’ for the artist, but instead creates mediums for individuals to use their artistic skills and talents to pay their bills. A significant importance has also been placed in conserving cultural heritage. The campaign actively works to ensure that the industry is representative of people from different social, cultural and economic backgrounds.
CCC’s work so far has been incredibly inspiring and has stirred a new hope in the creative industries. The campaign sparks conversations that promote new ways of working, encouraging art organisations to commit to creating roles especially for young people. Since April, creative organisations have identified new roles to encourage young people into the creative industries, thus prioritising space for an often underrepresented demographic in the sector. For young artists, the campaign opens an array of avenues to kick start their creative careers, from providing a safe space for upcoming artists in which they are guaranteed skills development, to platforming their work through different channels. As one example, for aspiring tv and film producers, being a part of the The Creative Careers Commitment will give you access to a network of organisations and individuals in the production sector. Catherine also explains “you will also have access to producing templates and resources and be part of change-making conversations and research in diversifying the creative sector”.
Thanks to initiatives like the CCC, young creatives and artists can feel safer and more supported when venturing newly into the industries. According to Nicholson, “the networks and connections have already enabled work experiences, and we have connected with researchers and other networks supporting producers”. She goes on to implore art organisations to provide aid in the form of re-considering and restructuring areas that accommodate for the youth, cultural diversity, and disability access. The CCC has reminded us that as an artistic community, we should continue to have conversations that challenge the current norm of doing things, and instead propose progressive ways that accelerate the rate at which talent is not only harnessed and monetised, but translated in a manner that propagates revolutionary ideas. We should ensure that we are continuously moving upwards, and working on creating a sustainable, inclusive industry which sustains a diverse workforce.
To get involved with The Creative Careers Commitment, visit their website and get in touch with Catherine Nicholson.