The Class of 2015 at Navigator North – video

Watch this video showing young artists running a workshop at the Stockton International Riverside Festival. They are taking part in a training programme called NICE (Next Steps in Creative Experience), developed by Navigator North, which provides practical advice on how to make a living as a visual artist.

The free course has been funded by Arts Council England, Stockton Borough Council and MIMA (Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art) and is in its second year.

The six participants (NICERS) have taken part in sessions, run by The Prince’s Trust, on how to set up and run a business.

“In this country there are more people working in the creative industries than coal mining or ship-building,” said one of the Navigator North directors Vicky Holbrough. “Young people are leaving school, college or university with a high level of creative and technical ability but no idea of how to make a living out of it.”

Navigator North has welcomed the Prime Minister’s appointment of Michelle Mone, founder of the Ultimo lingerie company, as Entrepreneurship Tsar. She has been given the task of revitalising small business across the country, with particular focus on less affluent areas.

“We hope she looks at all sectors,” said Navigator North director Nicola Golightly. “There’s always a tendency to focus on careers in engineering, for example, when there are thousands and thousands of young artists who could – with a bit of support – do really well and make their contribution to the well-being and prosperity of this country. We wish Michelle well and would like to invite her to come and see NICE.”