MADE believes that knowledge about the kinds of careers you can find in the arts should be an essential part of every school’s careers programme. With this in mind, we brought together our experts on Youth Voice and Employability to begin building a leadership programme that would introduce young people aged 14+ to the arts & culture venues on their doorstep. Over 6 months, they have been hosted by 6 different venues and meet the inspirational people running them.
On Saturday, our long-standing group of Creative Influencers met the Creative Leaders to celebrate their graduation from the programme and welcome them into the MADE family. The Creative Influencers made them personalised postcards and certificates to mark the occasion!
The day began with a talk from Factory International staff: Femi Tahiru, Cultural Learning & Participation Officer and Sorcha Steele, Head of Sound. They spoke about their unique career paths into the industry and opened the floor to questions from the young people.
Binish Syed Qurashi talked on her experience as a long-term creative influencer.
"Yesterday I was talking to high school kids ... never did I think I'd be doing a talk without my voice quivering, now I'm just like yeah let's just do it. What matters is the small steps you take. For me it's like I've always had the passion, so I've tried everything... It's opened up so many doors not just creatively but politically and making a change politically through creativity... I've seen so many theatres and exhibitions I didn't even know existed." - Binish, 18
The Creative Influencers then led a workshop for the Creative Leaders, inviting everyone to draw how they felt, and facilitating icebreaker games. Brendan and Maggie led a talk on their own growth since the start of their engagement with the programme.
"I thought it was just being an actor and full stop that would be it - this has shown me there's roles such as clothes designer, stage manager and they all have merit - they all ask for different skills - it's great because now I know I would also love to be a director or stage manager or producer or work on lighting" - Brendan, 14
They enjoyed a wonderful lunch of pizza in The Social, admiring the many creative talks and activities happening around them as part of Mubi Fest. The afternoon finished with a celebration of the end of the Creative Leaders pilot, and an evaluative activity where both groups fed back on what works about the MADE youth voice programmes, and what next year could bring.
"before this I didn't know how many things you could do in the arts industry except the obvious ones" - Rosie
"You here about the common jobs like actually being on stage but not what goes on behind the scenes" - Franki
"You don't really realise all the things that happen behind when you're watching something - it's such a communal - everyone has a part to play". - Shaye
“We’d like to be more present at trustee meetings next year so we can be a part of those conversations.” - Brendan
Following the session, the group took a tour around the ‘Feel Good Chicken Factory’ as part of Factory International’s exhibition, Sweet Dreams. The young people were captivated by the stunning visuals, ambitious lighting and set pieces, and questions around food, desire, and how we eat, remarking that it was completely unique from any other performance they’d ever experienced!
Upon the culmination of our last Creative Leaders session of the year, we would like to thank all of the venues and creative professionals that have given their space and time to helping nurture the next generation. A massive well done to the Leaders that showed up every month to completely new spaces, sharing their ideas and taking risks together – without your bravery and curiosity, this pilot could not have taken place.
We’re excited to see what the next year will hold as we evaluate what the Creative Leaders 2025 programme will look like!
