So, the event I’m about to gossip with you about was brought to you by Art of Freelance —a “10-week online course for creatives who want to push themselves to the next level.” I feel obligated to say the following; the emergence of the word “creative” as a title to describe someone just rubs me all the wrong ways. They’re a creative WHAT? Producer? Director? Professional? Did you mean to say “artist” but you’re too cool to be earnest? It’s just such a vague word, and I have actually dedicated time to try to come up with an alternative descriptor to unleash upon the world to replace it, but I came up short. So now I’ve resigned to referring to myself and my colleagues as :shudder: “creatives.” (gag reflex)

Moving right along… participating in this accelerator program culminates in an exhibition that’s open to the public, with “top tier talent seekers from the worlds of advertising, entertainment, editorial, and fine art” in attendance, which makes me wonder why I got an invite, but okay. I arrived at Little Space (formerly known as “Space Camp”) Gallery to find it filled with the kind of people that I usually try to avoid; they’re always “on,” making sure they’re dressed in order to signal that they belong to a certain crowd, and it exhausts me. I don’t mean to denigrate anyone at all—it’s a part of the hustle when you’re a creative professional in Los Angeles—it’s just not for me. So as a result, I didn’t find the event very enjoyable as a whole.

Argentinian yumminess from Elvio’s Chimichurri, coming right up

As someone who’s worked in event production for almost 15 years, I have all kinds of critiques for the venue that was chosen—which I think is a fabulous space on its own tbh. And considering how much participants in this program shell out per week to be a part of it, I’d have thought the bar and food vendor would have been purely complimentary. But, knowing what I know about everything it takes to iterate a mid-scale event repeatedly, maybe they’re still working out budgetary kinks. So no marks off for that.

Campaign for London brand Cutier & Gross by art director and wardrobe stylist Jessie Jamz

The work on display ranged from conceptual photography to short films to accessory/apparel launches to ad campaigns. It ranged from amateurish to professional. It ranged from “meh” to “noice!” My favorite was a card game devised by a young man named James R. Petix. He didn’t want me to reveal too much about it because he’s working on making everything lawsuit-proof and trademarked, but I’ll give you a few hints: memes, instagram, and the internet’s official mascot. The keys to my heart.

Nina Beckhardt and Mattieu Young, two of Art of Freelance’s co-founders

Verdict: This event wasn’t for me. Who it’s for? People who want to network, recruit and collaborate with both up-and-coming and established commercial “creatives.” Everyone who participates in Art of Freelance will join a cohort, and it will culminate in an exhibition. If that interests you, definitely enroll or sign up to receive invites to their events: seeing as how this is a relatively young program, one hopes these will only get better over time.

Photos by Alexia Lewis