Out of the Shadows
Are you aged 16-30? Want to kick start your career in the arts but not sure where to start? Or maybe you’re just curious about what a career in the arts looks like?
Out of the Shadows is a free creative careers day aimed at all levels and experience. Join artist led workshops, panel discussions, networking and speed mentoring. We’ll be joined by artists from sectors such as video game design, alternative hip-hop and writing, film making, art and AI, painting and more.
Our wide-ranging, award-winning and renowned art professionals have created for Glastonbury Festival, Boomtown, The Barbican, V&A museum, Camden Art Centre, Tate and more.
This event is inspired by our current exhibition Shadowscapes, a multidimensional exhibition by the award-winning artist Libby Heaney and featuring paintings by JMW Turner. There will be opportunities to visit the exhibition throughout the day and test out the shadowy projection powered by quantum computing.
During the day, grab lunch or take a break in our cafe. You’ll receive a token for a free hot beverage when you arrive on the day.
Key information
- Who is this event for?
Anyone aged 16-30 who is interested in a career in the arts – as an artist, curator, cultural producer or any other creative industry worker. We are welcoming everyone from the curious newcomer to those seeking guidance as they progress to the next stage.
- What will the day look like?
The event starts at 11am and finishes at 4.30pm, however your day ticket allows you to turn up and leave at any time. Check out the event schedule to plan ahead.
When you arrive, we will help you sign up for your events/workshops (these are offered on a first come first served basis).
So, the day will look how you want it to look! You could have a jam-packed day of hands-on workshops, speed mentoring and panel discussions or just come for one activity.
- How do I sign up?
Tickets are free, but booking is advised to avoid disappointment. Book your day ticket (link to ticketsource)
- Where are we?
The event is based at Orleans House Gallery in Twickenham, which is a short train ride from Clapham Junction. The gallery is a 10min walk from Twickenham Station, or a 30min walk from Richmond station along the river.
- Refreshments
Your ticket includesa token for a free hot drink at our cafe.
Workshops
- Shaye Poulton Richards: Mobile Game Design and Collaboration
11am-12pm & 3pm-4pm
Work as a team on creating a game story and find out how to take your concept from idea to mobile gam
- Becky Lyon: Talk’n’paint with watercolour
12pm-1pm & 2pm-3pm
Join artist Becky Lyon for a talk’n’paint workshop designed to warm up your creative muscles and open your imagination to possibilities of a career (and life!) in creativity. Come prepared with any question on your mind and we’ll work through it on the page.
- NattySpeaks: Sonic Voices & Quantum Minds
1-2pm & 3-4pm
Sonic Voices & Quantum Minds is an interactive performance-workshop that transforms the gallery into a space of collective creativity. Through guided writing exercises, spoken word, soundscapes and freestyle rap, audiences generate language that becomes the raw material for a live, improvised performance. The work emphasises participation, accessibility, and the power of shared voices.
More workshops to be announced soon!
Speed Mentoring
11am-11.45am & 2pm-2.45pm
Take part in our Speed Mentoring session and get direct advice from experienced creative professionals.
You’ll have short, focused conversations with a range of artists, gallery professionals and cultural producers, rotating around the room and spending around 10 minutes with each mentor over a 45 minute session.
Whether you’re curious about artistic practice, freelance life, producing, working in galleries, or just how to get started this is a chance to ask questions and gain real‑world insight.
Panel Discussions
- Creative Careers and Technology: what’s the future?
12-1pm
What opportunities and challenges do immersive technologies present for accessible and inclusive careers in the arts? Join artists Dan Tsu, Mike Vanis and Shaye Poulton Richards to hear their thoughts on how AI, AR, and VR are reshaping creative practice, the skills that might be needed for future careers, and how we can balance innovation with human creativity.
- Shadowscapes: Meet the Producers
2-3pm
Meet the exhibition team who supported Libby Heaney in the making of her exhibition, Shadowscapes. This is a behind the scenes look at the production of an art exhibition, from its initial concept to install day. Hear from the team themselves, find what their job entails and the career paths that led them there.
- Art & Social Change
3-4pm
How can a career in the arts promote positive and tangible social change? Join artists and art professionals as they discuss their art practice, social responsibility, action and collaboration with other sectors.
Tree Planting
1-2pm
Join renowned artists Ackroyd and Harvey at our tree planting ceremony in the gallery grounds . This oak tree is one of many grown by the artists and originally germinated from Joseph Beuys’ seminal artwork “7000 Oaks”.
