Building a Professional Network | Sound and Music 2/5/13 2:57 PM

Building a Professional Network

Building a network is the key to keeping yourself in work. Make alliances with individuals within
organisations and build a long-term relationship. Most often it is not the organisation that will
continue to support you over the years, but the individuals within them. Build a list of people
you can trust and keep them up to date with your work. Your network can include people in
organisations, universities, trusts and foundations, art councils, media and the industry. Your
network will be unique to your work and the way in which you support your practice.

To figure out who is in your network, take note of all the contacts, individuals and organisation
that you work with for each project. These people will already be familiar with you and your
work. Your network can include your professors, tutors, employers and fellow artists. They will
be important for the development and sustaining of your career and practice. When short of
work you can refer to these people and ask them for recommendations.

Check the Creative Living site for ways to build up a network and make contacts:
http://www.careers-creative-living.co.uk/building_networks

Collaboration and building a network of partnerships will help support your practice. Take time
to figure out the people and organisations who would form the basis for your work.

Case Study: Bill Fontana

Words of Advice

I think it is important to collaborate with people who think as you do and share
your passions and outlook. Some collaborations I have undertaken have not
worked well when this hasn't been the case. For Sound Collective I look for people
who share the aims and ethos of the group. In this world you can't be in it for the
money, so when you work with someone or another organisation, bear in mind that

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Building a Professional Network | Sound and Music 2/5/13 2:57 PM

you could well be working incredibly hard to achieve what you set out to do – so
you need to be singing from the same songsheet. Our collaborations have ranged
from the short-term – ie. one performance in a festival, through to ongoing, such as
our relationship with Trinity College of Music (where some of our players act as
mentors for post-graduate students). Often we find we collaborate once and wish to
do so again in the future, as with our projects with Jackdaws Music Trust.

– Tom Hammond, Sound Collective

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