My journey with Arts Emergency began in 2021, during the pandemic, when I was matched with mentor, Simon - a theatre director and acting coach. I had very different goals at the time. I wanted to be a musical theatre performer but found myself in inaccessible and exploitative working environments before I knew I was neurodivergent.
During my mentoring year, I built my skills and confidence in networking which I’d always found daunting. Simon and I began talking about advocacy in the creative sector and I started to look at policy and feedback methods, especially for people from marginalised backgrounds. I found it was something I was really interested in, and I switched my masters from Musical Theatre to Arts Management. Simon reassured me I’d be okay switching to this masters.
I built my skills and confidence in networking which I’d always found daunting.
Through the AE Young Community newsletter, I applied for an internship with Box of Tricks theatre company, and I got it! This meant I could quit my night job and do the internship, supporting and developing artist development programmes and being an assistant producer on the show. I led the audience evaluations and reporting which was real life experience. Simon also organised for me to do a speed networking day, so I could meet people working in different job roles across the theatre industry.
As part of the Youth Collective I feel like my voice has been heard and turned into actions
Through the Young Community I’ve had coaching and joined the AE Programme Steering Group, this was fantastic with my interest in cultural policy and making functional changes. I studied Dr Dave O’Brien in my Masters so it was great to be in the same room as him and work with him as a peer.
I joined the AE Youth Collective in 2024 and it gave me real affirmation that what I believe in and the change I want to see is reflected by others, this was especially important to me while I had an unstable personal life.
I’ve championed Youth Assemblies and made sure we connect to the wider Young Community and that their voices are heard. I’m now moving on from the Youth Collective, stepping back and encouraging the new cohort to come in to their own - it’s a beautiful thing to see.
As part of the Youth Collective I feel like my voice has been heard and turned into actions. It’s a group who want to see good things happen. The world can feel isolating if you don’t have the right people around you, so it was an anchoring in my life to know that the Youth Collective were there every month, doing good work.
I joined the AE Youth Collective in 2024 and it gave me real affirmation that what I believe in and the change I want to see is reflected by others
A highlight of my time as a Youth Collective member was speaking at an event at Brian Eno’s studio. It was incredible to be in a room with established artists and creatives who want to do good in the industry. I felt like their equal, like I belonged in that space. Looking back, I felt so uncomfortable in these professional spaces before my mentorship and now I navigate them confidently. If it wasn’t for Simon and Arts Emergency I wouldn’t be in the job I am now as Inclusion Programme Manager at Sheffield Theatres.
I bring the Arts Emergency ethos into everything I do. I’m proud to be part of the network, and have now applied to mentor a young person in the future!