Career lunch for the 2024-25 LYC cohort
The Lighthouse team and LYC mentors recently hosted a career story lunch with our new cohort of Lighthouse Young Creatives (LYC) at the Lighthouse Project Space. We were also joined by previous LYC alumni, some of whom are our current Future Creative Leaders. During this lunch, we shared our personal career journeys and valuable advice about navigating the creative industry.
We realised that many of us had taken non-linear paths to get where we are today, driven by a deep passion for the arts that led us to explore different roles and approaches.
For Lighthouse, career story lunches are incredibly important as they give emerging creatives a chance to learn directly from those who are already working in the field they aspire to join. By hearing the real-life experiences, challenges, and insights of professionals, young creatives gain a more realistic view of their career path and the resilience it requires.
Below, we highlight some of the advice that was shared at the lunch from career stories to looking back, what we'd tell our 18-year-old selves.
"What advice do you wish you'd had when you were 18 and thinking about a career in the creative sector?"
Believe in your own mission.
Take feedback but learn when it's not for you.
You are where you’re meant to be.
Learn to listen.
Put yourself and your art out there.
Don't be your own worst critic.
Make the work.
Network, network, network!
Don't be ashamed of what you don't know.
Read on to hear some of our Lighthouse team talk about their career paths.
What do you do at Lighthouse? I’m the Head of Programme at Lighthouse and I currently run Lighthouse Young Creatives. Producing is a constellation of jobs all rolled into one, one day you’re wearing a creative hat, the next a legal one, an admin one, a logistics one. It’s always changing, but the best part is getting to help artists tell stories and share them with audiences in the most creative way possible. I love getting to work with LYC, they’re the next generation of artists and creative leaders, so it’s a privilege to see them at the beginning of their journeys.
How did you get to where you are now career-wise? I knew I was interested in telling stories, and i got my first job in the current affairs department at the BBC, as a trainee runner. That led to production assistant roles and then working for a film production company for 4 years, seeing some incredible films go through the process of script to screen. I loved the script part, the strange, frustrating, magical art of taking an idea and working out how to tell it, first on the page, before it gets to production. I joined the UK Film Council in the script development department…and that later led me to Lighthouse where I was able to expand into working with visual artists, sound artists, academics, filmmakers, VR and immersive experiences - working out how to bring stories to life through new mediums and with different tools.
What advice do you wish you'd had when you were 18 and thinking about a career in the creative sector? To push to be included, and not be ashamed of what I didn’t know. I think we spend a lot of time worrying about not being as experienced or informed as other people in any given room - and rarely does anyone admit to being unsure. I think admitting that and making a commitment to working something out as a community or a team is a powerful thing. I wish I’d worked that out sooner, and stopped either pretending to know things (that I didn’t!) or not putting myself in situations at all unless I felt I knew all the things (you can’t!).
What do you do at Lighthouse? I’m the Project Assistant at Lighthouse, so I support across a range of projects and programmes that we produce. I help to run Lighthouse Young Creatives and Future Creative Leaders, which are both programmes that support local, young creatives at different stages of their artistic and professional journeys. From admin tasks to helping to deliver workshops and events, my role allows me to contribute to reaching the bigger objectives of our organisation.
How did you get to where you are now career-wise? My favourite subjects at school were Drama and Photography, and I decided to pursue Drama at university. Around this time I also started to volunteer at various creative organisations and arts festivals in both London and Brighton, where I stewarded for live events. I realised that I was passionate about helping to make live arts happen, but that I didn’t need to be on stage to do this, and I actually really enjoyed being behind the scenes. After volunteering for a while, I started getting paid for my work, and I was also offered some more advanced roles in areas like stage management, administration, marketing, and research. I then got my job at Lighthouse where I get to do a little bit of everything.
What advice do you wish you'd had when you were 18 and thinking about a career in the creative sector? Comparison is the thief of joy and the talent of two people is not mutually exclusive. Just because your peers are wonderful at what they do does not signify in any way that you are not. Try to transform any comparison into creative inspiration, or a chance for collaboration.
What do you do at Lighthouse? I’m the Communications Manager at Lighthouse. It’s my job to tell the story of our mission and build awareness of our organisation. I’m responsible for reaching and engaging people in our work. I work on content strategy and brand, press and media relations, audience development, and data analysis and management.
How did you get to where you are now career-wise? I trained in performing arts and dance and always wanted to work in the arts sector. I started as an administrator learning the ropes and getting a grasp of how it is to work for an arts charity. I worked for various arts organisations; ones that always focused on working with underrepresented communities or people who had experienced barriers to participating in the arts. I am naturally good with digital systems and tools and worked my way up through the communications and marketing route. A lot of what I do centres around storytelling and community relationship building. I love telling stories about the amazing work arts charities are doing. Honestly, it makes my job a lot easier loving what it is you are talking about or trying to get people to come along to.
What advice do you wish you'd had when you were 18 and thinking about a career in the creative sector? Give everything a go because you don’t know what it is you might discover you love. And don’t always listen to people if your gut thinks otherwise. I once had a careers advisor who told me there was no money in the arts and that I should do something different. Luckily, I followed my passion - always follow yours too.
