Blogging again apparently… what year is it?

Anyway. Hi. Hello.

During past recruitment processes, we had some questions asked about what it’s like to work at the company - so I thought it might be useful to answer a few of those questions here, for people applying to join us now, or in the future.

Ok let’s go, let’s go.

“This is a Black and Disability led company. I am Black and/or Disabled – but maybe I’m not ready yet – should I apply?”

I bet you several thousand pounds a year you are ready, get your application in!

“This is a Black and Disability led company. I am not Black or Disabled – so maybe I should not apply?”

Are you calling me raci—

JK.

Listen – I have worked with many very brilliant people in my time who were not Black or disabled. I have also had people, who were not Black or disabled, who I would have loved to work with NOT APPLY for jobs because they thought it was inappropriate, then tell me this, after a recruitment drive had ended, and we hadn’t been able to recruit, because no one with the charisma, uniqueness, nerve and talent had applied.

Please don’t do this to me.

If you know our work, and you love our work, if you are willing to live through some inevitable moments of discomfort (we’re human, it will happen) – apply for the job. Do not make these decisions for me, my Board or my team. 

Apply for the job.

“I hate the arts, they are sucking the life out of me, I’m leaving.”

Valid and fair, I say this several times a week. If, like me, you are still here – I think we offer good jobs for that sense of justified rage and ennui, cus we are genuinely trying to find ways to make things better, starting from where we are.

We try, really hard, to make working together joyful. We are committed to finding ways to be our whole, weird ass selves. It’s a really, really exciting time to come on this journey with us, and grow the company. 

You still have to work under capitalism and in the arts, there is no escape. 

But I think we’re good people to fight a good fight with. 

So, you know. Apply. 

“You’ve been really quiet fam, are you even making work?”

First of all, you are rude, in a way that reminds me of my Associate Director, Toni-Dee, so I think you’d fit right in.

Secondly YEH WE HAVE. We’ve spent some time recently focusing on strengthening the organisation itself, building the infrastructure that lets us make bigger, more ambitious work sustainably – but within the next year we’ll be:

• developing new theatre and performance work with partners
• hosting international conversations and gatherings
• making the first iteration of a new VR work about music videos and charisma
• creating a podcast series capturing interviews and conversations with disabled artists
• launching a monthly meetup for people with lived experience of adoption & care settings 

We aren’t yelling about it because WE DON’T HAVE TIME! We are busy as hell.

You think we need to shout more about what we’re doing? I agree, come and join the company, then we’ll have the capacity to do that. 

Come on bab, apply.

“I’m almost convinced – one last thing – you say you want ‘significant experience’… what does that mean?”

I think a big thing in the arts is the difference between small companies – where a few folks do it all – and big companies, where jobs are separated out, and people are experts on perhaps one very specific bit of a role – like fundraising, or marketing or tour booking, or logistics. We’re in the former, rather than the latter. 

One of the challenges of this, is that if you have not been in a senior position in a big company, sometimes you come with lots of unknown unknowns, and it’s harder for us to pitch support and line management correctly for you. Another challenge is that someone might come from a company even smaller than ours, with a ‘I’ma do it all’ energy, because they’re used to having to do that. Really delicate biz.

I say all this, because when you’re figuring out if you’re experienced enough to apply, this really comes into play. You might have come from a small organisation for five years, and have this really broad, hands-on knowledge that means that actually, with some guidance and line management, you would absolutely flourish. You might have spent a couple of years doing lots of different kinds of jobs in venues that also give you that knowledge. You might have worked your way up in an organisation, which gives you really targeted knowledge of producing or directing from multiple vantage points.

My advice? Look at the job description. Can you do those tasks? If the answer is yes, apply. If the answer is no, ask yourself – “do I have a clear sense (that you can articulate in your interview) of what I will need to learn or develop to be able to do that thing?”

If you can?

Apply.

I’ve kept the tone here a bit silly and playful and a little bit flippant, because that’s me, and that’s the company really. 

But I’m so serious about applying, and wanting this process to be open to all, and found by the right people. 

If you’re curious. If you’re interested. If you’ve got the tiniest inkling.

Apply, fam.

— Selina