I got exposed to this field of work through the privileged chance provided by our school in a programme known as careerSAdvance. This is one of the 3 industries that I had the chance to hear from which I felt was rather impressive (the other 2 industries shared in the respective sections as well). It was a session that allowed me to deepen my understanding for the arts industry.

Through this speaker's sharing, the first thing I understood was definitely the misconception in this industry (as seen above). People often perceive arts as an industry with no future because of its volatility. One such example would be the pandemic. Without people being able to go out of their homes, it was many times tougher for the arts industry to think of ways to convert their performances online and to continuously entertain the public in times of stress.

One thing I find fascinating about people in the arts industry and the speaker is definitely their creativity. The way they are able to adapt to different situations makes whatever they do interesting and innovative. The main thing I learnt in that session was arts management. They are the people behind the scenes that continuously come out with ideas to help artists continue to have a space to create art as well as allowing the public to have access to greater works of art.

The interesting comparison made by the speaker was that an arts manager would be like a central midfielder in a football match. He/She would be the connector between the artists and the public. The arts manager is the core of a team that needs to set the tempo of the game right for everything to flow smoothly. It is certainly a tough line of work that only people with a certain level of interest towards art can aspire. To me, I would definitely have the desire to explore more into this industry when I have the chance to. For instance, learning the perspectives of the various organisations and even having the chance to talk to some artists.

An ending statement the speaker made was "It is never too old to get involved in the arts" and I believe that is true not only to the field of arts but many other things in life. When we want to do something we suddenly feel passionate about, be it learning a new sport or playing a new musical instrument, it is never too late to go and try. Age is just a factor of procrastination and rather than looking at whether you can do it a not, just do it! When an action is taken, progress can then be seen and improvements can then be made.