Could you first introduce yourself for the reader?
We are Jade and Amy, the founding members of Young Artists in Suffolk.
What happens at the organisation?
Young Artists in Suffolk (a.k.a YAIS) is a collective for young creatives in the East of England. Our main goal is to accommodate connections between young artists and fuel the up-and-coming youth arts scene within Suffolk. We use YAIS as a platform to promote local talent, whether this be via our social media accounts or by hosting art events.
What do you offer to young people?
We have recently hosted our YAIS launch party which was a huge success. We showcased a range of young creative talent, including fine-art, fashion and multimedia artwork. We felt inspired by the networking we already saw happening on the night. It was great to be able to introduce artists with different disciplines to each other and see networks already being established.
Suffolk unfortunately does not have a central hub for creativity, such as an art gallery or workspace. Young creatives are quite isolated from each other in Suffolk, so we aim for YAIS to be a melting pot of fresh artistic youth talent. We are providing the opportunity for youths to create social and collaborative links with each other.
Could you give an example of a recent project you have run, and the impact it had?
Alongside preparation for our launch, we created a short film in collaboration with Caryn Franklin MBE and ex-editor of ID magazine. We interviewed Caryn and asked her questions about how to overcome the struggles that pursuing a creative career path may bring and how to make and sustain a creative business living outside of the city (in places such as Suffolk).
Caryn gave us some really useful expert advice and encouragement. We also interviewed a series of young artists from Suffolk and we are currently editing them together. We hope it will inspire and encourage young creatives from all over Suffolk and the rest of the UK to recognise there is plenty of support out there to help you succeed when chasing a creative career.
Have you seen any change in the industry over the last few years? Is it positive or negative?
One massive advantage we now have is social media. It is an amazing source for creative networking, especially for people who live outside of cities, in places like Suffolk as they now have platforms to connect to other creatives to collaborate with. Visual platforms like Instagram have helped us connect to young artists in Suffolk and vice versa.
Where can people find out more about the work you do?
You can follow us on Instagram @youngartistsinsuffolk to see amazing artwork from young creatives in Suffolk and upcoming events.
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