The creative industries have a high percentage of self-employed professionals who freelance and work for themselves. In fact, statistics show that 40% of the workforce is made up of freelancers* For this session, we are delighted to two award winning GSA graduates who will discuss their journey to becoming self-employed, what they have learnt along the way, and provide advice and tips to support you to launch your creative business too.
Guest Speakers:
Rekha Barry-Houston is an Architect and founder of Rekha Maker, a creative studio exploring form, materiality, and storytelling through handcrafted objects. Her architectural and artistic work inform one another, with projects exhibited at the V&A Dundee, London Design Festival, and Los Angeles, and commissions including the Scottish Album of the Year Award. Rekha is passionate about design as a tool for social impact and continues to combine practice, research, and craft to push the boundaries of how architecture and art intersect. Read more about Rekha here.
Scott Smith is a contemporary silversmith based at Deemouth Artist Studios, Aberdeen. His work combines traditional silversmithing techniques such as raising, planishing and chasing with a clean, contemporary design aesthetic. Drawing inspiration from Pictish stone carvings, Scotland’s landscapes and ancient metalwork, Scott creates functional yet sculptural silverware that explores connection, heritage, and ritual.
A QEST Emerging Maker Scholar and Visual Arts Scotland Trustee, he has exhibited widely across the UK and continues to advocate for Scottish silversmithing through mentoring, public engagement and new collections. www.scottsmith.design
*https://luminate.prospects.ac.uk/entrepreneurship-and-the-creative-graduate
