Creative Futures week Monday Keynote

The first talk on Monday was a panel session by Tamara Harvey of Theatr Clwyd, Alfredo Cramerotti of Mostyn, Gareth Jones of Welsh ICE, Jo Marsh of Oriel Wrexham and Andy Cheetham of Cheetham Bell. The panel was chaired by Mike Corcoran and was on the subject of Collaboration in the Creative Industries.
They each explained who they were and how they got where they are now.
Tamara Harvey arrived at Theatr Clwyd 3 months ago, having worked freelance in any part of the field she could and had to figure out how to handle funding cuts to the company as soon as she did. She talked about the different shows that they have made recently and about one of her ideas to let members of the public come and see behind the scenes as to how the plays are made.

Jo Marsh then told everyone about the new things going on with Oriel Wrexham, telling us that they are moving in to a new space in Wrexham soon and showing us the floor plan and images of how the finished building might look. She also enthused that there are lots of opportunities for students within Oriel Wrexham and lots spaces in which to work.

​Next was Andy Cheetam, who gave his advice on how he first got into the creative industry and how he got to where he is today. He started by making an advert for a fish and chip shop which won many awards; spawning an award category of it's own, and now helps with the marketting for many different companies. He came up with the idea of the 'Can tracker' for John Lewis, that allowed people to see exactly where the product they have bought has come from.

The talk ended with each of them giving helpful advice about the industry and specifically working within a team. Below is a bullet point list of the advice given.​

• If an idea is precious to you make sure an NDA (Non-disclosure agreement) is signed first.
• It helps to know both the strengths and weaknesses of everyone on the team you are working with.
• It helps to talk to the people you are working with face to face rather than via Email.
• It's good to share your idea and listen to the feedback rather than keep it to yourself forever.
• There needs to be at least one designated leader of a project.
• Sometimes it's important to say no to collaboration, if you don't think it would be good for the project or the other person is not going to be good for it.
• It can be good to be frank with people; be honest.
• Make sure the collab. is time efficient for the work you want to create.
• Make sure you get feedback from people who will critically assess your work rather than tell you it's good to spare your feelings.
• Part-time jobs help tide you over while you look for the work you want to do.