On Being An Arts Professional

I wrote this piece as part of an article that is being published by the National Campaign for the Arts.


The more I learn about the arts industry, the more ideas about my future develop, having realised that earlier career aspirations aren’t for me after all. I discovered Human Resources as a career path when my first arts jobs in theatre administration began to have a strong HR focus. I leapt at the opportunity to move to a bigger organisation where I could become a specialist and this has resulted in a new, broader approach to my career. As an HR Advisor at the Barbican Centre, I find it incredibly rewarding to support the industry I love. Several elements of my background blend well in what is, unapologetically, a demanding and fast paced environment. When advising managers I can draw upon my arts and corporate work experiences, psychology degree and HR training. It’s a great shame that people rarely advocate that the ‘management’ part of arts management can be just as compelling as being in the limelight.

Even so, my creative drive is sustained by working as a freelance musician providing services from sheet music preparation to orchestration to composing for both amateur and professional clients, as well as working on my own music. I specialise in coaching clients on projects which move out of their comfort zone and into mine. The symbiosis of self employment and my HR role means that I am never forced to work on gigs just to pay the bills like other musician friends. I can balance my freelance and personal work with my other commitments. Sadly, it’s my own work (finishing that musical or concerto) which suffers when diary space must be prioritised by income.

There is little cross over between my HR role and being an artist. While I can feel like Clark Kent, I like the mental and emotional separation of switching from being an HR Advisor to a composer to a freelancer. When the work at the Barbican is of such a consistently high quality, it can’t help but raise your outside artistic aspirations (and the volume of your inner critic). I hope that sooner or later this excellence will rub off on me! The opportunity to see different art forms and do something different in the Barbican’s welcoming environment has engaged me in genres, ideas and practices I would never been inclined to try elsewhere, informing and influencing my creative work. It’s not just about the artistic benefit though; every day at the Barbican develops my industry knowledge, business sense, relationship building and communication skills improving my freelance work. In this economic and political climate, it is not only organisations which have to raise their standards, diversify and find different ways of funding the future – individuals must too.

A benefit of HR as a profession is that it exists outside the arts industry making me employable should I have to, or chose to leave the sector. Similarly I sometimes wonder whether that freedom could tempt me away from the arts. Such moments are, at this point in time, just that – momentary. Seeing reactions from Barbican audiences, I feel immensely proud that I am a small part of giving people these experiences. Furthermore, I can’t imagine working in HR for an industry that doesn’t have the same kind of drive, commitment and passion that the staff at the Barbican Centre demonstrate.