Find out more about the young artists on our Creative Futures programme.

Name: Ella
Age: 21
Art form: Illustration & animation (but also lots more!)

What made you apply for creative futures?

Creatives face barriers before we even begin to freelance, as we’re not provided with the instruction guide that often accompanies other career paths. Creative Youth Network's Creative Futures scheme seemed like the glowing opportunity to gain guidance on how to survive self-employment financially (and emotionally), without neglecting the creativity and passion that so often gets traded in for commercial commissions when trying to figure it all out.
The course attracted me as an alternative route to developing my art in a space of support and empowerment.

Tell us about the work you are currently making?

Answering what I ‘do’ is always a tricky one for me, because I’m forever sniffing out pies to put my fingers in (you know the saying, not actually putting my fingers in pies...)
I feel most confident working in traditional illustration, but am learning stop-motion & digital animation, film-making, writing & directing, performance & puppetry (making & puppeteering).
For this project, right now I am simply absorbing & researching but I hope to explore puppetry and the merging of animation & live-action film-making.

What topics would you like to explore and why?

Our society is fascinating, beautiful & incredibly difficult to understand at times.
Amongst many confusions & absurdities that we encounter (or are privileged not to be faced with), is our relationship with animals.
Whether we’re pampering our pet poodle, reading our children bedtime stories of ‘Daisy The Happy Cow’ after a beef burger dinner or treating ourselves with a zoo trip to glimpse the majestic beasts pacing their decorated cages - there’s a lot of ideas to explore.

Although I’m open for the project to develop and change, right now I’m hoping to create something that people can wonder and chew over.

What are you most excited to do on creative futures?

Make some mistakes and learn! Becoming part of a space that encourages experimentation & mistake-making is super exciting. The outside ‘real’ world usually isn’t as generous and share this scheme’s understanding flexibility.

I’m also really grateful to get the opportunity to run workshops on behalf of Creative Youth Network as I’m passionate about young people’s media and making the creative industry accessible.

Where do you see yourself at the end of the programme?

I see myself with a stronger portfolio, a healthier relationship with the admin side of freelancing & and walking into an exciting career full of ideas and opportunities.
At the end of this 6 months, I predict that I will be looking for internships & placements, hopefully working on projects with organisations that I truly care about.  

I love this quote by Toni Cade Bambara, I think it beautifully sums up any jumbly aspirations of mine:

The role of the artist is to make the revolution irresistible.

Find out more about our Creative Futures programme.