Employability Resources

AA2A hosts receive access to:

• Creative Futures Videos - over 100 employability-related videos covering a wide variety of topics
• Creative Futures Seminars - Four or five specialist self-employment seminars 
• Creative Futures Talk - A live talk on self-employment
• Creative Futures Guide - A digital ‘life after graduation guide’

Creative Futures Videos

Our private YouTube library which contains over 100 videos on self-employment and creative employability topics. The videos have been split into seven categories and feature content from artists with real-life experience of operating as a practising creative professional:

• Artists' Stories
• Artists' Advice
• Working with Galleries
• Online Presence
• Business and Finance
• Projects and Funding
• Copyright and Licensing

Creative Futures Seminars

Our employability seminars feature a small panel of experts with specific knowledge of the subject theme. The idea behind this revised format is to give the audience the chance to have their questions answered by industry professionals. 

Seminars run between February and April with provisional titles and panellists confirmed in Dec/Jan. For an idea of what to expect, this was last year's program.

• Seminar 1: Getting Set Up, speakers: Mollie Balshaw, Liam Gerard
• Seminar 2: Funds and Finances, speakers: No Jobs In the Arts, Lizzie Jordan
• Seminar 3: Mental Wellbeing and Resilience, speakers: Niki Colclough, Mollie Balshaw
• Seminar 4: Marketing, speakers: Sophie Nowakowska, Si Beale, Jessica Grady

If you are a student at an AA2A host, you should be sent a sign-up link for each seminar around 1/2 weeks before the scheduled start date. Please contact us for the link if this is not the case, however. If you would like to attend our seminars but you are not a student/alumni/current resident of an active AA2A host, you can purchase a ticket via Eventbrite.

Creative Futures Talk

We deliver a 1.5 hour employability talk to students at each of our host institutions, tailored specifically for those studying a course in an artistic discipline. This talk offers invaluable insights into navigating the professional landscape for those pursuing creative paths. Full of information relevant to students studying creative courses (not just Fine Art) our talk, delivered by an industry expert, will equip them with the skills and mindset needed to excel after graduation.

We deliver our employability talks in collaboration with external partners. The talk can be delivered in-person or online depending on which package you signed up for.

Creative Futures Guide

This digital guide contains essential career development information for students, graduates and early career creatives.

Available as a PDF, the guide contains:

• Info on key national arts organisations
• Guidance on becoming self-employed and available business support
• Info on support organisations, which are local to host institutions
• Links to relevant websites and organisations