IWCN members and friends were inspired, challenged and supported during two events run as part of Small Business month to celebrate our creative small businesses and acknowledge their contribution to our community.

Working as a freelance artist or running a small creative business can often feel like a tug-of-war between admin and creativity, inspiration and exhaustion. The first event, ‘Inspired not exhausted – Thriving in the Juggle: Wellbeing for Artists and Creative Business Owners’, was held on 14 October in the Living Room Theatre’s new venue in Marrickville and featured clinical psychologist and founder of Sparkly Brains, Dr Jane Miskovic-Wheatley. Dr Jane, as she is affectionately referred to by our Chair, Michelle St Anne, shared strategies and practical tools to stay balanced, motivated, and to reframe what success really means.

Dr Jane began her presentation with a discussion of how creative minds often work differently and how important it was for all of us to understand how our brains worked. As creatives, we need to understand our ‘why’ and find the things that make this possible by considering how we plan and operate our practice and businesses. This may mean working in a different way to non-creative individuals. We should first focus on tasks that we can do well and then prioritise other tasks that we need to work on or find difficult.

Dr Jane emphasised prioritising both our physical and mental health to balance our creative practice with the practicalities of running a small business. She explained that ignoring our physical and mental health can lead to crisis. While some stress is needed, stress burns a lot of energy and over time no longer works as a motivator.  Our mental health impacts our overall health, and during periods of high stress, sleep is often the first thing to go negatively affecting our day-to-day functioning.

Dr Jane provided some great tips and strategies to develop healthy habits. A simple and practical habit she encouraged all of us to do is to write tasks down. During high stress, the brain’s executive function retreats and by writing tasks down the executive function is back in use and pushed forward. Other tips included regularly checking in with ourselves and practicing self-care. These can be simple but powerful strategies such as taking ourselves out for a cup of tea or coffee, stretching and exercising, focusing on our senses, some pampering, and designing or making a new artwork or creative piece. If we find we lack motivation, partnering with others or working alongside someone else may provide the boost we need. There were many other strategies that all of us are inspired to explore.

Following Dr Jane, our brains were challenged and refreshed through a deeply restorative sound bath experience by drummer Daniel Raymond accompanied by saxophonist, Alex Tucker. The performance featured a piece composed by Daniel focusing on releasing stress trapped inside our bodies.

All of us left the event feeling energised to focus on our own well-being, particularly important at this time of the year!

The second event, ‘Creative Connections at Hopsters’, held on 30 October, was an opportunity for our creative community to meet, find fresh ideas, and connect with others who promote the joys (and challenges) of creative life. The event was a great success with more than 50 attendees mingling and networking and the spark for new and upcoming projects was ignited.

Our event facilitator was El Wilken, co-founder of Kaleidoscope Collective, a community of gender queer artists that facilitates spaces for shared creativity. The evening began with a Service NSW representative who spoke passionately about the need for creative business owners to collaborate with other creatives and provided an overview of the supports available to small business owners.

El guided our group of creatives through a speed-pitching exercise. While networking may be scary for many of us, El gave us tips about how to describe our creative practices in a fun and engaging way and the room soon became alive with passionate conversations and laughter.

As creatives, we may often feel isolated and find sustaining our creative practice challenging. Pitching our ideas and looking for new opportunities is critical to survive in a challenging economic environment. This event provided a safe, inclusive and fun space to practice and become more comfortable with these skills. We also learnt from one another about running a creative practice, funding sources, business supports and collaborative spaces. It was also an opportunity to promote upcoming events and exhibitions.

One of these is the annual exhibition, ‘We can work it out’, held by the Sydney Street Gallery in partnership with the IWCN. Curated by Sara Buchner, this group show combines maths with art and explores the connection between creative practice and mathematical thinking. This year, inspiration is being drawn from the natural balance and beauty of the Fibonacci Sequence. The exhibition is drawn from artists of all backgrounds and mediums in a supportive and dynamic space.

Find out more
We Can Work It Out
Opening night: Thursday 13 November 6-8pm
The exhibition runs 13-23 November with the gallery open 10am-4pm daily.
Closing drinks: Saturday 23 November 4-6pm and announcement of the IWCN merchandise winner

---

Article by
Maddy Maiolo
Maddy Maiolo has been completing a four-month internship with the Inner West Creative Network as part of her studies at the Australian Catholic University (ACU), assisting with event coordination and reporting.