The ‘Compose’ website will showcase the success stories of creatives who have studied in Havering and have gone on to get professional jobs (credit: The NO Collective)
Three local arts organisations – Bluerskies Creatives, The Appleby Gallery, and The NO Collective – have come together to create the ‘Compose’ website for students in the area aged 14 to 19 who love creative subjects but are worried about future career options.
The website highlights successful, local creatives who have studied in Havering and have gone on to work professionally in diverse workplaces, including schools, architecture firms and the film industry.
Students will also get the chance to quiz professionals who have grown up or studied in the area about the creative industries as part of a discussion in April.
Participating speakers include architect Georgie Towers, photographer Hannah Davis, international artist Bobby Sayers and film-maker Chris Brake who has won 19 awards in the past year with his short film ‘Cactus Boy’.
Kirsty Packer, a local creative who works as a Technician in a London private school, began the campaign after noticing that students and parents were becoming less keen to take a creative subject.
She said: “During the pandemic, some creative, freelance careers such as jobs in theatres have not been supported as much as they should have been, and this has been a core message in the media. In turn this has really affected how our students are choosing their career paths.
“We are now worried that we might lose our next generation of creatives, when actually creative education is really important in all industries – as well as mainstream arts for our culture and wellbeing.”
The ‘Compose’ website also includes some “boredom busting” competitions to see students through to the end of lockdown restrictions. The competitions showcase creative industries that have performed well during the lockdown, such as film making, architecture, and game design.
The project started as part of National Careers Week and will continue until the end of the Easter holidays, with new content being added regularly.
For more on this story, and the latest on our other local and national news, listen to Time 107.5FM
Tags: Havering
