Creative Insights
Tips on being selected for opportunities, being noticed and growing in your craft.
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A Human-Centered Approach to Audience Data
Traditional audience surveys exclude busy families, young people, and disabled visitors. Here’s how cultural venues can capture every voice.
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Turning Disruption into Growth: A Zealous Roadmap for 2025
Each year I reflect on progress. This year I’m looking differently – at the creative industries today, our shared challenges & Zealous’s role in all of this.
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Invite Creativity back into your life this year
When did you last feel truly creative? 75% of us feel we’re not reaching our creative potential. This post explores how to reignite that spark in your life and work.
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How To Check If An Opportunity Is Legitimate
We try our best to ensure opportunities listed through us are legitimate and ethical. We show all previous opportunities held by the organisations and make sure they are transparent with any fees and what you can get in return. However, it is important to always check an opportunity you are applying for, whether on Zealous or…
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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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How To Feel Fulfilled Balancing Creative Passions And A Day Job
Creating art and having a job is quite literally a balancing act. From learning how to find time to create, to continuing to find your passion, we have put together a list of some of our top tips to find your way.
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How To Make Creative Networking Work For You
‘Networking’ is a word that can make introverted creatives feel uneasy. But in the creative industries, connecting with others is really important for building a successful career. Even if you prefer spending time alone, networking can lead to exciting collaborations, fun experiences, and helpful connections that push your creative journey ahead.
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How To Thrive from Rejection In The Creative Industry
You’ve spent hours upon hours applying for Open Calls and careers in the Creative Sector, only to receive a string of dreaded rejection emails back.
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All Things Social Media with Carmela Vienna
Navigating the world of social media and creating an online presence can be tricky. Bethan sits down with marketing coordinator and social media whizz Carmela to get the intel on how to run a social media page successfully and get all her top tips for creatives.
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Find The Best Creative Opportunities
Discover the best online platforms for uncovering creative opportunities, from open call listing sites to creative job boards. Explore our recommendations to jumpstart your creative career journey.
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Founder Update 2024
2023 was another crazy year. Our commitment to the creative industries is unwavering. Discover how we continue to support you in 2024 with a price lock, more features, a commitment to ethical AI and clearer blogging, insights & communications.
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Is An Opportunity Right For You?
Zealous is full of incredible opportunities. However, before applying to an opportunity, it is important to think of whether what you are applying to is right for you.
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Making A.I. work for the creative industries
A deep exploration into the opportunities and threats A.I. poses for the creative industries, written by someone whose straddled both worlds.
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Celebrating Pride Month: 10 LGBTQIA+ Resources To Inspire Your Creativity
Pride Month is an exciting time to highlight LGBTQIA+ creativity, celebrate spaces of self-expression and proudly continue to fight for equality.
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Artistic Resources for Working Class Creatives
Working class creatives have been constantly alienated from the arts scene.
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Writing An Artist Biography
As a creative, having an artist biography is something which becomes increasingly important. Viewers of your work want to know more about you and your journey.
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Creative Resources for Women’s Empowerment
Creative women have been breaking barriers for centuries.
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Founder Update 2023
Our mission to reduce the barriers to entry for creating opportunities for the creative sector has never felt so important. In 2023 we promise to do our part in building the creative world we wish to see tomorrow.
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Grants For The Arts: A Funding Toolkit
You’re a creative, you have a vision for a great piece of art, but you can’t do it alone. You need funding for equipment and space.
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5 Creativity and Wellbeing tips
Let’s face it, we could all do better at taking care of ourselves. The pursuit of creativity is a journey which can be as thrilling as it is perilous…
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10 Questions with Guy Armitage
This year, Zealous celebrates its 10th Anniversary. In recognition of this momentous occasion, we’ve interviewed founder and CEO, Guy Armitage, to find out more about the company’s past, present and future.
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Sharing Four Lessons from Running a Business
Ten years have gone by quickly, and we are still learning. After a decade of building Zealous, we thought we should share some of our top lessons.
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Perfecting Your Artist Statement for Awards & Submissions
Having a clear and compelling artist statement is essential for grant applications, exhibitions, open calls and residency submissions. To ensure you communicate what matters, we’ve compiled a quick and easy guide to help you tackle the daunting task of putting words to your practice.
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Creative Resources: Where to Get Your Grant
Every discipline comes with its own set of requirements and costs. It can be hard to filter through the plethora of opportunities to find the perfect one suited to your project and its needs. We’ve put together a selection of grant initiatives and competitions that stand out as being particularly suited to specific disciplines.
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Mastering Online Networking
Networking is a skill that is critically important, but often nerve-wracking and tricky to navigate. Now more than ever, individuals have had to exercise their networking efforts online – but this doesn’t have to impact you negatively!
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Founder Update 2021
Although we have been robbed of the fresh start we were promised at the start of 2021, we shouldn’t let that deter us from making the most of the year ahead. Here’s how Zealous plans to make the most of this year!
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A Handcrafted Christmas
From unique handmade stocking-fillers to creative masterclasses, we have compiled a brilliant list of virtual market experiences, workshops, and Zealous makers for you to check out this Christmas (and beyond).
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Making the perfect writing award application
Writing awards can be daunting, particularly for those new to the craft. To help you navigate the process, we asked three industry professionals: ‘what do you look for in a writing awards application?’ These firsthand insights will equip you with the knowledge that you need to take the plunge, and submit to that opportunity you’ve…
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Creative Resources: Self-Promotion
Many creatives shy away from self-promotion fearing they’ll be branded arrogant, but their fear is misplaced. If you don’t tell people about what you do – and why you do it – how will they know? If you want to create a sustainable business then you’re going to need customers, supporters and champions. Self-promotion will…
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Creative Questions: How Do I Get My Name Out There?
We’re tackling those all-important questions asked by our creative community. In this article we explore: how to get your name out there. Three arts professionals share their wisdom to provide you with a series of valuable insights.
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Creative Resources: Studio Spaces
The right studio space can enable artists to develop their practice, network with other creative practitioners and gain access to opportunities which stem from their environment. We have compiled a list of studio resources to help you find the perfect workspace to suit your needs.
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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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Part 2: Building Relationships with Art Spaces
We’re tackling those all-important questions asked by our creative community. In this article we explore: how to build and maintain a relationship with art spaces (more specifically galleries). Two arts professionals share their wisdom to provide you with more valuable insights.
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Creative Questions: Building Relationships with Art Spaces
Part 1: We’re tackling those all-important questions asked by our creative community. In this article we explore: how to build and maintain a relationship with art spaces. Three arts professionals share their wisdom to provide you with a series of valuable insights.
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Here’s to 2020
As a nation we may not agree with choices that were made in 2019 – but a new decade is upon us and there has been no better time to learn from the past and focus on building a future in a society we wish to live in. That’s exactly what we’re working on, and…
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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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Valuing Your Work
We all know how much milk, coffee and sugar are worth, yet why does the creative industry struggle to value its goods, and why does it feel we’re working harder and making less? (Spoiler – It’s very much down to our ability to value ourselves).
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Creative Questions: Curating a Festival
Completing an application can be daunting; particularly when it comes to arts festivals that are often on the look out for new and engaging work. To help you navigate the process, we asked three festival organisers: what do you look for in an application when curating your festival?
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Creative Questions: Finding a Balance
When creating work for specific clients, you may find yourself asking – how do I form a balance between my creativity and client briefs? Here’s what four artists who have long grappled with this issue had to say.
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Creative Questions: Approaching a Gallery
We’re tackling those all-important questions frequently asked by our creative community. In this article we investigate: what is the best way to approach a gallery? We spoke to five gallery professionals who have drawn on their own knowledge and experience to provide you with a series of valuable insights.
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Creative Questions: Stand Out Submissions
In this article, we tackle one of the most frequently asked questions from our creative community – “How do I make my work stand out when applying to opportunities?” Here’s what five industry professionals, directly involved with running or judging art competitions, had to say in response.
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Finding a Balance: Social Media for Creatives
Navigating the world of social media is not a simple feat. With an abundance of tips and tricks at our fingertips, it’s no wonder it has become a growing concern for emerging creatives. For those grappling with the ever-evolving trends, this article aims to help you find the perfect balance between online promotion and creative…
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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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Freelancer Survival Guide
There’s no one size fits all approach when it comes to managing your freelance business. Whether you’re already self-employed, or thinking about taking the plunge, our survival guide highlights some of the vital factors that will make diving into these uncharted waters a little less daunting!
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Enhancing Your Creative Environment
Creativity cannot function in a void; it needs an effective environment to flourish. Whether it’s our bedroom, office or studio, the spaces that we spend time in impact our productivity, thinking and work ethic. We’ve compiled some of our top-tips to help you both maximise and appreciate your surroundings.
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The Art of Changing Humanity
How can we rebalance society in a world where politics, core beliefs, and knowledge have become increasingly extreme.
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5 Podcasts to Feed Your Creativity
If you’re looking for ways to unleash your creativity, unpack art history and gain practical insight from creative industry professionals – here’s five podcasts you’re sure to enjoy.
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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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Online talks to boost your creativity
We all turn to creativity for different reasons. Changing the way that Hollywood looks at filmmaking, turning a craft hobby into a full-time business, and preserving heritage through film and music are just some of the ways in which these creative speakers have excelled in their practice.
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Free Resources for Creatives
Want to improve your creative skills, manage your time better or send more traffic to your website? The internet has tons of free resources to help you develop your practice. From project organisation tools to industry insights and creative classes, here are some great websites that we think you’ll love.
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Global creativity, the UK and the arts
The creative industries account for 14.6% of the UK’s GVA. But in a complex political climate and a rapidly developing world; how can the UK retain its edge?
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Website builders for creatives
Choosing the best website builder to showcase and/or sell your work can be a little overwhelming. There are so many options available, and what works well for a filmmaker might not have the same benefits for a visual artist. Our blog on coding tips for creatives will help those of you who are up for…
