No matter what, never forget YOUR art matters

Post 16 of Dream, create and make money in the arts – My Series on becoming a Successful Creative

Know that your art matters. The words you say, sing or write, the message that comes from you making your own brand of art will impact others. Art says ‘have a nice/thoughtful/joyous/”good cry and then move on” day’ without the Ronald McDonald costume.

Don’t get caught up in  the thought ‘This is not proper art’ or others critiquing you on either whether ‘this‘ is high art, or whether you are qualified to do it in the first place. You are qualified because you had the dream to do it and I am convinced in every fibre of my being that we are not given the dreams without the talents  to make it happen, to tell our own tale our own way.

I don’t care if you are making a film on your iPhone, photoshopping like crazy for a mixed medium exhibition, oil painting, singing opera or a little ditty you have written for children, you and your wok matters. The world needs you.

(see my post on making a short film that really does matter for a competition)
Great podcast as always from Chris Brogan, with this one Jeff Pulver at 21.17 was talking about making conferences (stay with me this is NOT boring) like a movie experience, where 200 strangers enjoy an experience together.
Jeff spoke about having dinner with the 4 times Oscar nominated  Jason Reitman  who directed the fantastic film  Juno.

Jason’s father Ivan did the equally brilliant 

Jason Reitman said to Jeff Pulver that when he does movies he does not think about being interactive thru social media, but owning that experience inside the movie theatre and why  200 people who don’t know each other will get together because the fact that they are strangers and they can share a common experience together, cry and laugh and feel together and then feel a human bonding even if they don’t know each other.

This is what your event will do whether it is a play, a charity event, an art exhibition. One of the main reasons that people came to my early cabaret shows was not because of my blinding skills as a singer but because I bought together a fabulous audience who all had fun interacting. Due to the fact my shows are by their very nature audience involving, I get them to sing along, have chats, that is part of the reason they were always super successful and thus forgiving of my flaws.

So focus on the why, the story you want to tell, in the medium you want to tell it and the impact on  the audience.

I sing a lot at the Royal Festival Hall in London, it is a 3000 seater, one of the best concert halls in the world.

Here I am not a solo artist but part of the harmony group or choir who is brought in to support great artists and causes. Sometimes we are  a large choir  but I also do the small harmony work they need, where for example they needed 20 women to come and do the harmonies for the 50th anniversary of the LGMC, London Gay Men’s Chorus, all 190 men. I remember walking on in the second act to sing Wagner’s “Pilgrim’s Progress”, in German.

(The bit we came on in the video is 3.52 (this is not our Youtube recording but just so you can get a sense of the music!!)
Anyone who knows me will appreciate that I am more of a Piaf buff than a Wagner, but sure enough 9pm found me singing “Heil, Heil”, the second note was a top A which whilst you walking on and not trying to fall over in heels is always fun (What ?they want me to walk and sing! ;-), it’s even worse when you have to dance too). Walking on I was aware that the first rows of thousands of people were within a few feet of me. Then I realised I couldn’t remember any more of the German beyond the Heils.. Luckily I was singing high soprano line so I basically made up German sounding consonants whilst singing the correct notes.
The next song we sang was just us women  “We Shall Overcome’.

We sang it simply, accapella and I still now remember the joy of reaching out with my heart and my voice to the audience, I still have an emotional memory even now that brings almost tears of joy and deep soul level knowledge of human connection. You could feel the impact and silence in the room. Every time I do a show at the Royal Festival Hall there is one song that I feel connects with the audience, and it is not always the one I think it will be until the night of the show.
I am currently rehearsing my next concert “A Child of Our Time’  with the BBC Singers, Morley Chamber Choir and others, it is fiendishly difficult sight reading, Michael Tippett who wrote this as an anti-war protester at the beginning of World War Two but I know already it will be magnificent.

So whilst you are writing a first draft or pulling ideas together never forget in the struggle that your art matters. You can’t determine to whom and when, but there will be a moment, a song, a picture, a conversation that you have engineered with your event that will lift up a heart or make someone rethink. That is where the joy of art for me lies.

As I type this about the why,  I am aware that I am writing my next cabaret show which the booker is very excited about but the venue are having delays with refurbing that part of their venue. It is dragging on and in writing this I am also reminding myself that I need to get my show on, whether it is at that venue or something else I book because it is not about me but about the experience I bring.

About this series – Being a Successful Creative – The Business of Creativity

This is a series of daily blogs for you on how to dream up, build, market and sell a creative event, gig, festival, book launch, cabaret night, exhibition of rude plastic cupcakes or whatever creatively inspires you. It is time to create and put on that play about your family, a series of drawings about hedgehogs, the album you have talked about making or the short film you always wanted to write and make.