We've turned 2 today, here's 5 things I've learnt!
Written by Ajay Pabial
I honestly can’t believe today we are celebrating Art Clubbers’ 2nd Birthday! Time has really flown by since I started the organisation back in 2018, since then as a team we’ve grown from strength to strength working on and delivering some really cool projects and programmes.
I want to take this opportunity to thank you. Thank you for your constant love and support, whether you were a creative on one of programmes, an artist we’ve worked with or an organisation we’ve partnered with, in your own little or big way you have contributed to our growth and successes.
Art Clubbers is on its way to become one of London’s leading creative and cultural organisation specialising in develop progression pathways, cultural regeneration, platforming creatives from underrepresented backgrounds and developing creative strategies and consultancy offers with other organisations to amplify the voices of budding creatives.
In the hustle and bustle of it all, sometimes we forget to stop and reflect on how far we’ve come as well as make plans for the future. So in honour of that I’ve highlighted 5 things I’ve learnt being a founder of a not-for-profit over that past two years.
1. Resilience can be fragile
Try, try and try again! If you’re a Capricorn like me then resilience is a superpower that may come naturally to you but for those who don’t, resilience is a fusion skill we are constantly developing and especially in these challenging times our resilience is put to the test! Running community focused projects and events will always bring up some challenges and at times can lead into difficulties. Sometime you may have the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties, on other times it can leave you feeling delicate or even vulnerable – remember that’s okay! Remember it’s all a learning process where you’ll know how to come on top if given the opportunity again!
2. Sometimes ideas don’t work and that’s okay.
Not every project or programme has to end with great results! Sometime ideas don’t work and that’s okay, it’s all trial and error. Moment’s like these is a great learning curve to reassess our ideas and find ways to come back bigger or sometimes just a little better. Last year we brought to you The Playground - We turned Lambeth Town Hall into a playground and hosted a series of workshops and events that focused on creative learning, providing its people with alternative ‘qualifications’. The Playground didn’t receive the attention we hoped it would but from this we reflected on what really went well which was the conversations and from this The Playground was reborn as The Hustle Guide!
The Hustle Guide has been a very successful venture run by our very own Marketing and Creative Manager Oktay Asanov, starting off as Instagram takeovers and live conversations and now manifesting into our first ever podcast series which you can listen here.
3. Collaboration is beautiful
We wouldn’t be hear without you. That’s a fact! Over the last two years we’ve collaborated with just over 20 cultural and creative organisations who we have had the fortune of developing beautiful and mutual relationships with. Respect and trust are two very important things when it comes to collaborating with others. As an organisation it’s vital we continue to engage and support other startups and our growing talent pool of 200+ budding creatives with their endeavours. We have and we will continue to support them through their ventures. Always we are in it together!
We’ve recently collaborated with the wonderful Isabel Sachs from I LIKE NETWORKING to delivering an exciting series of virtual networking events for budding creatives which you sign up to here!
4. With friends you become a collective genius!
At Art Clubbers we are a team of friends and familiar faces. I’ve truly been fortunate to be working arm in arm with some of my closest friends and brilliant minds. As a collective we bring to the table an array of experiences, skills and opinions which continue to challenge not only us as individuals but also the work we deliver. Diversity and Inclusion is at the core of the work we deliver so having a team that embodies that mission is so important to us. As an organization we have learnt that we uniquely occupy the creative and culture sector in ways many other organisations cannot. As a founder, there’s always a little pressure to be the all-knowing and doing figure within the team but I’ve learnt quickly in the last year that having a team you can trust and rely on you can collectively make some real magic happen!
5. JUST BE YOU!!
This has to be most important thing I’ve learnt over the last two years. When I started Art Clubbers I was learning to become comfortable in my skin as a Queer South Asian creative individual. Over the last two years I’ve been able to make peace with the internal conflict and have been able to create a space within Art Clubbers that means something much more to me. It’s weird to say but I’ve always felt that Art Clubbers helped me find my place in the world and so I can only hope that our little organisation becomes a safe space for intersectional creatives to explore, grow and flourish. I’ve been fortunate to have been able to inspire and lift others around me who are now doing the same for their nearest and dearest too. After all, isn’t that what community is all about!
Have you got an idea to explore with us? What would you like to see more from us? Or do you have a fond memory working with us?
Please drop me a line and share with me at ajay.pabial@artclubbers.com