As I sit down to write this I’m suddenly questioning whether I am ‘a young person in the Arts’. I am a young person, with a love for the Arts, but am I actually in it? That depends, I suppose how you think of it, and whether it is actually an 'it' at all. When I think of the Arts I think of ideas, people creating them, sharing them and learning from them. They're inspiring, intelligent and always open to change – they always change – whether that is by the artist or by someone else who chooses to view the idea in a completely new light. The Arts, are completely accessible and open to anyone and this is perhaps one of the things that I love the most about them.
I am currently interning with an Arts PR agency. In the present moment I could be defined as a person in the Arts. After the internship though I will return to my job in my local tea room so that I can earn money whilst trying to be in the Arts once more. And herein lies my difficulty in seeing myself as a young person in the Arts. Does it come solely from being employed in the Arts? Because if so, very soon I won't be.
I am therefore convinced that you don’t have to be working in the Arts to be part of the Arts. After all, the beauty of the sector is that they don't define people under one state of being – and in light of this I shall start again. I am a young person in the Arts because my mind is there – in every moment – from listening to plays on Radio 4 to writing about the people I see or hear on the train on the back of old receipts to reading the lyrics someone has scribbled under the bridge on my walk home – I see and feel it all.
After my graduation I spent six months away, travelling, meeting new people, exploring, writing, learning – I remember missing the accessibility and vibrancy of the UK’s Arts scene and thinking this is where I have to be when I return – that it would actually be unfair for my mind to be anywhere else. So I returned, more tanned, more chilled, and above all more confident in myself. And it was difficult – it has been difficult, it is difficult to break through. And my boss at work last week asked me, 'But when does it stop? When do you think enough is enough, it's time to move on?' My response, of course, was, ‘I won't give up until I'm there. I can't'. And it is passion and determination which, I feel, warrants my title as a young person in the Arts.
Katie graduated from the University of Kent (2014) on the MDrama and Theatre Studies programme and spent her forth year specialising in Contemporary Performance Practice. She is an associate artist of Entita Theatre and has co-written their last two productions. An aspiring theatre maker and writer, Katie has recently embarked on a journey to write something new every day - track her findings at kabewrites.wordpress.com. Follow her on Twitter @KatieDunst or look out for her in coffee shop queues, hunting out the best flat white in town.