Guy Armitage
Guy founded Zealous to help organizations efficiently create opportunities for their communities with intuitive submissions management software. He is the author of “Everyone is Creative“, serves as chair of arebyte, and is a former trustee of Firstsite.
Articles
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Hiring the Right Awards Coordinator
Finding the right Awards Coordinator can make or break your programme – the wrong hire leads to stressed staff, disappointed applicants, and damaged relationships. This complete guide includes job description templates, interview questions, and cost analysis to help you make the smartest hiring decision for your awards programme.
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Turning Industry Connections Into Your Most Powerful Awards Marketing Channel
You’ve spent months crafting the perfect awards marketing campaign, yet entries aren’t flooding in. The problem isn’t your messaging – it’s that professionals no longer trust marketing channels for career decisions. Here’s how successful awards programs activate trusted industry voices who already have their ideal entrants’ attention
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How to price your Award using AI: Prompts for every program
Setting the right price for award submissions is a delicate balancing act. Charge too much, you limit applicants; charge too little, you risk overwhelming costs. Discover powerful AI prompts that create pricing strategies perfectly tailored to your awards program.
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The Absolute Guide to Running Awards
Download our free guide to master award management! Learn to avoid 5 common mistakes, market effectively, engage judges, optimize pricing, and create a smooth experience for entrants. Perfect for competition hosts looking to elevate their events.
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The Questionnaire Conundrum: Unraveling the Complexities of Audience Data
Capturing data is vital. It shapes our programming, informs our funders, and, ultimately, determines our impact. Yet, with increasingly stretched resources, it is a time-consuming and expensive endeavour for organisations. In this article, we’ll unpack the purpose behind audience questionnaires, explore their limitations & explore alternative solutions.
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Increase submissions to your awards through trust
If you are launching an award, it will be essential for you to build trust with anyone who might consider submitting to you. The longer your process and the bigger the submission fee, the more vital it will be to convince candidates you are legitimate.
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How to approach judges for competitions
Getting partners involved and securing high-level individuals to help you select winners is no easy task. But having someone recognisable on your panel is a big perk for candidates who want their work seen. Here are our top tips to appeal to judges you would like involved in your programme.
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Celebrating our 10th Anniversary!
It is humbling to see an idea I had ten years ago develop into a network of over 45,000 artists and arts organisations. And although we should use our anniversary to celebrate what we achieved, this feels only like the beginning! Here’s what to expect from our Anniversary year (and beyond).
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Establishing the perks for your competition
The only reason applicants will take the time to submit is that there’s something in it for them. Defining what’s in it for those selected, and understanding what you have available to you, could allow you to run a competition on a very tight budget, and still make a great success of it.
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Defining the purpose of your programme
Purpose is powerful. It allows you to inspire people to take part and measure your goals effectively once your program ends. Without a clearly articulated purpose, marketing your offering and getting candidates to submit will be an uphill struggle.
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Creating opportunity in adversity
our months ago, the rules that governed society turned inside out. This left communities isolated, lead to freelancers losing their income and forced organisations to reinvent themselves. Cambridge City Council Supporting communities by commissioning talent With schools closed, parents working from home and the elderly under lockdown, families have either found themselves alone in isolation…
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Embracing Creativity as an Agent of Change
How long will it take before we return to normality? Is the world of yesterday really the world that we want for tomorrow? And in this period of change, how do we make sure we are able to cope with so much uncertainty, both as individuals and businesses?
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Creating purpose in isolation
This is our time to prove that arts organisations are there for them even in the most adverse of times. Here’s how running a competition can help support our communities now in isolation, give our team a shared purpose and ensure, that when our doors open once again, our audiences return to us and our…
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11 Life Lessons If You’re A Creative
Being a creative can be tough. For all the time you spend doing what you love, you’ve got to put in the same number of hours trying to get others’ attention and making the money you need to sustain yourself. These lessons will help you along the way.
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6 Books To Read In 2020
The winter break is the perfect time to reflect on the past year and prepare for the challenges of 2020. It’s also a time of frantic Christmas gift buying, where the stresses of inspiration, finances and expectations collide; leaving us clueless on what to get people. To kill two birds with one stone, I’ve compiled…
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The best sites to list your art competition on
Getting your art competition seen by as many people as possible is always key to bringing in more submissions. Taking a little time to list it on external sites is always a great way to increase exposure. To save you time here are the top sites you can market your call on. (Updated Jan 6th…
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The State of Emerging Creativity
Nurturing emerging creators is pivotal in unlocking the creative sectors full potential. To shed light on the challenges faced by those early in their creative careers, we asked 1,800 individuals breaking into the industry how they felt about creating in the UK.
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Imagery to get your competition attention
In an increasingly fast-paced world, getting attention to your competition is difficult. Using the right imagery plays a huge part in making users notice you and eventually submit to your opportunity. This guide will take you through 6 tips that will help you get you the most exposure you can from the imagery you use.
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Mind the Gender Gap
It has been a little more than a hundred years since women were first given a voice in UK politics; yet the last couple of years have still demonstrated a real chasm in securing women’s equal footing within our society. So how is the UK doing? Presently, 74% of UK companies still pay higher rates…
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Emerge Awards Ceremony (2018)
We hosted our inaugural Emerge Awards in celebration of the UK’s best emerging creative talent at arts space, Ugly Duck! With cocktails, creative happenings and inspirational company aplenty, the Awards left us feeling excited and hugely optimistic for the future of the creative industries in the UK.
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Meet Neil Kelso
A passionate, thoughtful and deeply engaging performance artist who truly cares about his audience. Neil was recognised as one of Britain’s top 10 cabaret stars, and deservedly so! An artist who “leaves everyone glued to their seats”, his talent knows no bounds: concert pianist, magician, actor, relational artist, business strategist, comedian, compere and more. Discover…
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Meet Diogo Duarte
Meet Diogo Duarte, a London-based Image Maker who specialises in self-portraiture and psychological portraits. Diogo’s strengths lie in empathy and honesty, two traits that allow for the creation of powerful and stimulating art that goes beyond the boundaries of traditional photography.
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Meet Teresa Zerafa Byrne
Meet Teresa Zerafa Byrne, an artist who questions the validity of memory and challenges our concepts of personal identity.
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We’re funded!
Zealous has always been a labour love, for myself and those that have worked alongside me in making our company what it is today. A simple idea to bring creative talent from all the creative industries together and help them find one another; morphed into something much bigger. A bridge between organisations seeking creative talent,…
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Why We Exist
Creating isn’t easy. It’s a constant balance of making time to produce great work, seeking the resources to do so, sourcing the talent to make it happen, and keeping up with shifts in technology, distribution, funding…Whether you are creative, dependent on creatives, or both, our goal is to save you time and money that you…
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13 Zealous Reads You’d Be Silly to Skip
Here’s the article with all the code removed: Image by Freddie Marriage. Ah, September. Something about this month feels like the start of a new year. September is the time for lists, for new things, for a fresh start. We may not be students anymore, but that won’t keep us from hitting the books! At…
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Green Rooms Exhibition Party
Last night, the team kicked it in Wood Green for Green Rooms’ September Showcase Artist Launch Party – what an evening! There’s nothing like seeing a space light up with the work of Zealous artists. Congratulations to the nine artists who debuted their exhibited work last night! We could not have been more pleased with…
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Zen: Applying the Principles of Interior Design to Your Craft
Here’s the article with all the code removed: Image by Katie Pankowski. We could all use a little more balance. Yin and yang, harmony. All that jazz. Point is, taking a breath isn’t easy for most of us. Relaxing doesn’t come naturally – but apply some simple feng shui principles to your studio (or your…
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3 Brilliant Reasons Why Your Creative Environment Matters
Our creative environments shape us, no questions asked. Whether our bedrooms, offices, studios, or balconies, the spaces we spend time in shape our thinking, our attitudes, and our work ethic. But too often, we ignore those spaces. We keep our heads down, focus in rather than out, and get lost in routine (get up, go to…
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Why brands need to support indie designers
Image courtesy of Connect The Dots The work on the left is by LA based artist Tuesday Bassen, the right is on sale by high street chain Zara, with no attribution or credit given to the originator of the design. When challenged, the response from Zara’s lawyers to Tuesday’s work “The lack of distinctiveness…
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Setting up your studio on a budget
Zealous artist Robert Hewer gives us his tips on setting up a home studio on a budget. DIY shops are your best friend when setting up a home studio[/inlinetweet]. All the basics you need can be found in in any big brand DIY shop and it’s all pretty good value. First things first: you need…
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Creative Collaboration: The Power of Creative Environments
This Zealous X talk focuses on the fruitful nature of creative collaboration. Learn more about how diverse environments can fuel collaboration and the artists who flourish in them. Hosted by Valentina Fois (Marketing Director, Zealous) with Greg B Davies (Founder, Centapse – Decision Science, Applied), Vanessa Lee Butz (Managing Director, Interchange) and Donna Walker (Creative…
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What Behavioural-Quant Finance and Opera Theatre Have in Common?
Your skills as creatives live beyond the borders of our own industry. Find out how the most unlikely places create opportunity and enrich your career. Greg B. Davies (Head of Behavioural-Quant Finance) share with us his experience with Opera theatre. Zealous X Talks Day 5: Greg B Davies Subscribe to our YouTube channel for more…
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Which Creative Skills Are Most Essential For Survival?
In this Zealous X talk, a panel addresses the current creative landscape and the most essential creative skills needed to succeed. They also address the role that employers can play in empowering creatives to further their education in collaboration with existing formal education systems. Hosted by Neha Lakhanpaul (Contributor, Arts Award Voice) with Amy Smith (Global Head of Recruitment, Framestore),…
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Exploring Alternative Learning Methods for Creatives
Hosted by Akua Obeng-Frimpong (Head of Business Development, Zealous) this talk on alternative learning includes insights by Oliver Morris (Director of Education & Skills, UK Music), Sarah McLoughlin (Learning Development & Strategy Manager, Makerversity) and Zoheb Iqbal (Community Organiser, Startup Weekend) on how to use all available tools to kick-start individuality in creatives. Expansion of the school curriculum to…
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A Chat With Sarah Maple: How Can Artists Raise Money?
Valentina Fois (Director of Marketing, Zealous) and Sarah Maple (Artist) talked about collaboration, opportunities and funding for young and mid-career artists. Sarah shared her experience and insights with an engaged audience. Zealous X Talks Day 4: Sarah Maple Subscribe to our YouTube channel for more stimulating talks and a weekly dose of creativity! Zealous X…
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Zealous Visual Art Prize 2016
The £1000 prize will go to one exceptional artist to help them sustain their artistic practice, and continue doing what they’re best at. As well as the cash prize and the exposure the Zealous Visual Art Prize provides, this is also a great opportunity to get your work in front of some high profile judges…
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Alternative Arts Funding: How Do I Fund A Project?
Money’s hard to come by. Luckily, there’s always alternative arts funding. Peter Culshaw (Editor, The Arts Desk), Matt James (Grants Advisor, Wellcome Trust), Thomas Walters (Co-founder & Head of Creative Operations, Billion Dollar Boy), and Dave Birss (Editor at Large, The Drum) talk about the challenges of funding your art, and how these challenges can…
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Is London Gentrification Causing Creative Migration?
Is the creative class moving (and if so, where are they off to)? Learn more about London gentrification and its impact on artists with Lillian Ogbogoh (Author, Storyteller & Woman Empowerment Facilitator, Soul Calling), Dr Andrew Harris (Co-Director UCL Urban Lab, University College London), Cllr Guy Nicholson (Cabinet Member for Regeneration, London Borough of Hackney),…
