From the increasing digitalisation of the industry, to environmental and financial sustainability, what the future of theatre looks like was up for discussion at our last masterclass of the summer. We were captivated by an incredible panel made up of industry heavyweights like the National Theatre (NT)’s artistic director Rufus Norris and award-winning playwright Roy Williams, whose work and influence has had much involvement in what theatre has looked like for the past twenty years.  

Equally impressive was Creative Access alumni Atri Banerjee, theatre director currently directing Look Back In Anger at the Almedia, and Minoli De Silva, production coordinator at the NT; two trailblazers in the industry who have a lot to say about the future of theatre and how to make one’s mark in it. Chairing the panel was the fantastic Rachel Twigg, head of studio at NT, who guided the panel and room through the big questions with ease (and some swearing).  

What excites me the most is the range of storytelling, of what’s already been told and what’s still to be told. Specifically, what it means to be British.  As a Black man, it’s a question I’ve been asking myself in my work for many years, and no doubt will continue to as I get older and hopefully wiser. 

So it’s those stories; the new generation of playwrights expressing how they feel about what it means to be British, whatever ethnicity, class, sexuality, and then bringing it to the stage. Those questions are important. The last few years have been uncertain and scary for all of us, so it’s interesting to see where we go from here.” 
 

“It’s fair to say that there’s been a lot of worry and preoccupation of the future of theatre.  

I do feel heartened by the prospect of a new government and what it might mean to have a culture secretary who tweets about the Oldham Coliseum and actually seems like she goes to the theatre.  

The great Brazilian theatre practitioner Augusto Boal says, ‘It should not just reflect reality but try to transform it’ and theatre has always been a space to reimagine and reconsider the future.  

We’ve been through such cultural upheaval and immense global struggle and conflict, but I’m heartened by the commitment of people towards new ethical working practices, the value of community, peer support and peer groups, rather than old hierarchical models.” 

“The first thing I ever saw from the NT was a recording of Frankenstein for my A level. I didn’t step foot in and physically watch a show there until mid-pandemic. 

But the balance with live performance is really important.  

In my previous job, the show was an improv comedy show in-person at a theatre, but during lockdown it was adapted to a live streaming model. Those artists were then socially distancing in a room performing live comedy to nobody but cameramen. They’re brilliant and made it work, and so many people contacted us to say how much it meant to them and enabled them to connect with people they loved across the world watching it. 

But I do always think of that when discussing how we balance live performance with digital, and how we preserve that theatre is a live art form and the beauty of it is the connection that you have in the room.” 

“There are three areas to look at: the work you make on stage, the buildings that you make the work within, and touring.  

I’ll talk about making the work. We’re signed up to the Theatre Green Book baseline standard, so from this year onwards, in every show you see on our stage, 50% of it has had a former life and 60% has to have a future life.  

Allow it to be a useful restriction – it makes you work earlier and that is never a bad idea. Any of you that have made a theatre show, tell me of a show where you didn’t run out of time… it just what happens. 

I think it makes the production better, because most shows, the simpler they are, the better they are.” 

…And that was just a snippet of the riveting panel discussion! It was followed by networking between the panellists, the National Theatre team and the Creative Access community.  

Thank you to everyone that joined us, we’re taking a short break for the summer and will see you in September. 

Welcome to Diary of a CA Intern, the series where we dive into the career journeys of the newest talents in the creative industries, placed in internships by Creative Access. We’re delighted to be spending time with Lauren Warner, a marketing and development intern at the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO)!

Lauren started her 6-month internship at the symphony orchestra in April this year. After graduating in 2021 with a degree in Psychology, she spent the last few years working as a teaching assistant in schools and volunteering at music organisation Kente Club. At 26-years-old, she said “I can’t do this no more!” and applied for new roles, including RPO’s internship through Creative Access which she is now over halfway through. In our chat, Lauren reflected on her memorable moments so far, how she’s learning to say ‘no’, and how proud her Granddad, who belonged to the Windrush generation, would be of her now. 

CA: Hey Lauren! How would you describe your internship in three words? 

Lauren: Concerts. Challenges. Laughter.

CA: Laughter’s a great one.

Lauren: Everyone in the office is hilarious. There’s a group of young women in the office and we all have that sort of, ‘I’m just a girl moment’ so it’s good vibes. For the longest time, I thought I’d never be able to work in an office.

CA: How has the internship shifted your perspective of working in an office?

Lauren: The flexibility of being able to work from home has opened up so much for my mental health. And I’ve adjusted to the office space culture now. At first I didn’t know what to wear, how many cups of tea I could make in an hour, silly stuff like that. But now I know you just do your job and go home. 

CA: If you could go back to March and say to yourself, ‘Don’t worry. Wear the clothes you want to wear and drink however many cups of tea you want to drink.’ Is that what you’d say to yourself? 

Lauren: I’d say, relax into it. When you are changing environments and you are making a transition like that, you feel very on edge. But relax, because you’ve earned your space. Just take it, don’t overthink it, and enjoy your cups of tea. 

CA: So did you always have your eye on the creative industries while you were working in schools? 

Lauren: I’d been working with a collective called the Kente Club; writing their press releases, helping with creative content and photo shoots. I wanted to segue into something creative, and I saw this opportunity and thought, it’s different but it’s music, marketing, content creation and it’s all the skills that I already sort of do, so why not just try!

CA: Do you think your previous experience is what made you stand out as a candidate?

Lauren: Not to toot my own horn, but I think they liked that I have a lot of experience! I’m a more mature intern at 26. I’ve worked in restaurants, I’ve worked in kitchens, I’ve worked in schools. I’ve also been doing voluntary creative stuff around work for the last four years so I’d used Canva and editing tools before. 

I also did a lot of research on RPO as a brand. I think when you hear ‘classical music’, you might think of stuffy, posh people who don’t really connect with outside society at all, but I researched RPO and saw how much outreach they do, and whether it’s with their education programmes or their music with stroke survivors, they’re actually amazing. 

CA: Hospitality, retail and education gives you so many transferable skills for the creative industries!

Lauren: Exactly.

CA: For those of us who don’t know what a marketing and development intern gets up to day-to-day, what’s a typical day like?

Lauren: Within the marketing team, our main goal is to sell the tickets for concerts. That could mean making promotional content (programmes, flyers, brochures), reaching out to people, video editing, copywriting, proofing and scheduling social media content.

As for development, that’s all to do with fundraising. RPO is a registered charity so we have different schemes and levels of giving to encourage donations. That could look like talking a potential benefactor through the process, their benefits, and how we can incorporate them into the culture of the orchestra. So I work across both teams which is fun. 

CA: How do you find being in a training opportunity across not one, but two teams? 

Lauren: I think it’s amazing, I’m having a chance to learn so much. I was already interested in a marketing career but fundraising and business development is an area I didn’t know much about. I’ve gone from being sure I wanted to do marketing for a charity or NGO I really care about, to thinking that these places obviously have staff and need to be funded somehow, so perhaps I’ll work in fundraising. 

I actually had the opportunity to make a partnership proposal between RPO and a donor and I managed to secure funds, which I’m still sort of processing! I thought, I’m actually doing this job! It felt really good.

CA: Sounds like one of those special moments in an internship where your self-belief grows a little more.

Lauren: Honestly, I went home and said to my Mum, ‘I don’t know how to feel.’ She was asking what was wrong and repeating that I’d done a really good thing, but I thought ‘It doesn’t feel real?’. My brain was really struggling with it and I think it’s because previously in my work, I was often underpaid and underappreciated, just by way of the public sector being the way it is. So when I was sat down and told, “Well done! This thing went through. You did really well. It felt surreal. [she gasps]. But I’m still passionate about education – I tutor English at the weekends and run a classical literature club.

CA: It’s giving: high achiever. Do you think being such a hard worker is why you are where you are?

Lauren: It’s fulfilling, and I have a very hard-working mum and family, period. This internship will open up so many opportunities for me, to say that I’ve worked in this organisation and to have done the things that I have done already in such a short period of time. So that’s just what it needs to be right now. Working hard until I don’t need to work so hard!

CA: Have you come across any challenges or hurdles in your internship so far?

Lauren: Yes. Saying ‘No’. 

I’m trying to cram in as many experiences as I can because I want to soak it all up. I’m also learning to say I don’t have capacity to complete something because I’ve got other things on my to-do list. You know, high achieving kids don’t really like saying, ‘No I can’t do that’. 

I remember that I don’t have to do every single thing that they ask, because they’re not expecting me to, they’ll only ask me if I can because they need it done, not because I have to be the one that gets it done.

CA: What’s your most memorable moment so far?

Lauren: Every concert that RPO has, we get two free tickets, so being able to take my mum to her first ever orchestral show was the cutest thing. She said, ‘I don’t know when to clap!’ And I said, ‘Just follow my lead.’ She got to meet the managing director and it was a wow moment, because it’s not just a dream come true for me, it’s a dream come true for her. 

Nothing that I do is just about me – which is even the nature of working in a team – but me being here is not just about my own personal career development, it’s also about my family who are mad proud, which is a great thing to feel. 

Even my Gran back in Barbados, she says “You’re working where?!”

CA: What does your Gran in Barbados think about your internship?

Lauren: She loves it, but I think because she’s of that generation, if you say ‘royal’ she gasps. But I will not be meeting the King anytime soon. 

CA: On the topic of your family, did you get your love of music from them? How deep does the music gene run? 

Lauren: Funny story! I told this in my RPO interview which may also have been a selling point. 

When I was born, my parents were in that pop-psychology time around the late 90s, and child development was big (praises, fads, that sort of stuff). So my parents used to play me a lot of baby Mozart and baby Beethoven music videos when I was fresh out of the womb, and now that I look back, that was some weird stuff to be playing to a kid! I later asked my mum what she was thinking, and she said they said it’s meant to stimulate parts of the brain… And I sometimes recognise a piece.

CA: Do you ever announce “This was my favourite sonata when I was 2 weeks old”?

Lauren: Yeah I’m like, ‘This is my jam’. [laughs]  We used to listen to them up until I was like three or four, and then it seemed so insignificant, but now I’m here.

CA: You’ve talked about how you made yourself stand out, but have you got tips for others trying to land an internship?

Lauren: I’ve been telling everyone I know that is looking for work to go to Creative Access. I didn’t know that you could get a job like this. It changes people’s lives and I don’t think there’s enough recruitment organisations that are actually moving the needle in the direction that it needs to be moved, but you guys are. 

As for advice for future interns, you have to learn to sell yourself. Not through an AI-produced CV or cover letter, but through authentically being yourself. That means taking your life experiences and making them into something that someone should care about, because we all have a story. Those stories need to relate to a role, even if it’s something as far away as relating working in a kitchen to working in classical music. Working in a kitchen teaches you how to work under pressure and how to have a quick turnaround of orders and checks. Things like that do make you stand out because you’re able to think about how you can use what you’ve learnt in something that is completely different. And if they can see that your mind works like that, they’ll probably think you know what you’re doing.

CA: At Creative Access, we know that everyone has a unique perspective to bring to the table. Have you had any learnings, so far, on how your identity intersects with your creativity and work, now you’re in the industry?

Lauren: My grandparents came here in the 50s in the Windrush generation. My Granddad was working at the railways, and if he was alive and could see me now, and see the leaps that generationally my family have made, just through work – because that’s all it’s really been – it would make him very proud. The thing about being working class is, even though now the postcode I’m working in is very middle-upper, the home that I live in now would be considered middle-upper, I don’t feel middle-upper, because I’ve still got to work my butt off to get where I want to go. 

So as for my place in the world, how I feel like I identify; I’m a working-class girlie living middle-class lifestyle.

But I know where I came from, and I know where the people who helped get me here came from too. 

CA: Thank you so much for sharing that with us, it’s a pleasure to hear your story. Final question, do you have any plans, projects or career hopes on the horizon? 

Lauren: At the moment, I’m still working with the Kente Club so I’m shouting them out. I write poetry as well and my poetry project will be out in October. In Jesus’ name, it will be amazing! I am also helping to develop a series of events with a lovely lady called Cherise under the name shadeINDIGO and we will be supporting up and coming artists who make interesting and unique music.

Stay in touch with Lauren’s career and follow her work on:

LinkedIn: Lauren Warner

Instagram: @chezlaurenn

Welcome to the latest instalment of our series, Diary of a CA Intern, where we dive into the career journeys of the newest talents in the creative industries, placed in internships by Creative Access. We’re thrilled to be catching up with self-professed shark nerd, Finnegan Crouch, an adventurous intern making waves at BBC Studios Natural History Unit.

Dialling in from a tent in Dorset, Finn was in the midst of researching and filming rare animal behaviour as part of the acclaimed series The Watches (Springwatch, Winterwatch) when we caught up. We discussed their favourite ‘wow’ moments working in conservation at such a historic point in time, and how they tackle hurdles as an intern new to the industry bursting with ideas. 

We also discussed how being from an under-represented background has shaped Finn’s creativity and work. When you grow up facing the horrifying reality of having to choose between heating and food, it’s not easy to map out a smooth journey to your dream job; but read on to see how Finn navigated this with their Grandad’s sailing mantra of ‘velocity made good’. We also touch on their professional experiences as an ADHDer (“I might be emailing while I’m talking if that’s okay, I’ve got raving ADHD so I can do a bajillion things at once”).

Dive into Finn’s incredible journey so far, shedding light on the invaluable insights and lessons learned along the way…This is a story you won’t want to miss!

CA: Hi Finn, we are so excited to be chatting with you! Let’s start with: How would you describe your internship in three words?

Finn: Fuelling my passion. 

CA: As a trainee researcher on The Watches at BBC Studios, you get to do some very cool stuff. What’s a typical day like?

Finn: We’ll rock up and have a whole production script runthrough with the presenters, wildlife team and production, then on to a researcher’s brainstorm. We go through endless story ideas and animal stories. It might be things that we’ve read, seen, filmed or experienced on location or around the UK. We’ll share footage that we’ve found online on rare animal behaviour across the British Isles, and keep an eye out for cool research and science stories from around the globe. 

Then, I’ll be tasked with writing up some bullet points on a story. So let’s say the story is on Spotted Catshark camouflage, I will have to write up three intriguing story beats about their camouflage and behaviour, then make sure that’s all linked to research from the real scientists. I’ll talk to others; emailing connections I’ve made so far or reach out to people who have written scientific papers in order to delve into their work. I’ll also write up scripts and detailed research documents to pitch to the researcher or producer that I work alongside. They’ll then pitch that to the series producers and once a week we put those forward to the entire team and we decide whether to develop further or drop them. I’ve done some filming for the show too, getting out into the wild. It’s not technically a part of the job but I do it outside of this work and so I said to my colleagues, “I could do this, so use me if you want to!”

I find it vitally important to work impactful conservation messages into our stories too. I think we should do that with all our work, rather than just making it purely on natural history behaviour and animal behaviour. We need to acknowledge the other side of the story.

CA: Do you ever receive pushback when you’re trying to put in a message about a larger conservation problem? 

Finn: Yes, more than I expected, which is something that has upset me in the past and still does, because there’s such a room for it and such a need for it. The world of conservation and climate research is one of the most oversubscribed job markets in the world but for good reason. We need to do all we can, while we can. That doesn’t mean that there’s any reason for us to not keep talking about it. If anything, because there’s more people talking about it, we should keep doing even more. 

CA: Do you wonder if it’s a generational thing? Do you think your generation [Gen Z] is more vocal about wanting to confront global issues within our work?

Finn: Yes, I feel like a lot of people are outraged. A lot of the people that will be facing the brunt of the situation are very vocal about it, or at least understand the platforms to be able to be more vocal about it, rather than people who find it difficult to utilise these platforms perhaps. It’s a symptom of the shifting baseline syndrome, where you view whatever state the world is as the norm, and once it gets worse, the people who grow with that see it as the norm.

There’s always been awesome people who push back like Steve Irwin, Sylvia Earle, Steve Backshall, David Attenborough, and all the people that I share this room with [in the workplace], but I feel there’s definitely a generational charge, which is very exciting. Learning from those who came before.

CA: What were your initial thoughts going into the internship? Was there anything that you were particularly hesitant about? Or most excited to learn?

Finn: I was shocked I got it. I thought um, okay, amazing, someone believes that I can do this. This is awesome. Then, once I started to get into it, I was absolutely terrified. I had such a complete lack of confidence, major imposter syndrome. I would sit down in front of the mirror and say: right, someone believes that you can do this – you may not – but somebody else does. So just go with it and make loads of mistakes, but do it all the same.

I also felt very proud of myself. Really, really proud of myself. Proud that I could do it.

CA: We’re proud of you! A lot of interns and readers will appreciate hearing your honesty, because it’s a very common feeling in our community, and challenges are part of any learning experience. Would you say that you’ve faced any hurdles during your internship and if so, how did you overcome them?

Finn: One is trying to separate my passion from the facts. I’ve learnt that just because I’m really, really, really excited about something, doesn’t mean somebody else is going to be. Spending lots of time on a project and story, going for it, and then it getting shut down – that’s hard. You have to build a thick skin, as my producer Christina said to me recently. You put a lot of yourself, your heart and a lot of passion into your work, and if somebody else doesn’t reciprocate that same thing, it can be crushing.

I sometimes get so passionate and excited about something, I keep nattering on and then don’t deliver the right words. And then I go home and think, ‘I could have done so much better than that’. 

Yet, there are highs and lows. You can’t have one without the other. You have to try and recognise the nine wins against the one loss. 

CA: We understand that that’s so much of the intern experience. You’re trying to do everything for the first time, all the while thinking I know I could do this better.

Finn: But then again, it can also really push you, which is quite cool. It is a lesson every day.

CA: Has there been a moment during your internship that stood out as a highlight? Something that made you think ‘This is why I’m here’?

Finn: One moment was filming puffins on Skomer Island, and telling the story of their conservation and the most recent sandeel ban, from ideation to release. This was a story that I pitched, wrote, developed and filmed, alongside a great team that helped along the way. Actually being there on the island, surrounded by the animals, filming them and talking about behaviour with researchers, I thought, ‘Yeah, this is what I wanted to do, this is what I trained to do.’

It was a unique moment and absolute pleasure to be there surrounded by such quirky, interesting, little birds. And also to learn about everything else – the threats that they face, the threats that we’ve imposed upon them, and also the endless hope and passion that people have to rescue these animals from the brink that is just so inspiring. 

Puffins on Skomer Island – all images by Finnegan James Crouch

CA: Many of our readers are looking to break into the creative industries through internships. What advice would you give to them?

Finn: Be proud of what you know, be proud of what you want to know, and when people try to push you down, just use that to fuel yourself. Keep pushing but learn how to slow down and appreciate where you are. If someone says I can’t do something, I have to show them that I can. Reach out to people to help you, because people are actually really, really kind. As long as you are kind back to them, they’ll have a lot of time for you.

I would also say, you have to deliver. If you promise something, then you must deliver it. Keep yourself to your own word, whether that’s with your goals and aspirations or waking up in the morning and going for a walk or a stretch. It can be such little things, but keep yourself to your word. 

Something that my Granddad always said to me, and it really helped me when I was young, is a sailing phrase: ‘velocity made good.’ If you have an end goal – mine is to be an underwater cameraman or a self-shooting producer or even a conservationist of sharks or whales – it doesn’t matter if you have to tack and go to the right, or left, or around the other side and zigzag through, just keep moving towards your goal. That goal can change, and that’s fine, being amenable to change is really important. But don’t stop trying and don’t stop looking, and be kind to yourself and be kind to other people.

CA: How is your internship at BBC Studios influencing your creative aspirations?

Finn: It’s informed how I need to practise my skills, it’s helped me make connections, and taught me how to be professional. It’s allowed me to get a taste of how the world actually works, rather than observing it from the outside.

I wouldn’t be sitting here, being able to have a conversation with you if it wasn’t for that, I’d be in a pretty bad spot. So it’s definitely given me the direction of, right, that’s the career angle I want to go down. That is the kind of life I want to live.  

CA: At Creative Access, we know that everyone has a unique perspective to bring to the table. Have you had any reflections, so far, on how your identity intersects with your creativity and work, now you’re in the industry?

Finn: That’s something that gets missed a lot of time I think, and it’s such an important dynamic of every person that you meet. There are a few different angles to this for me that have really impacted my work; neurodivergence, gender and socio-economic background.

My time at the BBC has really put my brain and heart to the test. I have, and am extremely proud of having, ADHD. I’ve had to think deeply on how it affects my workflow, both positively and negatively. From time to time, it can mean that I feel overly emotional about my work, about the state of the industry, and when I’m feeling invested I can go down deep holes of research. However, I find that this is also one of my greatest strengths. I’ve been told by colleagues that my ability to hone in on a story, character or species so much that I fall in love with it, gets them just as invested. It makes me think from a different perspective, perhaps from an angle that hasn’t been seen before. 

I have spoken with many others from Creative Access at neurodiversity meetings, NHU [Natural History Unit] Inclusion chats and with colleagues, and every time people are wanting to learn, share their thoughts and grow. I’m proud of my ADHD; the drive it gives me and the passion it helps to fuel. I do sometimes forget to slow down, but wow, I wouldn’t have it any other way. 

As a non-binary person, working at the BBC has actually been a great experience. As a member of the NHU Inclusion group, I have been connecting with people like myself and not all across the industry. Many people are eager to learn and understand. It has been a really pleasant experience. 

I have also experienced living on the streets for a time to now being in my own home with an amazing job and living my childhood dream. This industry is known to be very hard to break into with only around 8% of people being from a low socioeconomic background (Channel 4). Growing up with having to choose between heating and food didn’t allow for much time to think about exploring my dreams. However, this didn’t seem to stop my fascination with nature and my obsession with animals.

CA: You’ll complete your internship this summer. It’s a while away but do you have any exciting plans or projects on the horizon?

Finn: These past months have been a blast and have indeed, blasted past. So, the post-internship plans are coming round sooner rather than later. Currently I am open and looking for more work both within and outside this field, behind, in front and working the camera, within conservation, design or anything TV/film related. 

I am also a part of an awesome research team of UK shark species, helping to create a vital film project with an NGO named Kai, alongside Liberty Denman and many others. It is a real grass roots project but I couldn’t be more proud so far. Sharing an insight to one of our most underappreciated shark species, due to be released and tour the UK later this year. Also, I will be releasing a passion project of mine in November, which is a series of magazines and a short film about the conservation hero, Chris Hines MBE. Other than that, I am open and free to start exploring what comes next and always keen to hear from people from many sides of the creative, scientific or both.

CA: Thank you so much for your time, we can’t wait to see what you do next!

Stay in touch with Finn and follow their work on:

• LinkedIn: Finnegan James Crouch
• YouTube: Sharkfin Finnegan
• Instagram: @sharkfin_finnegan
• X: @finneganjcrouch

Today’s interns are tomorrow’s future! In Diary of a CA Intern, we get to hear from the next generation of creatives to watch, who have been placed in an internship via Creative Access. Read on as we dive into their incredible career journeys so far, shedding light on the invaluable insights and lessons learned along the way…

Meet Nandi, a visual artist based in South London who loves to dabble with different art mediums, from clay and illustrative work to creative campaigns. She completed her 15-week internship as ‘creative IGNITE intern’ at award-winning communications agency McCann Health in April 2024 via Creative Access. For those who aren’t familiar, McCann Health is a multi-service comms agency combining science, creativity and strategy, serving clients across the therapeutic space. Passionate about digital marketing and content creation, Nandi’s now well on her way to forging an incredible career in the creative industries. Let’s get to know her!

CA: Hi Nandi, it’s great to connect! Let’s start with something fun: How would you describe your internship in three words?

Nandi: Fun, insightful and challenging.

CA: What were your initial thoughts going into the role? 

Nandi: I was excited to be part of a set team for a long period of time! Although, I was a bit unsure of what to expect coming into a health agency. However, this just sparked up more curiosity – I was excited to gain industry experience regardless of the work being in the pharmaceutical industry. 

CA: Could you tell us about the projects you worked on during your creative internship? What sort of work does a Creative IGNITE intern get up to?

Nandi: The projects I worked on were categorised as either being billable or non-billable (non-billable hours are the work hours you spend which are not going to be directly charged to the client). One of my billable favourites was coming up with cool activations people can engage with when they are out and about (social out of home marketing, which is advertising that takes place out of the home, such as on billboards and posters on transport). The reason why I loved working on this was because we wanted consumers to associate these concepts with feeling a sense of calmness. I always love working on projects that are centred around people and how work can evoke certain emotions! 

On occasion the IGNITE interns were called upon to help other internal teams in the agency. I loved coming up with concepts for client booths to attract healthcare care professionals to engage with health congress or simply brainstorming names for what medical events could possibly be called. 

CA: Take us through a typical day as an IGNITE intern at McCann Health. What did your daily routine look like?

Nandi: Myself and the three other interns gelled extremely well so, speaking to them at any time during the day was strongly integrated into our working culture. Each day would entail a catch up between us interns and when we were put on new work, it was a standard procedure for it to begin with a discussion. 

For a bit more context, my working style beforehand was very much independent. Making that shift to teamwork was something new that I didn’t consciously practice. I say this all to say that my daily routine was great – I got to meet such talented, creative peers who I can strongly say are now friends for life.

CA: How did your internship within the comms industry at McCann Health impact your career trajectory or influence your creative aspirations?

Nandi: The name ‘McCann Health’ holds a lot of prestige – it has won several awards and is recognised on a global scale! I’m happy that I fully immersed myself in the workplace for a long time (15 weeks)! Although my time has come to a close, I was proactive and made great connections. I definitely feel as though I left a Nandi-shaped mark in the London office and will be sure to keep my past colleagues in the loop. 

CA: Challenges are part of any learning experience. Did you face any hurdles during your internship and if so, how did you overcome them?

Nandi: Oh 100%! I was coming in as a very entry-level creative with a very commercial based ‘passion project’ portfolio. It’s definitely fair to say I got a shock entering the Pharma world. All sorts of acronyms and phrases are used by the pros in the Pharma world, that’s just the lingo used. It is understandable that one would forget that the newcomers may have no clue as to what may have just been said! One thing about me is if I don’t know what’s going on or I’m unfamiliar with something – expect me to ask multiple times… So, that’s how I overcame that particular hurdle.

CA: Many of our readers are looking to break into the creative industries through internships. What advice would you give your younger self in 2023 when you were applying for opportunities?

Nandi: One bit of advice I would give to anybody looking to apply for opportunities is to literally just keep going! As cliche as it sounds it honestly is the truth. I know how annoying and disappointing it is when you don’t hear back from places or get hit with emails starting with, “we regret to inform you” or “unfortunately on this occasion we haven’t been able to”. I’ve had to learn to accept rejections and take on the mindset that what is meant for me will not pass me! 

CA: Let’s talk about your *beautiful* illustrations – they’re fantastic and really enhance your storytelling. Who or what inspires you? Any advice for aspiring illustrators and content creators?

Nandi: Ah, thanks so much! My digital illustration to storytelling takes on the form of childlike drawings – they’re so fun to draw! The reason it takes on a youthful style is purely because I was hitting a rough patch. I somehow was convinced that more refined art is greatly appreciated and ‘proper art’. 

‘Proper’ realistic art took ages to produce and I didn’t haven’t fun producing art this way at all. To any illustrators and makers out there experiencing art block or self-doubt, honestly try and see if there are alternative routes or approaches to expressing your talent. At the end of the day, you should do what makes you happy! Find that solution and hopefully you’ll feel happy, both on the inside and outside! 

CA: Finally, what’s next for you? Any exciting plans or projects on the horizon?

Nandi: A shoutout is definitely needed for Good Nugget – who describe themselves as a positive impact agency. I started their kickstarter programme last October and have been able to gain so much experience and knowledge about the creative industry. There’s possibly something very exciting in the works and I’m keeping everything crossed! You can also definitely expect more video-based art content on my social media accounts as I’ve been posting a lot more consistently this year and the engagement seems to be doing well too!

Stay in touch with Nandi and follow her work on:

Instagram: @theartofnandi

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nandi-elewa-gidado-2272a4290/

TikTok: @theartofnandi

By Elonka Soros, Diversity & inclusion consultant and Creative Access trainer 

Whether it’s sparked by the personal impact of the cost-of-living crisis, reflections on high profile cases of bullying at work, or discussion about global conflicts, diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) conversations will continue to top workplace agendas into 2024. Supporting managers and colleagues to navigate these complex issues in a culture of respect and inclusion might take a little planning by HR professionals, but the beneficial impacts will be worth it, says Creative Access inclusion consultant Elonka Soros.  

We did not leave 2023 quietly. World events, political and economic uncertainties, and another round of nasty winter colds and flu are giving us all something to be concerned about. With post-pandemic work life still yet to find its rhythm, it’s no wonder many colleagues across the creative economy have been telling me they are finding it hard to keep going as ‘normal’.  

Senior leadership colleagues talk about the tensions of managing the economic impacts of a tough year for business, alongside the social and emotional fall-out in the workplace. While everyone else, from team leaders to interns, have been sharing the anxieties of working in an era of volatility and uncertainty.   

But 2023 wasn’t all about the troubling news and unease. Throughout last year, co-workers have also expressed a greater awareness of their diversity and acknowledgment that we won’t all be feeling the impacts of external events in the same way. More nuanced understanding of gendered, racialised or socio-economic experiences has in part been prompted by better workplace conversations – often facilitated by inclusion specialists – and the genuine desire of businesses and team-mates to support and accommodate talented colleagues during difficult times.  

“If only I knew what to say or do” 

Motivation doesn’t always lead to action. Feedback from over 200 hours of Creative Access DE&I workshops points to people’s fear of getting things wrong, with inappropriate actions or outdated terminology. This is where HR professionals can help colleagues by providing the tools and a framework to build inclusion competency, and to instil confidence in those leading and supporting a respectful and inclusive team culture.  

At Creative Access, we facilitate discussion, reflection and develop actions that lead to workplace culture change. Our DE&I workshops, mental health and wellbeing awareness sessions, and leadership trainings, are safe spaces where colleagues explore topics and learn strategies, tips and techniques that allow businesses to harness the added value of the diversity of their people, and in their teams.  

As we’re entering 2024, HR professionals will be thinking about what the training needs of your team will be and what will make the most impact. Whether it’s ways of opening up recruitment to a wider talent pool, addressing culture change or developing policies that dial up your inclusion aspirations, here are three tips to help you optimise your next investment in DE&I. 

Prepare for success   

Benjamin Franklin is credited with coining the phrase: “By failing to prepare, you prepare to fail” and in the context of booking your next DE&I training or consultancy, putting a little preparation in at the start not only ensures successful outcomes but saves time and money down the line.  

Online modules and off the shelf training sessions might look financially inviting but can leave participants frustrated as the current context can be overlooked. No two companies are the same and it stands to reason that the training needs of delegates, will also differ too.  At Creative Access, whether you’re engaging on one of our core courses or online briefings, we advise a planning call with the trainer so that your specific challenges are understood, and the workshop can be tailored accordingly. The world is changing very rapidly, and with it, the events that may trigger a need for team reflection and collective learning too. At time of writing, I have just finished another call with HR colleagues asking for my support with frameworks for having constructive conversations around religion, race and community in light of ongoing global conflict.  The Creative Access team is agile and alert to current affairs and best practice. All trainers have personal and professional lived experience across the full scope of the DE&I opportunity for the creative economy. 

You can also prepare for success by letting your team know what’s ahead. Be clear with colleagues about the expected outcomes of the training and share the agenda early on, allowing colleagues time to process the sensitivity of certain topics and share any access requirements.   

Plan-in for the next steps 

Very often the success of training is measured in participant engagement, but the purpose of a DE&I workshop is to effect tangible culture change. One way to ensure a legacy from the training is to plan in the next steps for delegate participation. Successful companies have held facilitated all hands meetings at the end of a suite of workshops where key insights are shared, and actions communicated. Others have provided colleagues with the opportunity to take part in a reflective session a few months after the initial workshop where themes and outcomes of the first workshop are shared and there is space to consolidate learning, share progress and recap to ensure staff have confidence and tools to lead the inclusion agenda.   

Equity and inclusion are the outcomes of ongoing actions. As sure as the world turns, there will always be more we can do or learn, and we will make mistakes – it’s how we respond to them that matters. HR professionals can generate momentum after DE&I training by scheduling in the spaces where colleagues continue their learning, feedback, and collaborate with each other.  

Whether your team needs to have more courageous conversations, manage bullying or harassment, set up and run employee resource groups, or develop the skills of allyship, Creative Access has a bank of ideas for formal, informal, internally generated, or externally facilitated next steps. All of our courses come with exclusive access to further resources, which are shared with all participants, and for HR colleagues there are additional invitations to update at regular free subject webinars. 

Practise makes perfect

A successful programme of training will deliver an inspired and motivated team eager and energised to engage with your DE&I action plans. It may surprise you therefore that at this point, my final tip is a heads-up to ‘curb your enthusiasm’. It can be tempting to rush into a flurry of activity, especially if you feel you’ve been battling to get DE&I seriously on the company agenda, but it could be easy to get very busy with initiatives and still get to the end of 2024 unclear about what you’ve achieved.  

A DE&I consultancy session can help those responsible for leading the change to take stock and identify the best course of post-training action. Taking an honest look at any in-training feedback about where your company is now and helping you plan for where you want to be by the end of the year. You won’t be able to do everything in twelve months, so don’t set yourself up to fail by promising to do so. Colleagues are less forgiving of pledges and statements that are not followed through.  

That’s not to say that you can’t be ambitious, far from it – but four or five priorities, with specific and measurable actions, communicated with transparency, and clear lines of accountability will deliver far more impact than 100 pages of strategy and a thousand flowers blooming.  

At Creative Access we’re ambitious – our mission is sector wide. Like many of the companies we work with, Creative Access is values-led, and data driven – our internal DE&I is as important to us, as supporting you with yours. We developed our Annual Thrive Survey to help us ensure that we’re actively living our DE&I aspirations.  In it we monitor the diversity of our workforce, check for equity in progression and pay, document the richness of our workplace culture, and measure the impact of our training and consultancy.  We have the data and are certain that we’re practicing what we preach so that we can help your business to Thrive too.  

Whatever 2024 brings politically, socially and for our businesses, we can be certain that it will involve more change. Restructurings, new hirings, new business and new people. If you want to know how to navigate business sentiment around DE&I with your team, check out the annual Thrive pulse report by Creative Access which outlines best and current practice for employers around the structures needed to support employees and build inclusive workplace cultures.