By Sara Kenrick

Hello, College of Fine Arts students! In January I had the chance to sit down and chat with Camille Washington about graduating with an arts degree and getting work in arts administration after college. Currently, Camille works as the marketing and box office manager at Onstage Ogden and co-directs at Good Company Theatre, a theatre she started with her sister.

Camille told me that for her it has been important to keep an open mind when it comes to artistic pursuits. “Right out of college I thought I was going to get a Ph.D. because that’s all I thought you could do.” She explained that opening herself up to different opportunities has been important when creating a successful career in the arts.

“Having a real sense of intellectual curiosity has been really important to me…keeping myself open and thinking about the ways my background...could be good in different fields.”

This rang true to me since it seems that every artist I meet has taken a different path from school to career. I asked Camille if she had ever felt barred from doing her art. She described that while she was completing a fellowship at Walker Art Museum, she noticed much of the art on display seemed driven by getting well-known names on the walls and therefore big crowds through the door. Although this may be an environment many would thrive in, she explained that it wasn't quite perfect for her. Now that she’s involved in smaller arts organizations, she feels “much more comfortable because the decision making is quicker, there’s more collaboration, and failure doesn’t feel like such a disaster.” Exploring a lot of different artistic environments can help you find what works best for you.

Finally, I asked Camille what she would tell her younger self. Camille paused before saying, “Don’t be so hard on yourself.” I was happy to hear this response since all of the students I know are working themselves to the bone, getting no sleep, and doing amazing work, myself included.

I know I should take more moments to be compassionate towards myself and know that not everything that goes “wrong” is going to be my fault.

A few ArtsForce Takeaways

• Keep yourself open to new paths and opportunities.

• Figure out what environments help you thrive.

• Don’t be so hard on yourself.

 It was an absolute delight to talk to Camille about her experiences and insights. I hope you can take into account some of her advice. Click here to learn more about Good Company Theatre and see their upcoming season! 

ArtsForce is working on bringing you more advice from local artists so stay tuned for more! If you would like to join ArtsForce and come to our upcoming events, check out this link! 

Author Sara Kenrick is a Film and Media Arts Major with an emphasis in Film Production and a minor in Theatre. She is an Emerging Leaders Intern at ArtsForce.

ArtsForce is a student-led organization dedicated to articulating the value of your artsdegree and helping you transition from college to the workforce.