"You're not in exile, you're on the forefront of a change"

"After relocating back to my home in the Midlands, I find clients are reluctant to look further afield than their back gardens. As a working-class creative, I understand that regional pride is something to be celebrated, but navel-gazing only contributes to the brain drain down the M1. When working with cultural clients, if I make reference to things from London or abroad, it's met with defensive disdain."

"Unfortunately, this hampers the scope of projects, as it quells ambition and potential. The prevailing attitude is that 'if it worked ten years ago in a neighbouring town, it will work today'. Comments have been many: 'We don't need that - that's for Londoners.' 'We'd be stupid to look further afield than X.' 'Well, we do things differently here.'"

"My postcode is feeling like a creative exile imposed from the top down by arts institutes, universities, arts festivals and local councils who have no ambition to inspire their citizens or see out a successful project. How do I convince clients outside the M25 that 'good enough' isn't good enough?"

After moving back to the Midlands, a working-class creative reports local clients restricting briefs to hyper-local references and approaches. Regional pride exists, but inward focus contributes to creative brain drain down the M1 and stifles ambition. References to London or international examples provoke defensive disdain from cultural clients, narrowing project scope and reinforcing the belief that outdated local solutions remain sufficient. Repeated comments include dismissals of outside ideas as 'for Londoners' and a preference for staying within familiar towns. Arts institutions, universities, festivals and councils are perceived as lacking ambition, leaving the writer feeling like a creatively exiled practitioner. The writer asks how to persuade clients beyond the M25 that 'good enough' isn't enough.

Read at Itsnicethat