#because it's clearly so reactive and driven by anxiety rather than conviction

[whentherewerebicycles]

this sucks lol

[boldtendencies]

Mentor talks recap, by Giulia Montini

As the title might well describe, this piece of text wants to summarise all the mentor talks I have attended throughout the summer. Or better, it selects the bits I most closely related to or the ones that, a bit casually or a bit voluntarily, remained on the pages of my notebook. In fact, this will be a very personal account of what stayed with me, what I learnt, what surprised me. What is certain is that the mentor talks modified some of the opinions I had on the artworld. The best ones unexpectedly conveyed a warm feeling of solidarity.

In particular, the learning program affected my mindset in relation to the process of jobs seeking. One of the most striking teaching I received is to be proactive instead of being reactive. “It’s good to be discerning; know what it is that you don't want to do and possibly also what you do want". 

Looking for a job in the artworld might concur in creating the perception that an email of refusal for a vacancy we applied for is a bliss from the sky, compared to the thousand applications that simply go unnoticed. Hence, I see in me and in my peers, a tendency to adopt a submissive attitude of eternal gratitude for we do not know exactly what and to accept without questioning any opportunity that is presented to us. To be proactive is to know oneself and to select the job positions we think fit our persona. The change this advice accomplished helps me going through refusals without despairing, so that if an application fails, now my response is: “probably I would not have fit in that environment” rather than “Omg, I will never make it”.  Being discerning is not arrogant, being honest with oneself is essential. Therefore, knowing your-self is another important suggestion received: “What is it that I really care for? Where could I bring a serious contribution?” These are questions that before the summer seemed to me a bit non-sensical in the application process. How can I potentially know what I can contribute to if I haven’t started the work yet? But what I understood is that these questions are not to be understood in direct reference to the job position, rather to my very inner self. One beautiful thing about working in the arts is that people do it because of profound passions, of deep necessity. It is pointless to force oneself to contribute to a project that does not fit her value system. "Move away from things you do not like" felt almost like a moral imperative for self-respect.

The stories mentors shared, made future look less scary and grounded realistic possibilities where before there were anxieties and self-pity. The learning program made me realise I am already in the artworld simply because I care, and it showed me there exist many art worlds rather than a unique and homogeneous one, circumscribed by a barbed wire that clearly distinguishes the ones inside from the ones outside. Things are way more complicated than that and luckily way more accessible. "The art world has lived too long inside the art-world. it is time it moves in the human world".

A pleasant, unexpected fact was that most of the mentors we met, come from a working-class background. It was relieving to learn that the artworld is not as luxury and privileged as it wants to make believe. It is feasible. Although for some reasons I still have to comprehend, it likes to show off, the artworld is way less restrictive/elitist/limited than I thought. Moreover, the great majority of the people we encountered conveyed ethical values that inform their daily practice. If some parts of the art world are centred around visibility, glamour, exclusiveness, the ones that give life to projects are driven by the desire to convey contemporary urgencies to the wider public, they strive to bring ideas into reality, with the fundamental conviction that society needs artists and works of art, hence working to create platforms that sustain and present the mechanism of art. "Working in the artworld is about closing the gap between ideas and actions". 

Another great piece of advice concerned what I believe is the malady of my generation: anxiety. Hearing one of the very most important people in the artworld telling us “you have got time" was something quite indescribable for my mental health. There are no fixed steps to go through as if we were to become, let’s say, lawyers. It is not too late as far as we are enjoying and giving value to what we are doing now. Related to that, another speaker said: "I have never done one thing that hasn't led to another in some way". So, even though I might not understand the relevance of what I am doing in the present, I shall do it in the best possible way, because it will lead to my next step, still unknown to me.

It was clear from most of the mentor talks that a path in the artworld does not follow predetermined schemes. It is important to remain open to what might come (this does not mean to accept anything in a passive way, but not to prevent us the possibilities of exceeding what we have thought for ourselves). And if there is no predetermined career, do not be afraid to step out of the box you were assigned – you can make up your own career.

Coming now to a very personal level, a couple of people touched upon a characteristic in which I often recognized myself and that I previously believed to be negative. "It took a certain amount of naivete to apply for that job, but it is only because I was naive that I did not fear the importance of that position and I got the job.'' Being over-stressed will never help anyone going through an interview. Naivete here is certainly not about shallowness or frivolity in doing things. What I think is the meaning of naivete here is the reassurance that my worthiness as a person is not determined by the career successes or failures, hence I can jump higher than my self-confidence because I know that I won’t destroy myself by falling. 

Last important advice I want to share is "keep researching and digging things you are interested in". If a career in the artworld requires from people sincere passion and a sense of urgency behind what we do, then it is primary that we truly care and keep update, it is our task to do it.

 I have also learnt many structural things about the financial side of the art world and received many practical tips for interviews and applications, but this is not what shook me, because in the first case, those are information one can find with some researching, and in the second case I still think luck is the primary element to succeed in an interview. I preferred to present here in this summative recap what I consider to be the most beautiful and most significant reasons for which I will pursuit, more convinced than ever, to work with art.