Early Careers Club

Have you just graduated from a creative degree course?  Maybe you didn’t go to Uni but you’re ready to start your career in the creative industries?  Perhaps you’re already working as a creative professional, but you still feel you’ve got important skills to learn.

The Early Careers Club is an informal network for people at the beginning of their professional creative career, working in any creative art form, from any background, including those who feel they’re underrepresented in the South West’s cultural sector.

You might be aiming for a career in arts administration, circus, dance, film, music, opera, art & craft, performance-making, photography, producing, poetry, puppetry, sculpture, song, storytelling, theatre, or another art form.

The Early Careers Club will enourage members to create a plan for their own future professional development with our team, and at each meeting members will co-create, design and programme workshops and events as a group to help you develop your practice and next steps into the industry.

Regardless of how you’ve got here or where you are, our Early Creative Careers Club is a space for developing individuals or companies at the start of a creative journey. Typically, we imagine that you’ll be aged 18+ and within the first five years of your career.

Please get in touch if you feel none of this applies but you’d still like to find out how to get involved.

What you’ll get out of it:

• Become part of a network of similar people in Somerset and the South West.
• Learn from other people at early stages of their career.
• Build relationships with established arts professionals.
• Gain skills for increasing your employability including, for example: CV writing, looking for work, interview skills, self-producing, tour booking, finances & fundraising and more.
• Find a safe space to share your ideas for your own creative projects.
• Be able to co-design your own rolling programme of professional development.
• Access opportunities also available to established creative professionals.

What's the committment?

The Early Career Club meets each month, you can join at anytime and leave when you are ready.

Meetings take place monthly, either in-person at Westlands Entertainment Venue in Yeovil or online.  Our first meeting will be Tuesday 30 January at 2pm.

Why are we doing this?

We want to connect emerging creatives with Somerset’s established arts community.
We want to safeguard Somerset’s creative future by supporting tomorrow’s professionals today.
We want to invest in local professional creatives & companies.
We want to make art & culture accessible to Somerset’s residents, where they live.

How do I apply?

Apply to the Early Careers Club by completing this form.

If you’re not sure this is right for you but you want to check, or for further information, contact our Arts Engagement Officer Nick White on 01395 862514 or Nick.White@somerset.gov.uk.

Eligibility

To be eligible for this opportunity, applicants must be:

• Aged 18+
• An early-career or established professional independent creative or company working in circus, dance, film, music, opera, painting, photography, poetry, puppetry, sculpture, song, storytelling, theatre, or another art form.
• Able to demonstrate a connection to Somerset.

To discuss your needs further, contact Arts Engagement & Outreach Officer Nick White via nick.white@somerset.gov.uk or call 01935 462514.