Professional Practice and Placement Module - Week One

      Before I came to university I was working in the events industry as a circus performer and talent agent. I had previously imagined that I would continue my existing career leaving university, but with a view to using my existing skills and those learned whilst studying to create live art and performance pieces for different audiences or for a different purpose. The Covid-19 pandemic has however wiped out a huge amount of my work, the entire events industry is on hiatus for the foreseeable, so now I find myself thinking of other more financially viable careers altogether which would be heart breaking. Hopefully there is potential to work in both the arts and events and make a living between the two. Suddenly my degree and especially my work placement have become even more important than they already were!

     Throughout my life my aspirations have always been to work in a creative field, to travel, to meet new people and most importably to love what I do. I have always been more concerned about being fulfilled by my work than I have the financial gain. I love to perform and want that to be a part of my life for as long as is humanly possible, the only down side to my current work is that in order for it to be economically viable I create quite often to fit a clients brief or a current trend and not for my own reasons or artistic endeavours. After graduating I am hoping that a connection to the arts will allow me to continue experimenting and creating in that way. I would really like to work with other artists creating live art/performances. 

      I was concerned about managing to find a work placement that I would both enjoy and learn from during a pandemic but after our meeting on Microsoft Teams with our module leader I feel much more optimistic. A number of options have been found and suggested to us by the lecturer giving us plenty to consider if we do not have a plan for our placements already. I had inquired about the art therapy at Dovegate prison through a contact there, but due to Covid-19 they are currently not running any workshops or utilising the studio there. My "plan B" was to put on an exhibition as I know some of the level 5 students had done the year before. After hearing all of the suggestions during our meeting I am intrigued to find out more before deciding. 

    Some of the contacts mentioned I am already familiar with, I'm excited to hear from them and some new faces too.      

I plan to look into each of the suggestions offered to us by our lecturer to see what each artist/organisation/venue offer specifically and imagine how I and my work might fit in. I will make notes on what I could gain from each and then compare them and I hope that in doing so I will also have a few ideas of my own to consider. 

[Feline assistant]