Why am I doing this?

I wanted to talk about today about I am focused on working class cultural professionals finding a way to make the most of their career. I am here to help you thrive so you can have a thriving career full of impact and joy.

Why?

Simple it’s never been harder.

Look at these headlines

Britain’s art institutions face death by a thousand cuts. Why are they just putting up with it?

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/mar/22/britain-arts-institutions-cuts

Artists in UK public sector making far below minimum wage, survey finds

https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2023/mar/12/artists-in-uk-public-sector-making-far-below-minimum-wage-survey-finds?

Bullying bosses, broken boards and a crisis of accountability

https://www.artsprofessional.co.uk/magazine/article/bullying-bosses-broken-boards-and-crisis-accountability

Add in a culture of no inflationary pay rises and a decade of austerity this is possibly the worst time it has ever been for a cultural professional.

And it’s worse if you are working class with an accent just look at some of the comments on my recent post on the issue which has had a huge reach

https://www.dhirubhai.net/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7042056910048481282/

Looking back I now realise I had very little help in developing my career. I was lucky though, opportunities were there for me and I made the most of them. I led some great teams, we achieved some amazing things and yet, knowing what I know now, I know I could have done far more if only I’d had the right help at the right time.

You see in the midst of your career you are too busy doing to get the chance to step back reflect and think about where you want to go.

What I missed was somebody who had been in my shoes, who knew the landscape and had the insight, skills and knowledge to help me think differently about my work and how I did it.

I would have networked better, made better choices, but more importantly, I would have felt more able to deal with the huge pressures I often had to face.

Those pressures damaged me, but I didn’t realise it. The right support at the right time would have helped, a few quid spent would have reaped huge dividends for me and my organisation.

You have the right to enjoy your work to be supported in doing that work and have the tools and resources to cope with a set of pressures which are deeply unfair.

If you’d value a chat simply message me and if you’d like to work with me we can discuss a programme of support which is right for you.

Best wishes

Keith