I’ve been asking myself that question for much of the past year. If you don’t know my story, I grew up in Canada. In 2002, I moved to the UK. In 2018, I moved back to Canada. I was gone for 16 years. In that time, I built a new ‘home’. I became a citizen […]
Why Forecasting the Future is a Fool’s Game
I’ve been cleaning up some papers lately (inspired by my binge watching of Marie Kondo on Netflix) and I came across a pile of newspaper clippings that I thought were worth keeping. The first one I read was from the London Evening Standard on Friday 19 September 2008 written just after the great banking […]
It’s Time To Dissect Working for Free
Recent research published by IPSE, the Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed found that 43% of their workers had worked for free. This rose to 86% of those in the creative industries. Now it doesn’t specify the timeline, i.e. is that 86% who have EVER worked for free or 86% who have recently […]
Being an Introvert in Business
I’m teaching an entrepreneurship class right now to University students on a performing arts degree course. There’s 19 of them in the class and they’re all in their early to mid-20’s. They’re bright, conscientious, and sparky. Some are goofy and loud and extroverted. Their personalities shine through, they love to talk up in class and […]
It’s OK to be small
I see advice all the time on ‘how to play big’ or ‘how to up your business game’ or how to ‘scale your business up to the next level.’ But what if that doesn’t interest you? What if you want a happy life instead of a busy life? What if you want ‘just enough’ instead […]
We Can’t Let Fear Win
This past weekend I had the privilege of attending the Canadian Theatre Educators’ Conference where I met a number of really great people who all teach theatre at different institutions in Ontario. For two days we talked about teaching acting, voice, dance etc – largely, but not exclusively, at the post-secondary level. Something I heard […]
Putting it on the back burner is not the same as forgetting about it
I’ve been burnt. It’s my fault that it happened, but that doesn’t make it any less frustrating. You see, as you might be aware, I kinda put The Thriving Creative on the back burner 3 years ago when I got a full-time academic job. Between the job, 3 hours a day of commuting, and trying […]
Old Posts Are Like Old Photos
So you may have noticed that I have not been blogging much over the past few years. Or maybe you didn’t. Doesn’t matter. What does matter is that I find myself once again being drawn to putting some of my thoughts down on a page and out into the world. This is scary… and it’s […]
Supply & Demand – Are There Too Many Artists?
As I continue my research into sustainability of creative careers, one thing keeps coming up: the subtle balance between supply and demand and the effect that has on opportunities for artists to be paid for their creative work. Historically, artists have done very well when Guilds and Unions have been allowed to control the flow […]
Intrinsic reward – or ‘why we do what we do’
You know most artists don’t earn much money, right? I don’t think this comes as a shock to anyone. Most artists have second jobs (and often third and fourth jobs). Most art is subsidised by the artist themselves. Most artists who study at University don’t earn any more money over their lifetimes than people who […]
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