The North to South Pilgrimage Of The Young
Creative.
'At one point or another within creative
education, the thought of living and working in London is to cross the mind of
any student; regarded as the U.K’s creative hub, London’s allure to both
students and professionals is understandable. Recently named the most
influential city in the world and the creative capital of Europe, London boasts
an industry that stands amongst the best. Worth £76.9 billion in 2014, the
industry has been one of the fastest growing economies within the U.K for over
sixteen years. A cocktail of the capital’s national and international transport
links, the high concentration of creative institutions and championing of the
alternative combine to create a city that harbours some of the world’s leading
creative outlets.
Students, professionals and educators
praise this high concentration of the creative industry surrounding London,
both nationally and internationally, which subsequently creates a sufficient
allure. Valerie Palmer, Senior Lecturer at UAL’s Central Saint Martins
acknowledges this attraction “To be based in London certainly still has 'kudos'
within the creative industries, as London is regarded as an international
design hub… it's still such a crucial networking environment and a London
'experience' is always valuable.”
This creative affluence consequently
generates inequality, with both proffesionals and students flocking to and
staying in the capital, the rest of the U.K is left with a significantly weaker
industry. Originating from inner London, the radiation of the creative industry
becomes decreasingly weaker, 1 in 8 jobs sit within the creative industry in
London compared to only 1 in 30 in Yorkshire and Humberside. In a cycle of
deprivation, the weakening of creative opportunities in the North then
amplifies the desire for the ‘pilgrimage’.Tasmin Curry, a producer working
within television admits, “It was the lack of opportunities in Manchester that
made me move to London, I would've stayed if there were more creative jobs.”
The journey from the North to the South in
order to find opportunity can offer great reward, but at a price,
accommodation, travel and living costs can quickly accumulate and even make the
opportunity unfeasible for some. Northern-based student and photographer Sally
was lucky enough to stay with close family in the capital while interning
admitting “if this wasn't the case” she would have “struggled” and therefore
questioned her partaking in the opportunity. Monthly travel costs can more than
double in the transition from North to South; £123.70 for a months travel
between zones 1 – 4 while only £56 for a months travel in the Northern city of
Leeds. The cost of both short and long term accommodation inflates at a greater
rate; long term rent costs are at a record average of £1,472 in Greater London
compared to Yorkshire and Humberside’s £591 average. The cost of temporary
accommodation, most likely to be used by interns originating outside of the
South, varies even greater. Hostels, hotels, flat shares, spare rooms,
short-term lets or even a combination of the routes can accumulate to a
considerable amount. Varying from £16 per night in a 30 bed mixed dorm to over
£150 per night in a comfortable flat sharing program, a balance of personal
sacrifice, comfort and finance has to be found in order to justify the move.
Although some organisations do offer
exspenses, these can often be insufficient enough to even cover travel, while
the remaining financial cost is left for the intern to bear, as photography
intern Sally discovered “the company paid for my travel during working hours,
so basically gave me a topped up oyster card to use for jobs like returning
clothing samples, travelling to photo shoots and running errands. It was
beneficial as I guess every little helps, but on top of what I was paying to
actually get into central London and back each day, it didn't make a huge
difference”.
Conversely, individuals originally based in
the South are placed at an advantage, extenuating beyond the financial, the
social and domestic sacrifices they encounter can be considerably fewer.
Without the need to relocate or making use of an existing network of family and
friends who can offer free or reduced accommodation, the Southern person
consequently has less to sacrifice. London based student and journalist
Josephine acknowledges her location to be advantageous “Living only a quick 20
minute ride into London has been such a great advantage for me to get ahead in
journalism”, embracing the practicality of location to “intern with magazines
over in East London, attend regular events and lectures and have now taken up
editorial assistant at a (London based) zine” whilst also studying in the City,
make evident the advantages and the subsequent benefits of such experience in
regard to make it as a professional.
Domestic and social factors such as the
intensity of living and working in London also play their part in the
inequality faced by individuals originating from outside of the South. Whether
it be travelling through a myriad of foreign underground stations, adapting to
a new pace of life and population or even leaving family, such circumstances
can exaggerate the disadvantages of the Northern person; “travel and finding my
way around was something I was initially apprehensive about” confesses Sally,
whose apprehension is shared with advertising professional, Nicola Thompson “It's
busy, it's hectic and it's an adventure” adding “for me the hardest part is
being away from family”. It is these predicaments that have birthed methods of
gaining industry experience without having to make the potentially arduous
pilgrimage and subsequent relocation.
Advancements in technology and the changing
of attitude has benefited the creative industry outside of the capital. “As
global connectivity has increased, being physically located in London is not as
crucial as it once was.” Valerie Palmer admits in agreement with creative
design agency DesignByDuo “I don’t think London clients see location as a
barrier – around 25% of our business is London based”. It is this growing
attitude amongst the creative population that is facilitating a balance of the
inequalities faced by the industry outside of London. Looking towards the
future, the increase of design graduates - due to the recent uncapping of
admission numbers - will subsequently grow competition for industry experience.
This growing competitiveness within an industry can make experience more
valuable in regards to standing out from the competition. However, in order to
transcend this geographical inequality, the importance of industry experience
is to be questioned. The desire for aspiring professionals to move to the
capital is derived from its mass of opportunities for students, but what if
this route of gaining industry experience is dismissed and alternative methods
of breaking into the industry are embraced?
Are there alternate methods of developing skills, showcasing unique
attributes and standing out amongst the masses that can be achieved without
having to intern?
Although London is clearly the creative hub
of the U.K, alternate cities have begun to emerge as creative hotspots under
the presence of the Capitals hold. University cities such as Bristol, Brighton,
Manchester, Leeds and Edinburgh amongst others have been able to keep hold of
many creative graduates and an emerging scene has followed. Cheaper
accommodation, studio rent and a generally lower cost of living have helped
these cities attract the young creative population as London once did. Since
2011, the growth of jobs in the creative industries grew by 40% in the East
Midlands and more than a quarter in the North East. Recent Postgraduate
Harrison acknowledges his consideration of migrating to London in search of
opportunity but has realized this pilgrimage isn’t necessary “Whether or not
moving to London would benefit me as a professional is tough, ultimately you
get out what you put in. At the moment I am working at a studio in Manchester
with run by only one guy and I feel like this is benefiting me hugely as a
professional.”
Reactions to the London ideal have also
created innovative methods of becoming noticed without the traditional industry
experience. The growth of social media platforms, independent publishers and
ecommerce has seemingly reduced the distance between the North and South and
towards achieving an ideal, in which geography no longer dictates success.
One of the methods in which the aspiring
creative can now gain non-traditional industry experience is through calls for
submissions; a pathway to publishing work in the real world and gaining
industry recognition while showcasing the individual’s unique talents, skills
and attributes. These open submissions can be for platforms such as magazines,
online media, exhibitions or competitions, and facilitate a true meritocracy
where the strongest work can be chosen regardless of location. Current
undergraduate and illustrator Joe recently responded to a call for submissions
for a well - renowned newspaper “The main benefit though is that I can add The
Guardian to the list of people I’ve worked for. It might be just a couple more
words on my website but it’s a big step in proving to potential clients that I
know what I’m doing.” Here, the internet creates a realm in which young,
aspiring designers can curate and publish work for free while connecting with
fellow creatives across the globe - gaining recognition, popularity and an
online presence.
Another alternative, independent
publishing, has been used as a method of reacting against the mainstream
cultures since the earliest punk zines. Now, independent publishing can be
embraced to reject the pressure to partake in traditional work experience, with
self-initiated work communicating a stronger representation of the individual's
attributes, an aspect which is uncommon to the work of the traditional intern.
Charlotte and Bertie embraced this
alternate route, setting up the magazine ‘Mushpit’ after both having negative
experiences in the traditional internship route. With little experience in
publishing, the two embraced independent publishing as alternate route into
industry “We are experts in all sorts of weird stuff now like paperweight and
different binding techniques. We are also frighteningly good at in design
despite having taught ourselves. It gives you so much freedom, we love it. I
wouldn't change anything, it's been really organic and we ‘know’ things we
didn't just get taught them.” Now in it’s 7th Issue ‘Mushpit’ is confirmation
that there are alternate routes for the aspiring creative.
In tandem, the rise of independent
retailers, book fairs and other creative environments has created a commercial
environment for this self-initiated work, developing a new pathway to
commercial viability and equality.
One of the boldest ways in which the
traditional methods of gaining industry experience can be challenged is
creating a start-up business post graduation. If a young creative were to
disregard working in an existing business, create their own job within the
industry and learn about sustaining their own business, the need for
traditional experience on a CV could become irrelevant. Instead of this
acknowledgement of experience, a position within the industry relies on the
competence and professionalism of the creative.
The embracing of these alternate methods
and the emerging of new creative hotspots can help begin to restore the
imbalance created by geographical and financial inequality. Alternatives to
working in London need to exist for as long as there is an unequal distribution
of opportunity; while traditional and alternative methods of gaining experience
both have their advantages and disadvantages, it is unfair to say either route
is more efficient than the other. We must shift the focus of assessment onto
the individual, recognising that industry experience is an inadequate
reflection of creatives. Rather, it is their unique attributes, efforts and
talents that should be regarded as the most important aspect by any potential
employer.
