The Post: Creative Curator, Arts Over Borders
The Post Holder: Shauna Kelpie
A love of the arts led Shauna Kelpie to a role in the creative industries.
Give a brief outline of your career to date.
I studied for an MA in Theatre at Trinity Rep in Rhode Island thinking I would focus on acting. After working with a touring theatre company for six years I decided I wanted to stay in one place. I came to Derry with a theatre company and decided to stay as I loved the city and the people. I worked at The Playhouse for a year and then at the Nerve Centre for 10 years working as Director of the Foyle Film Festival. In 2013, during the City of Culture, I worked for the Community Foundation to develop their Acorn Fund in Derry. I still work with them today to deliver the Acorn Farm Project I am also currently working with Arts Over Borders to help deliver a new all-female, family friendly, multi-arts festival, YES.
What was your favourite subject at school?
My favourite subjects were English and Geography. I’ve always enjoyed reading and was introduced to Irish writers and the classics by a brilliant English teacher who complied summer reading lists for us to work though. I was introduced to the work of James Joyce through his novel The Dead which I loved. I haven’t read Ulysses but recently read Nuala O’Connor’s excellent novel Nora – the book reimagines the challenging life she shared with James Joyce and captured so well Nora’s strength, love and her personal sacrifices.
Did you go on to further/higher education, if so what did you study and where?
I went to Ulster University at Jordanstown and studied humanities – English and Geography and completed a Masters in Theatre at Trinity Rep Conservatory USA
How did you get into your area of work?
The initial opportunity came about through meeting a Director on the street and asking for a job. I had a good work ethic and made myself indispensable – it was probably really annoying.
Is this what you always wanted to do?
I always wanted to work in a team which creates things that bring people together. I have always had a vocational approach to what I do for a job.
Were there any particular essential qualifications or experience needed?
Qualifications get you in the door but equally experience is vital – the most important thing is that you connect with the people you work with and if you are responsible for delivering something that you do everything you can to ensure it happens. Bear in mind when I started working email was a new thing. Creative technology skills are really helpful but I don’t have them…yet!
Are there alternative routes into the job?
Yes, I think there are many routes into working within the creative industries and success is also measured in different ways.
What are the main personal skills your job requires?
It definitely requires good people skill, listening mostly and being reliable and dependable. You also have to be really organised – curating an event like YES means liaising with lots of different people but it is so satisfying when it all comes together. YES will feature more than 40 events over four days with appearances from 16 female artists from the Ulysses European Odyssey Project, who will join together with Irish and British female artists in an incredibly diverse programme that includes literature, dance, music, visual art featuring among others, former Irish President Mary Robinson. With such a vast and imaginative programme, organisation is key.
What does a typical day entail?
The working day is usually spent at the computer answering emails or on online meetings and some face to face meetings. During a production or festival, days are spent ensuring that events happen as planned and that artists and actors have the things they need to do their jobs too. So stamina is a skill that is also required.
What are the best and most challenging aspects of the job?
Managing time is the most challenging aspect as it never feels as though there is enough. The best aspect is collaborating with people who also love what they do and making new friends. For the YES Festival the mix of time zones, languages and cultures has been a challenge but one which all 16 Female artists understand and respect. The scale of the wider Ulysees European Odyssey programme is daunting and part of my role is to programme the work of 16 different female artists working in different art forms. So exciting as well as challenging. I am really looking forward to meeting them in person and hope local audiences come along and support them too.
Why is what you do important?
It’s important because creative events and activities can bring joy and human connection as well as entertain and challenge. Creative skills are essential to what and how we communicate – a lot of our memories and moments are coloured by a piece of music or a line from a poem, a children’s book or a family photograph. The creativity of someone else can lead to a connection for an important life moment.
What advice would you give anyone looking to follow a similar career path?
Be prepared to change direction, it is not a 9-5 life. Learn from rejection and don’t lose hope. I think that’s the biggest challenge for creative people.
If you weren’t doing this what would you like to do?
Something medical perhaps, although my husband and kids say I would be a terrible nurse!
What is the one piece of advice you would give to yourself on your first day?
I’d remind myself that they need you too.
Describe your ideal day off.
I was thinking about this recently. I would go to Mass, take a Pilates class, meet my sister or a dear friend for lunch and laugh (eat too obviously), try and finish a book, clean the house and have a lovely dinner ready before 9pm for my family.
And finally, what’s the key to any successful job search?
Go to a place you want to work and ask if you can spend some time observing what they do. You’ll get to meet people and it will demystify any notions you have about people being better than you or vice versa.
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