How to navigate the creative industry? Four upcoming creatives discuss

INT: Great, thanks everyone! So you all graduated in the past few years, how would you describe this experience?

Tami Aftab: I graduated last summer (2020) from London College of Communication, UAL. Naturally, being part of the first Covid-19 pandemic graduates, it wasn’t quite what I had expected. No degree show, no graduation, no exciting rush to make and print physical work.

However! I felt there were a lot of positives. There was so much more support for graduates in terms of mentorships, competitions and general accessibility for reaching out! This massively helped me during this transition period from student to freelance artist.

Jahnavi Inniss: I graduated last year also. I’d always thought I’d graduate and then get a full time job a couple months later, but with the uncertainty of everything it just never went to plan, lol.

Rydel Cerezo: Challenging, yet truly fulfilling. I graduated in 2019 from Emily Carr University, in Vancouver, Canada. I had an amazing first year out, then after things were put on a bit of a pause, it made me reevaluate my direction and career. A lot of my post-grad experience so far has been playing around and resolving what my art practice looks like.

Jahnavi Inniss: Same, I’ve been using the time to experiment and find out what it is I want to do as a career.

Luci Pina: I also graduated last year. I finished university in May 2020 and to be honest, it’s been alright. I’m super grateful for all the opportunities that have come my way since! I didn’t really expect to have a full time job, I always wanted to go into freelance and I think the sweet thing about illustration is that it can transcend the struggles of the pandemic (or it has for me luckily) as most things can exist happily online.

Tami Aftab: I’m also trying not to compare myself to others’ experiences. My partner is an illustrator and he was thriving during lockdown! Full of ideas, time, and space to work. But when I accepted that not every creative deals with this time in the same way, I got some peace and ideas started to come back again.

Rydel Cerezo: I feel that – comparison is a 🤬.Also in regards to making work; I quickly learned the importance of finding a community or even a small set of people that support and champion your work and process.

Luci Pina: For sure! It’s about doing things in your own time. I think what helped me massively was to work on shifting my perspective to my own creative practice and see it more as a thing I do because it helps me. It’s what makes me feel focused and fulfilled as opposed to seeing it as this big scary thing I have to do. It’s easier said than done obviously, but I’ve been making work when I feel inspired and when I have something to say; never try to push it out of guilt or pressure!

Jahnavi Inniss: Yes!!

Tami Aftab: I think there could definitely be more transparency on how much money there are in certain jobs, and how much to value yourself at. I feel it can be easy for recent graduates to be taken advantage of because of this!

Rydel Cerezo: Yes to this!

Luci Pina: So true! It’s so hard to figure out numbers when you’re first starting out! Definitely wish people spoke about money more openly.

I personally feel like it would have been nice for my uni to have made more opportunities for our graduating year, considering the circumstances in which we graduated. Like, something as simple as letting us come back and use facilities during the summer, or checking in a little bit more as an institution? I feel like a lot of us have felt left to it once the course was over, which is a shame really!

Jahnavi Inniss: Yeah when I was approached for my first freelance commission I had to find my old tutors email and ask them for advice as I had no idea about pricing. I also think universities could have been better with letting us use the facilities after graduating. Also, I think it would have helped to know the different roles within the industry. I’m still seeing jobs and people doing jobs that look amazing, but I had no idea they existed.

Rydel Cerezo: Agreed. Alumni support should really be talked about more in institutions.

Rydel Cerezo: Yes! Previous to the pandemic I was working as a server/waiter to support my practice for years! A silver lining that came from it was that it forced me to finally go freelance and thankfully, through grants and commissions, I’ve been able to work full time on my creative practice.

Tami Aftab: That leap to fully freelance is one I’m balancing on the fence of, after so long with a monthly income from a part-time job it feels like a very scary step to take – especially during the pandemic.

Jahnavi Inniss: And also, due to the pandemic, whilst working in a supermarket I became a key worker and so in a sense I had job security? Which made me reluctant to leave and get a job because I feared I could be made redundant as I was seeing so many job losses within the creative sector during this time.

Rydel Cerezo: Also, a quick thing, I think job security is so important and I hate the way we feel shame for prioritising it. I think securing an income can allow freedom and less pressure on your practice which is great.

Luci Pina: Yup! And it’s so unrealistic to set these standards anyway, when you’re starting out on your own, this is most likely the reality of it and there’s nothing wrong with that 💫💫💫.

Tami Aftab: I also felt happier working in the cafe than doing a full-time photo job, that would’ve used up a lot of creative energy and perhaps diverted me. Sometimes being a barista can use no thought at all! Which saves space for my own practice.

INT: This is the first year we’re opening applications for what was previously called The Graduates to be open for anyone entering the creative industry, whether they’ve been through higher education or not.

I was wondering how you feel after going to university for a creative subject and what the benefits or negatives were?

Tami Aftab: University really helped me to think critically about my work, contextualising my ideas, confidence and also learning practical qualities such as shooting on film, hand printing, using the studio etc.

However, I believe success mainly comes from hard work, and perseverance (and as we can’t ignore it, for many artists, nepotism and good luck.) But hard work can definitely be done out of the university context. I also learnt a lot from assisting, probably more so than I did from university when it comes to the avenues I want to pursue now. It’s something I’d recommend to any photographer!

Jahnavi Inniss: I mainly use Instagram. Use hashtags or tag pages that are relevant to what you’re posting. Also, I know of a photographer who would take photos of artists at concerts and other stuff and tag the artists and big brands. Advice to people breaking in would be to put yourself out there!! Promote your work. Someone, somewhere will see it and engage with it.

Rydel Cerezo: Entering competitions helped me massively, also having a website and absolutely editing down to showcase your best work is 🔑.

Tami Aftab: Instagram is great, if it works for you! It doesn’t suit everyone. I think also, talking to people frequently – reaching out and putting yourself out there via competitions, folio reviews or general chat. Word of mouth is key too! So many opportunities have come from someone telling someone telling someone about my work, which is always nice to know.

Luci Pina: I have both Instagram and a website. I think it’s helped me to apply to as many things as possible, email people when it feels appropriate, and keep all platforms updated with what I’m doing! There have been times I haven’t got the thing I applied for but got other stuff as a result of applying!

Tami Aftab: Definitely! So important to also do things you want to do, don’t feel like every opportunity has to be the right one for you.

Luci Pina: Charge more than you think you deserve!!! I think it’s embedded in creatives to think they’re work doesn’t deserve as much as it does. The sad thing is people will take advantage of this! Even if I feel unsure about a number I’m asking for, I put those doubts aside and go for it because if someone is asking you to make something for them they will accommodate and try and work with you on the fees/budget!

Jahnavi Inniss: Unless it’s a charity or really small new independent organisation, there’s usually more than enough budget to pay for your services, so don’t sell yourself short or accept work in the name of ’exposure’.

Rydel Cerezo: Truly – if they can’t pay for your work/time, question if they are worth working for! The power of refusal!

Luci Pina: Yup, it’s kind of a “read the room” situation! If it’s a massive company and they’re paying you nothing, don’t take it because they can definitely afford it. I only lower fees for organisations I really believe in and know don’t have the budget.

INT: It’s very important to set those boundaries with clients and not ever think that knowing your worth might scare them off – if it does, it’s not the right fit for a collaboration!

Jahnavi Inniss: “Why would I want to work on anyone else’s stupid ideas for free when I can just work on my own” – words from my tutor that have stuck with me.

Rydel Cerezo: ^mood.

Tami Aftab: Hahaha, actually so true.