Creative Career Spotlights
Showcasing the stories of the local creatives and cultural providers who inspire us, alongside their amazing work in Hertfordshire and beyond!
You can read these in our HCEP Newsletter, which you can sign up for here!
List of Newspaper Features:
- #6 – Helen Barnett [Creative Director of the Trestle Theatre Company]
- #7 – Jo Ward [Curator at the Stevenage Museum]
- #8 – Rhys Thomas [Director at Hertford Theatre]
- #9 – Amreeka Parmar [Education and Learning Facilitator at Warner Bros. Studio Tour London]
- #10 – Stephen Clarius [Youth Worker / Musician at Hertfordshire Music Service]
- #11 – Kerry Lanigan [Director and Founder at Nysa Projects and Trim Tots CIC]
- #12 – Suman Gujral [Fine Artist]
- #13 – Bre Antonia [International Product Manager]
HCEP Newsletter #13
Photo by Daniel Modesté
Bre Antonia
International Product Manager
We recently spoke to International Product Manager at AWAL, Bre Antonia, who works with global marketing teams to execute campaigns for independent artists!
Bre has previously worked in International Marketing at Sony Music UK, where the creative curated their first Black History Month celebration as an intern and led their diversity and inclusion committee, HUE UK (Helping Unite Everyone). After the world witnessed the tragic murder of George Floyd, and as a response to colleagues’ need for support through that time – particularly Black staff – Bre was appointed the Head of HUE UK; later becoming Sony Music UK’s official diversity committee. Bre’s efforts won her the no.14 position on the Yahoo! Finance x The EMpower 100 Ethnic Minority Future Leaders 2021 list.
Her advocacy and enthusiasm for equality extend beyond her day job, and in 2019 Bre co-founded and runs Women Connect: a collective specialising in creating and promoting equal opportunities for women, non-binary and gender-fluid people working in the creative industries. Bre also hosts her The Woman and The Word podcast, a Christian podcast for young women and girls.
Bre also regularly performs as a backing vocalist and musician, with recent gigs at staple UK venues like Shepherd’s Bush Empire and EartH, Hackney. With Songwriting credits on releases from Toolroom Records and backing vocals for artists such as Puma Blue, Bre embodies the space where corporate meets creative.
What inspired you to follow a career in the cultural sector?
“I was inspired by my family to pursue a creative career. Funnily enough, no one around me had one, but my family were so supportive and invested in my hobbies and interests that I didn’t need a reference or example of seeing it done before me – I just believed that I could do it.
“I was also extremely encouraged by my teachers at The BRIT School, who – while teaching us how to sharpen our musicianship and musical skills – were very honest about the breadth of creative jobs within music and the wider arts. Their honesty helped make things real for me, and I’m super grateful for my two years there.”
What pathway led to your current role of work?
“My current work focuses on enabling creativity in communities and supporting great work to happen. I find myself back in theatre touring a musical puppet show, Planet Munch, developed in community settings for young children and their grown-ups. This work has been part of a wider piece of work in collaboration with UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, where we have worked in community settings to help families achieve healthier futures. Also teaching nutritional messages and encourage increased physical activity through fun and interactive creative content – the puppets and music get everyone up and dancing.”
What have you gained and learned from working with young people?
“I am always learning from young people: there is never a workshop without a golden nugget of information or fabulous shortcut in the design process gifted from a young person or young child. I never cease to be amazed and leave plenty of room for creativity and input from participants in all sessions.
“Latterly, when working with emerging artists, I have benefitted from the input of young people to our projects not only in a hands-on practical way but through energy and bright ideas brought to projects whilst providing feedback to our approaches and content. I truly value the input of young people and would love to be able to make this a more regular feature of our work.”
What sparks your creativity, and what do you enjoy doing in your spare time?
“Spending time outdoors swimming and walking. Ideas come to me all the time, usually when I’m doing something active – or, conversely, in my sleep. Nature is a huge source of visual inspiration for my work, and my time spent outdoors feeds my creations and provides a home for my sculptures.”
What career advice would you give to your younger self?
“How long have you got? Enjoy what you do, be kind to yourself and be careful who you work with.”
Which of your creative skills would help you survive on a deserted island, and why?
“Recycled sculpture and environmental décor. I’m a dab hand with recycled items: I would love to build a super-pimped beach hut.”
HCEP Newsletter #12
Photo by Stephanie Belton
Suman Gujral
Fine Artist
We recently spoke to Fine Artist, Suman Gujral! Underlying Suman’s work is the interplay of light and shadow, and the artist considers themselves an eternal optimist; impressed by the human ability to survive and even thrive in the aftermath of trauma.
During her MA at the University of Hertfordshire, Suman researched the history of printmaking in India: discovering the impact of the 1947 Partition of India, including its effect on the artist’s family history. This, too, has inspired Suman’s work: exploring the migrant crisis, its roots, and how artists are in a unique position to provoke conversations about this.
Suman’s work has been spotlighted and exhibited at Parndon Mill, Horniman Museum & Gardens, and the St Albans Museum + Gallery. Suman has also been featured on ITV, and recently won the New Art Exchange Open’s National Artist Prize.
Discover Suman’s website here, and the artist’s store page here!
What inspired you to follow a career in the cultural sector?
“I’ve always enjoyed being creative, and did loads of short courses when my children were small. Then, I got a chance to do an MA in Fine Art as a mature student, and realised I wanted to work as an artist.”
What pathway led to your current role of work?
“During my MA, I became very interested in the Partition of India in 1947, which led to the largest mass migration in history, and I started to think about the current migration crisis and forcible displacement.”
Who inspired / encouraged you to follow your creative dream?
“My tutors at the University of Hertfordshire were very encouraging, but I was also inspired by the artists I studied: like Zarina Hashmi and Mona Hatoum, whose lives were defined by coming from countries which were partitioned.”
How do you define creativity?
“Hmm – for me, it’s about having time to let my imagination run riot without thinking about an outcome.”
What sparks your creativity, and what do you enjoy doing in your spare time?
“I’m inspired by my family history, conversations with other creatives, the landscape, objects… and, I enjoy reading, walks, gardening, going to galleries, and the cinema.”
What career advice would you give to your younger self?
“Have self-belief, and don’t compromise to fit what other people think you should do.”
Which of your creative skills would help you survive on a deserted island, and why?
“I have no survival skills! Drawing and painting would stop me getting bored!”
HCEP Newsletter #11
Kerry Lanigan
Director and Founder at Nysa Projects and Trim Tots CIC
We recently spoke to Director and Founder at Nysa Projects and Trim Tots CIC, Kerry Lanigan, about her creative career promoting the importance of art in health, education and social progress. Read on to discover what inspired her to pursue a creative career, what she’s learnt working with young people, and more!
Kerry is a socially engaged artist, and passionate about ensuring quality artistic engagement is made available to all. Kerry recently produced the Arts Council-funded My Firsts and My Story projects with Hertfordshire Libraries, and the Savour the Flavour Musical Puppet Show: a development of the Planet Munch Healthy Lifestyle programme, developed as a spin-out of UCL Business and the GOS Institute of Child Health.
Trim Tots CIC formed to tackle childhood obesity through creative education, with the team at Nysa developing ‘Planet Munch’: a creative learning environment embodying all that is essential for wellbeing. The Planet Munch Healthy Lifestyle Programme features in the Early Intervention Foundation Guidebook as a suggested programme with a 2+ rating and shortlisted for a Shared Learning award by NICE (National Institute of Clinical Excellence).
Kerry specialises in participatory practice and has worked on several pieces of co-creation as an Artist and Creative Producer, with multiple stakeholders. Kerry loves bringing people together to produce one creative output or a body of work: aware of the challenges and delights of community co-creation. Collaboration is central to Kerry’s work as an interdisciplinary, participatory artist. As a versatile artist, her participatory practice supports co-creation: most recently My Firsts, supporting emerging artists; and My Story, with Herts Libraries, Herts Archive & YCHerts, funded by Arts Council England.
Discover Nysa Projects here, and Trim Tots here! Make sure to follow Nysa Projects on Instagram and Twitter!
What inspired you to follow a career in the cultural sector?
“My first loves were drama and music, but I studied languages and kept my interests in drama and production as a side-line.
“During my A Levels and together with a group of creatively minded school friends, we created a club night at the Pioneer Youth Club in St. Albans called Nysa. Nice and cheesy, and a play on Mount Nysa: known in Greek mythology to be the birthplace of Dionysus and his unruly female followers, the Maenads.
“Mostly Hip Hop and Drum and Bass nights, Nysa straddled genres and art forms, and our Nysa Nights provided opportunity for all involved to develop their creative practice. Nysa became established as an Arts Org with our work swiftly spread into community arts, festivals and events. I developed a passion for creating UV décor, stage sets and installations whilst cutting my teeth in programming and event management.”
What pathway led to your current role of work?
“After I left the BRIT school, I pursued music creatively with two friends in a girl group. We were singing, writing, performing and getting quite a bit of interest, actually. But, I realised that while we were in meetings with A&Rs and managers, I was always more interested in the business terms, the law and the industry side.
“After a year of being in the group, I decided to study BA (Hons) Music Industry Management at the University of Hertfordshire, which also included a year abroad in California (best year of my life)! I was able to hone in on my marketing skills out there, which was the sector I wanted to work in, in the future. When I returned to finish my degree, I landed an internship at Sony Music UK in the Video Production team before securing a permanent role as an International Marketing Assistant! I got to schedule promo around the world for incredible artists – and sometimes even bagged myself a plane ticket to accompany them! I got to speak and brainstorm with teams globally to execute incredible marketing campaigns. It was such a joy.
“Two years and a promotion later, I eventually left that team to join AWAL: an independent label eventually bought by Sony. So, now, I’m back in the Sony Music UK family, but working for a phenomenal label that truly feels like the future of the industry.”
What are some things you have gained and/or learned throughout your creative career?
“I have learned that building lasting and genuine relationships with people really matters, and the richness of those relationships and bonds can really change the tide for your career. My path has been anything but linear, but I have had so much support and advocacy by my peers because I took the time to build authentic relationships with the people I work with.
“I’ve also learned that nobody has the answer. For music, particularly, everyone in the industry is just trying their best and figuring things out! While one person may have more experience in one area than another, our biggest equaliser and the middle ground that should bring us all together is that nobody has it all sussed out. Therefore, we all have a chance to do and be part of something great: we all deserve a seat at the table.
“What a fun conversation that would be – it’s a funny, encouraging and humbling realisation!”
“Latterly, when working with emerging artists, I have benefitted from the input of young people to our projects not only in a hands-on practical way but through energy and bright ideas brought to projects whilst providing feedback to our approaches and content. I truly value the input of young people and would love to be able to make this a more regular feature of our work.”
How do you define creativity?
“I would define creativity as having the inspiration and initiative to push boundaries and do things your way. Creativity is personal: it’s unique to whoever engages with it, and can be expressed in an unlimited amount of ways! I also see creativity as liberty and freedom; it’s the space to dream without restriction and fear. No rules, no boundaries and no external factors… it is what you make it.”
What sparks your creativity, and what do you enjoy doing in your spare time?
“Other creatives spark my creativity, which is probably why I value relationship building so much. Witnessing how one person interprets and expresses themselves creatively inspires me to delve deeper into my OWN interpretation and creativity – which will be unique to my experiences, preferences, likes and dislikes. I listen to a lot of music, I sing (all the time) and I play the keys; so, in my spare time, I am either the one being creative or engaging with someone else’s creations!”
What career advice would you give to your younger self?
“I would definitely tell myself to be bold enough to step out and hone in on one skill at a time. I have always struggled with trying to be everything, everywhere, all at once! And, while it was fun, and a genuine joy for me to tap into all my interests and skills, I now see the value and the importance of being a master of something.
“Being a jack of all trades is great for certain seasons, and maybe at an entry-level you may want to be well-rounded with different experiences and skillsets. However: my advice would be to not remain a jack of all trades out of comfort, or for fear of stepping out and becoming an expert! It can be quite daunting, striving to be great at something, so I’d tell my younger self to confident about that.”
Which of your creative skills would help you survive on a deserted island, and why?
“I hope my singing would be so well received by the animals that they wouldn’t want to eat the sweet singing human! A girl can dream.”
HCEP Newsletter #10
Stephen Clarius
Youth Worker / Musician at Hertfordshire Music Service
The Creative Career Spotlight spotlights the stories and work of the local creatives and cultural providers who inspire us, alongside their work in Hertfordshire and beyond.
Read on to discover what led Stephen to his career as a Youth Worker and Musician at the Hertfordshire Music Service, the advice he would give to his younger self, and how he sparks his creativity!
What inspired you to follow a career in the cultural sector?
“The role of Youth Worker / Musician at Herts Music Service was something I stumbled upon. Had it not involved music, I would not have pursued the role – but, I am glad I did as working with young people is extremely important and rewarding.”
What pathway led to your current role of work?
“Studying Music Technology and Music Production have given me the skills I need to perform this role.”
What have you gained and learned from working with young people?
“Mostly, I have gained insight as to how young people interact differently with their peers and non peers, such as youth workers or responsible adults. I have found I need to balance keeping some distance, but always being approachable, at the same time.”
What sparks your creativity, and what do you enjoy doing in your spare time?
“I listen to a lot of music daily, and find inspiration from individual songs, regularly. I also like to reflect while walking my dog. I spend a lot of my spare time creating and editing music, and I am also an independent recording artist and hope to release some new music in the near future.”
Which of your creative skills would help you survive on a deserted island, and why?
“I am a huge fan of rhythm and would need it to survive, so perhaps my knowledge of drums would allow me to build some drums to play. They would also help to keep me fit and active, as a bonus!”
What are your aspirations for cultural education within Hertfordshire?
“I hope to see cultural education expand and spread across Hertfordshire, and beyond.”
HCEP Newsletter #9
Amreeka Parmar
Education and Learning Facilitator at Warner Bros. Studio Tour London
The Creative Career Spotlight spotlights the stories and work of the local creatives and cultural providers who inspire us, alongside their work in Hertfordshire and beyond. In this edition of the HCEP Newsletter, we’re spotlighting Education and Learning Facilitator at Warner Bros. Studio Tour London, Amreeka Parmar!
Read on to discover what led to Amreeka’s career in the cultural sector, what sparks her creativity, and what aspirations she has for cultural education within Hertfordshire.
Discover more about the Warner Bros. Studio Tour London here!
What inspired you to follow a career in the cultural sector?
“I was previously a primary school teacher, with experience in events and working in the charitable sector. I was interested in furthering my career in a different aspect of teaching. When I saw the role come up at Warner Bros Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter, I thought it was perfect. It uses all of my previous experience and skills, allows me to experience teaching and creativity in a different setting, and enables me to develop new creative skills in different areas such as marketing.”
What pathway led to your current role of work?
“I have always been very creative and interested in the arts, having studied art up to A-Level at school. I went to university, studied Education, and then became a Primary School teacher with over ten years experience in the sector. I also have experience of working in the charitable sector, with events and project management. I decided I wanted to change things up and explore a career where I could be more creative and do what I love – which is to teach.”
What career advice would you give to your younger self?
“Don’t be afraid to take risks to push your career opportunities.”
What have you gained and learned from working with young people?
“I have embraced being creative even more so than before. Children see the world differently to adults: for them, objects have a different purpose and words can have different meanings. Sometimes, you just need to look at a task or project from a different perspective.”
What sparks your creativity, and what do you enjoy doing in your spare time?
“I love painting, and drawing; and, enjoy travelling, visiting art galleries and museums.”
Which of your creative skills would help you survive on a deserted island, and why?
“Using my creative skills in order to turn objects on the island into useful tools to survive and to help build a shelter.”
What are your aspirations for cultural education within Hertfordshire?
“To continue working with the Creative Teacher Network in order to bring creativity through different forms and mediums back into the curriculum.”
HCEP Newsletter #8
Rhys Thomas
Director at Hertford Theatre
The Creative Career Spotlight spotlights the stories and work of the local creatives and cultural providers who inspire us, alongside their work in Hertfordshire and beyond.
In this edition of the HCEP Newsletter, we’re highlighting Hertford Theatre Director, Rhys Thomas! Read on to discover what led to his role, his aspirations for cultural education in Hertfordshire, and which of his creative skills would help him survive on a deserted island.
Discover more about the Hertford Theatre here!
What inspired you to follow a career in the cultural sector?
“I’ve worked in the theatre and performing arts for as long as I can remember – a passionate hobby in my childhood and teens merged into a passionate career in adult life. I guess my inspiration for it to become a career was the fact that I had some great friends, many of whom also now work in the sector – one or two have become quite famous(!) – and that we all believed we could make a difference to each other’s lives and a huge difference to the world we lived in, by pursuing a career in the arts.”
What pathway led to your current role of work?
“In working as a freelance director for 20 years, my work took me across the UK and abroad, directing and teaching in many different theatres and drama schools in many different cultures and communities. In 2010, I was reflecting on how I could apply all those different experiences to my next role when I was invited to take a look at the live theatre programme and create the business case for second release film as part of the development of Castle Hall in Hertford. That led to the development of Hertford Theatre and here I am, more than 10 years later preparing for the £24m redevelopment of the building to include 550 seat auditorium, 150 seat studio, 3 full time cinema screens and a new heritage offer. Due to re-open in November 2023. It’s been a remarkable journey!”
What have you gained and learned from working with young people?
“The future is in the hands of young people; any positivity and creativity that is sown now will be reaped in the future. Working with young people is inspiring and energising – they are a great reminder to continually see the world afresh.”
What sparks your creativity, and what do you enjoy doing in your spare time?
“My creativity is sparked all the time because I love to think about the world we live in and how I feel about it, I think about the people I share it with and how I can make it a better place to be. In my spare time, I mess about in my garden, cook, go for long walks, hang out in the pub with my friends and go to the cinema and the theatre.”
Which of your creative skills would help you survive on a deserted island, and why?
“Probably writing – I could keep mind and body together by keeping a detailed diary.”
What are your aspirations for cultural education within Hertfordshire?
“That every child in Hertfordshire, irrespective of their background, has the opportunity to watch, join in and study (if they wish) ALL of the arts.”
HCEP Newsletter #7
Jo Ward
Curator at the Stevenage Museum
The Creative Career Spotlight spotlights the stories and work of the local creatives and cultural providers who inspire us, alongside their work in Hertfordshire and beyond.
In this edition of the HCEP Newsletter, we’re highlighting Stevenage Museum Curator Jo Ward! Read on to discover what led to her role, her aspirations for cultural education in Hertfordshire, and which of her creative skills would help her survive on a deserted island.
Discover more about the Stevenage Museum here, and follow them on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter to keep up to date with their events and projects!
What inspired you to follow a career in the cultural sector?
“I’ve always loved history and storytelling, and museums bring those two things together – so, when I was thinking about what to do after university, it seemed like a good way to go! When I look back at my time at school, trips out to local museums were the highlight – I wanted to find out how they worked.”
What pathway led to your current role of work?
“I volunteered across various museums in the Durham area after university here and eventually did a year-long placement at Beamish Open Air Museum in the learning team. It’s very similar to the Kickstart scheme currently offered to help young people find work.
“The museum was a great place to work – I learnt SO much. I got to write learning resources, including several of a series called ‘A Day in the Life of’, seeing them through from the initial writing to the final proofing of designs. We also put together handling boxes to add a different dimension to the written stories loaned out to schools, tested the resources with local schools and evaluated them. These included research in the Beamish collection, libraries and archives across the North East and beyond, commissioning replicas, and thinking of creative ways to package the loans to make them more attractive to use. It was a great first place to work: every day was different, and it got me hooked!
“After that, I did a postgraduate diploma in Heritage Management and was lucky to get a placement on an Erasmus scholarship in the Museum of Contemporary Art in Ghent, Belgium. I found my first job in Newham, where I initially worked in the learning team and soon got involved across its different departments helping put together exhibitions and care for the collections.”
What have you gained learned from working with young people?
“I’ve always enjoyed working with young people: they bring fresh perspectives and a sense of energy, and they always remind me of what a privilege it is to work with collections that belong to local people and are there to inspire. The young people are so amazed that they can access the objects and documents that tell the many stories of their towns.
“We also have work experience students, Duke of Edinburgh placements, and after-school programmes for young people aged 14-18; as well as programming for families with under 5s, schools, and adult learners. Plus, helping people access original source material to enrich their learning (or if they are doing it just for fun) is always a pleasure.”
“As an adult, I am committed to giving young people that platform to find and share their voices. In return, it enables me to keep learning and adapting to the changing needs and values of the next generation, which I value highly. It may be cliché, but they are the makers of the future – and, if you listen to them now, we can all work towards shaping a more positive future together and learn from our collective experience.”
How do you use co-creation in your work?
“We do a range of things, including inviting young people to research stories and share them in our exhibitions. We did this with ‘Who is Edward Gordon Craig?’ where young people interviewed the archivist at Eton College – which holds a great collection of material by Craig – and the resulting film was shown in the exhibition. They also came in to help install the objects with the conservator from Eton, which was really interesting.
“For our Suffrage project, young people again did research and helped put the displays together, including plotting the addresses of all the local members of the Nation Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies (NUWSS), the moderate wing of the Suffrage movement, on a map of Stevenage. We also work with local schools to make artwork inspired by, and for, exhibitions, like the galloper horses schools made as part of our exhibition about the Stevenage Fair.
“We’ve previously worked with students from Barnwell as part of the ‘Stevenage in 100 Objects’ project, making short films with them of their chosen objects. Finally, we have artists to lead programmes working with schools to make work, most recently the drama practitioner Pam Pellen, who led our Regeneration Ghosts project with local schools.”
Which of your creative skills would help you survive on a deserted island, and why?
“Making exhibitions involves lots of practical skills. Not many people know this, but people who work in small museums are often very good at putting up stud walls, building cases and constructing displays. I can saw wood straight (-ish!), paint and I’ve even made a Roman hut, so perhaps I’d be good at making a shelter! I’ve tried spinning: not going to say I’m great at it (my yarn was a bit lumpy) but perhaps I could knit or weave something, too!”
What are your aspirations for cultural education within Hertfordshire?
“For all young people to experience a wide range of creative learning, in school and out; and, to have a space to explore and have fun, and learn how fulfilling being creative can be. It would be great to have creativity ambassadors from secondary schools taking their learning into primary schools to help younger children access the arts and creativity, like they do for sports.”
HCEP Newsletter #6
Helen Barnett
Creative Director of the Trestle Theatre Company
Kicking off this new feature is Creative Director of St Albans’ Trestle Theatre Co., Helen Barnett! Trestle is a physical theatre company who’ve produced innovative physical theatre since 1981: most noticeably using their distinct and diverse range of masks. Their approach is playful and open-minded, with the aim of inspiring creativity through dialogue and participation, and their recent work has included school workshops, teacher training, performances and more.
Read on to discover more about Helen’s role with Trestle!
Find out more about Trestle Theatre Co.’s work here, and follow them on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter to keep up to date with their events and projects!
What inspired you to follow a career in the cultural sector?
“I always wanted to work in theatre since I saw my first show on the West End. Initially, I thought I wanted to be an actor but soon realised during my training that I was more interested in how we developed the overall shape of a play and what everyone else was doing – not simply my part.
“This is what led me into directing, and from there I found real enjoyment in discovering new ways of working with audiences and participants, using theatre to provide positive creative experiences for everyone. This also also took me into outreach and education.”
How do you use co-creation in your work?
“The whole is greater than the sum of the parts, and the more people involved in creating and developing creative projects the greater they will be and the more purpose they will have. To me, this is what co-creation is about. At Trestle, we always aim to work with all of the partners involved in a project to deliver work that addresses need and adds value to everyone’s experience.”
What have you gained learned from working with young people?
“I believe in creativity being a really important tool to help us connect and process our experiences. For me, theatre really helped me to discover my voice as a young person at a point when I was trying to understand my own identity.
“As an adult, I am committed to giving young people that platform to find and share their voices. In return, it enables me to keep learning and adapting to the changing needs and values of the next generation, which I value highly. It may be cliché, but they are the makers of the future – and, if you listen to them now, we can all work towards shaping a more positive future together and learn from our collective experience.”
Who encouraged you to follow your creative dreams?
“I was hugely encouraged by my teachers and supported by my parents. I was incredibly lucky to be given space to come to my own conclusions, and to explore a variety of creative pursuits by each of them, and for that I am truly grateful. I have also had lots of professional mentors, and even now always seek out opportunities to learn from other people. My colleagues and co-workers inspire me constantly.”
What are your aspirations for cultural education within Hertfordshire?
“I would like cultural education in Hertfordshire to be well-connected and easy to navigate. By working together, we can provide a stronger offer and share learning – so, this should be at the heart of how we interact with each other as cultural providers and educators.”
