Ten questions for ten creatives
- What do you do for a living?
I work as a freelance marketing & PR consultant specialising in the arts, events and charity sector. - What was the path that led you to do what you do now?
I never really knew what I wanted to do at school and just continued with the subjects I liked best, English and History. I did a joint English and Modern History degree which didn’t qualify me for anything in particular. I was always quite keen to work in the media (well I loved watching TV) and as a way in ended up temping at the BBC. After working in a few departments I was offered a job in the marketing department for BBC News. It was a great training ground for learning about all aspects of marketing & communications and suited a lot of the skills I had. I was involved in the launch of BBC News online and that led me to work extensively in digital media. Almost by chance I was offered a job at 24 Hour Museum, now Culture24, which was how I ended up working in the arts. I worked on lots of interesting cultural projects (Museums at Night / Show Me / ICONS) and decided to become freelance in order to have greater flexibility to work on different projects whilst also raising a young family. - What did you want to be when you were at school?
I never really knew. I had lots of different ideas from being a professional flutist to marine biology and a children’s novelist. I was told by my career’s advisor that I should be a librarian! - What one piece of advice would you give your younger self?
Have confidence in yourself & if you think you can do something – do it – don’t listen to any niggling, doubting voices in your head! - What do you like my most about your job?
I love the range of interesting people and projects I work on. I love seeing the results of my work in terms of people attending events/exhibitions and enjoying their experiences. I’m also very lucky to be able to work on high profile projects yet have flexibility around the hours I work. - What do you find most challenging?
Sometimes it is challenging to be outside of the organisation you are working for; it can be lonely working as a freelancer. It can also be a challenge to manage the workload as often you either have too much work or too little. - What’s your favourite song (at the moment)?
John Martyn, May You Never - If you could travel anywhere, where would you go?
Cuba – to dance through the night. - Name three things that you always take with you to work on an average day.
Phone, note book and a colourful pen! - Tell us a joke or a secret.
A horse walks into a bar. The bartender says, “why the long face?”.
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