The University Of East London’s Alison Lowe on founding an event driven by collaboration
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“One of the biggest challenges in the creative industries is not knowing who to connect to – it’s still very much who you know,” said Alison Lowe, director of careers and enterprise at the University Of East London’s School Of Arts And Creative Industries.
“The other main one is confidence.”
Both, however, will be firmly in the crosshairs early next month as UEL’s Creative Industries Festival arrives at the institution’s Royal Docks Centre For Sustainability.
Billed both as a careers fair and a major networking opportunity, the four-day event aims to attract those working in art, architecture, performing arts, fashion, media, advertising, illustration and business as well as those seeking opportunities in those sectors.
“While it was my idea, we have an amazing group of students and interns that have worked on it – it’s really all about their generation,” said Alison.
“Anyone who is creative can come along.
“For students and alumni it will be about getting on the career ladder.
“We’ll have recruiters here and talent scouts looking for the next generation of talent, so it will be a brilliant opportunity.
“Then there will also be lots of workshops, learning and networking.
“It’s tough to get a job in the creative industries and there’s often a gap with graduates not having the right contacts, so we want them to come along and meet people.
“It will also be for people working in the creative industries.
“It’s not always easy to see who’s doing what, so we want lots of big organisations to come along so we can all learn about each other – what are we doing and how we can collaborate.”
the Creative Industries Festival, a natural move
It’s an area that Alison is well-placed to operate in, having spent much of her career connecting creative people with employment opportunities and helping brands communicate their stories to customers.
“I started in performing arts at 16 at the Birmingham Rep as an actress,” she said.
“I had no training, went along to an audition and got my first job.
“Working in the performing arts for several years, I discovered I’m also a natural entrepreneur.
“After a few years, I realised that while I could always find work, a lot of people I knew couldn’t, and they were far better actresses and singers than I was.
“So I started helping other people and founded my first business, Chameleon, which was a recruitment consultancy for creative people.
“I’ve had seven businesses, all of them consultancies or recruitment firms.
“My last business, Felicities, ran for 25 years supporting fashion designers, which saw me awarded an MBE for services to the industry.
“Initially I came to UEL to write some new programmes such as an MBA in fashion entrepreneurship and an MA in creative enterprise and came to the director’s role from that.
“The festival will be partly a path to jobs, but also to help build relationships within the creative sector.
“Luckily, with the work I’ve done, I’ve got quite a lot of connections, so I can reach out to people and ask if they’ll be part of it, so it’s building those community links.
“It’s also to get the young people in and ask them what their challenges are – to find out what they are trying to overcome in 2024 when they’re trying to get an interview or an audition.”
manifesting a future
“Something that I learnt many years ago when I was starting out was to tell people I was an actress rather than talking about whatever other work I might have been doing to pay the bills,” said Alison.
“The word now is ‘manifesting’.
“I remember going to a party and someone asked me what I did.
“I said I was an actress and felt such a twit saying it, because I’d finished the Birmingham Rep job and there wasn’t another one to follow it.
“But he said: ‘Oh, are you?’, and turned out to be a director, so I worked for him for the next two years.
“The lesson is that if you don’t say what you are, it won’t happen.
“If you are confident about who you are and what you do, other people will believe you.
“I think that’s a real challenge for a lot of our students at UEL. Perhaps they come from more disadvantaged backgrounds and might often be first-generation creatives – they may have relatives asking them when they’re going to get a proper job because they don’t have any experience of these industries.
“Then there’s the challenge of actually getting paid.
“As a young fashion designer, for example, everyone wants you to do everything for free. But getting paid is about valuing yourself and what you do. It’s vital.”
together to collaborate
Partners for the Creative Industries Festival will include Canva, Lego, GLA, East Bank, the Foundation For Future London, Cine Circle, The Developing Room and creativeLDN.
The three-day programme at Royal Docks boasts free workshops, talks, panel discussions, installations, performances, a pop-up shop, hackathons, showcases and a creative talent careers fair.
“We want it to be fun and to have a real creative buzz,” said Alison.
“We’ve invited as many people as possible from the creative industries.
“For the Community Day, we’ll be working with Stratford Originals who will be coming up with a map for people to go around different creative spaces in Stratford.
“We’ll be starting off at St John’s Church Yard, with activities for all the family at the different creative businesses participating.
“It’s really about fostering that community spirit.”
Another key focus for the festival will be how business and creativity interact.
“Entrepreneurs are creative people, so the festival is also about creative thinking in business,” said Alison.
“What we’ve learned over the last few years is that we have to be creative in our business activities to succeed.
“In a nutshell, the festival presents a platform for change, where creative talent, policymakers, academics, entrepreneurs and students will come together to share knowledge, develop collaborations and initiate innovations.
“Come and join us to make positive changes throughout the creative industries.”
key details: Creative Industries Festival
UEL’s Creative Industries Festival takes place over three days at the Royal Docks Centre For Sustainability from September 4-6, 2024. Times vary.
This will be followed by a Community Day at St John’s Church Yard in Stratford, running from 11am-2pm on September 7, 2024.
Tickets for the festival are free.
You can find more details and listings here
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- Jon Massey is co-founder and editorial director of Wharf Life and writes about a wide range of subjects in Canary Wharf, Docklands and east London - contact via jon.massey@wharf-life.com
