A Post-Graduate Survival Guide Part 1
As a tribute to those who have just spent a year or four pouring their hearts and souls into The Degree Show, only to emerge, blinking, into the cold light of that post-graduation day, we present an ongoing series of articles from those in the know concerning the very real challenge of surviving while keeping the faith. The series is inaugurated with the thoughts of The Embassy's Daniella Watson.
You would think that embarking on life in a creative industry would be all about focus and determination. And it is, naturally. But it is also necessary to bear in mind the need for survival without recourse to anything too soul-destroying, so it's a good idea to have several money making or industrious strategies up both your sleeves as you embark upon your life in The Real World. The trick might be to finely tune the strings to your bow so that they work in a complementary manner. This could mean working in a bookshop and writing to prop up your art practice, or perhaps figuring out a collective endeavour to launch a design business or gallery. The Embassy gallery is an example of an organization that has been set up in Edinburgh to galvanize an art scene of sorts, which could be sustainable or self-perpetuating. There was and continues to be a need for situations that provoke heated conversations about art, creating tensions, prompting retaliations and suggesting further reasons for artists to get together. These communities, whilst by their very nature and of necessity hardly harmonious, might offer support and a fertile ground for artists to stay in the city and continue making work. This way of working to foreground practice could be a holistic approach or more compartmentalized, either way it's important to have some kind of loose structures if only to contribute to and benefit from the support, advice and critique of friends. Art is not solely an individual pursuit, then again it is not exactly a team sport, but you do need team mates. The Embassy and similar organizations can provide this tacit support, and help to supply productive antagonism. [Daniella Watson]