UCC launches Art|Works, a new platform for careers in the creative arts | Margaret Perry
“What to do after gaining an Arts degree? How best to approach the task of finding a rewarding job in your field? What skills are employers looking for, and which have they found most useful in their own professional lives?” These are some of the questions that were addressed during the launch of Art|Works, a new platform for arts graduates and anyone interested in pursuing a career in the creative arts. Organised by UCC faculty, Art|Works was launched on Friday January 25th in the Triskel Development Centre. The day began with a performance by local theatre company Conflicted, which was followed by a panel of 11 speakers from the fields of art, music, theatre, film, publishing and journalism. Speakers included Jonathan Shankey, casting agent/Director of Talent at the Lisa Richards Agency, James Hackett, director of music videos at EMI Records, Pat Kiernan, artistic director of Corcadorca Theatre Company, freelance curator and art critic Gemma Tipton and Denis Staunton, deputy editor of The Irish Times.With no pre-existing career path unrolling in front of you, graduating with an arts degree can seem daunting. Art|Works aims to link students with professionals from the creative industries and “showcase the broad applicability of Arts- degree skills on the job market”. The panel speakers were asked to reflect on how they found themselves in their chosen fields and what skills they had learned at university that they find applicable to their working lives, as well as describing the nature of their day-to-day work. The speakers offered insightful advice as well as demonstrating the wide range of career opportunities that are available to arts graduates. Describing the varied paths they had taken to create their careers, the speakers universally agreed that if you are determined and proactive, making your way into your chosen career is not as difficult as it seems. The atmosphere during the panel was charged and energetic and the lively audience discussion afterwards was an inspiring example of the continuing relevance and importance of arts degrees today.The event was organized by UCC lecturers Bernadette Cronin, Rachel MagShamhráin and Ed Krcma, with the help of James O’ Sullivan and Marie Kelly, from the departments of Drama and Theatre Studies, German, Art History and Digital Arts and Humanities. A programme of live music and theatre, poetry readings and film screenings followed the panel discussion. The organisers hope that the launch of Art|Works will be the first of a series of events that aim to enable arts graduates to network with creative professionals, and create dialogue between Cork’s academic and career worlds, or as panel speaker and UCC poet- in-residence Matthew Sweeney put it, unite “town and gown”. To get involved with Art|Works, email info@artworksireland.org or visit www.artworksireland.org to find out about forthcoming events.