Growing up, I always wanted to be a doctor. The twin realisations that I would never get an A grade for Chemistry and that the sight of an open wound made me feel a bit queasy put paid to that, however, and I ended up studying English Literature at university.
In between my second and third year, I did an internship in the arts education department of St Davidīs Hall and the New Theatre, an arts venue in Cardiff. I had never realised before that a career in arts management existed, but I was instantly hooked.
After I graduated in 2003 I was offered a job there, working as an education assistant and helping the manager to run events and workshops for young people and audience members. This then led to a role as administrator for the Sherman Theatre, Cardiff, followed by two years working for Circomedia, a circus and physical theatre school in Bristol.
Gaining general experience in all aspects of an arts organisation eventually enabled me to make the jump to two simultaneous part time managerial roles: education manager at the Merlin Theatre, Frome, and education officer at Asian Arts Agency, Bristol. My remit was to widen involvement in the arts and create exciting participatory opportunities.
Examples of the kind of projects I worked on included an Indian dance residency in two primary schools, arts and crafts workshops for elderly people in a day centre, and weekly drama classes for young people. With three or four projects on the go at any one time, my days were a mix of administration, project development, fundraising, budgeting, and the best bit of all - seeing the final results and watching people enjoy arts activities.
Alongside my arts career, I started developing freelance proofreading work. A good eye for detail and a dislike of a misplaced apostrophe had led me to think that this could be an option to earn some extra money (we were renovating our house at the time and every penny counted), and after some "cold emailing" to magazines, I was offered work for Arts Industry magazine.
As my experience grew, this led onto other, ad hoc proofreading for a variety of companies - from a law firm to a private girlsī school - which I used to do outside of my normal working hours.
After funding cuts meant that both of my arts roles came to an end after eighteen months, I took a slightly different direction and moved to a youth organisation in Bristol, with a 3-day a week role co-ordinating a city-wide project for young people at risk of exclusion.
Then instead of finding another part time job to go with this, I decided to take the plunge and try to make a serious go of my freelancing. This was in May 2010 and I havenīt looked back. On the arts side I run education projects, I fundraise and I work for a childrenīs theatre company called Peut-etre.
Iīve upped my proofreading work and also branched out into writing and editing - a two-week unpaid work placement at a local publishing company turned into regular paid work sub editing for three magazine titles, as well as contributing to the blog attached to one of the magazines.
I didnīt intend to end up with a "portfolio" career but Iīm glad itīs turned out this way. Itīs great to have a variety of projects on the go and to work across such a range of disciplines.
If you want monetary rewards, then donīt go into the arts. Salaries for jobs in arts organisations are rarely high, and due to the precarious nature of government funding, are rarely stable. The rewards, however, are fantastic. Iīve had front row seats for an exclusive Eddie Izzard gig, flown through the air in a trapeze, spent the afternoon making mosaics in a school and had more free tickets for performances than I can count.
If working in arts management is for you, bear in mind that the competition for roles is fierce. Although it can be financially tricky, doing internships or work experience placements is invaluable in gaining experience, contacts and a CV boost. As well as work experience at St Davidīs Hall and the New Theatre, I volunteered at an Edinburgh Fringe venue, gaining useful knowledge of front of house and box office roles. Although Iīve never had a specific paid job in these areas, understanding how they work has definitely come in handy.
This leads onto another tip: once youīve got your arts job, try and gain experience in as many elements of the organisation as possible. Doing a general administrative role is always a good starting point in the arts, so that you can learn about an organisationīs different facets.
At the Merlin I also ended up helping out with marketing, occasionally covered Box Office and Front of House, and even stage-managed a performance. As well as being fun, you never know when these skills will come in handy.
Arts organisations can be very small and roles within them often require knowledge of more than one area (i.e. marketing with fundraising, or education as well as administration), so being able to say youīve got a variety of experience is invaluable.
Final arts related tip: the arts world is small. Never underestimate the importance of contacts!
When it comes to tips for freelancing, having only done it seriously for less than a year I could probably use some myself! What I have found though is that, again, the importance of word of mouth and contacts mustnīt be underestimated - Iīve already had two lots of work just through being recommended by someone.
Itīs not easy building up a client base; itīs taking a lot of time, effort and chutzpah to get a steady stream of work. You have to keep pushing for new contacts and new opportunities, and your reputation is only as good as your last job. But the freedom of being your own boss is wonderful.
Helen Dorritt can be contacted via her website, www.readsperfectly.co.uk and via Twitter, @helendorritt. She also talks about all things wedding at www.westweddings.blogspot.com
A career as an arts project manager and freelance writer, editor and proofreader
