News Creative Arts Careers In The Frame 20.07.2025
Collyer’s recently held the Festival of Arts and Business, comprising 54 speakers across Art and Business subjects. A Future’s Fair featuring 30 different stands gave further insight into the students’ potential pathways leading to their future careers.
Attendees included professionals from management agencies, the police force, town planning, technology industry, animation and VFX, financial analysis, HR, photography and filmmaking, graphic design, accountancy, nursing and health and social care, the music industry, AI, West End dancer, Early Years, languages, and the diplomatic service.
The Futures Fair was buzzing with excitement and curiosity from students as they explored and quizzed experts at the stands; whether employers or top universities, students had a variety of pathway options to discover and learn more about.
Student Rachel Quirk commented: “The lectures gave me an insight into a range of different career options and all the talks were very engaging.”
With a plethora of different talks to attend, from broader topics like what life is like at university, creating a portfolio, to specialised topics such as careers in astronomy, the day catered for everybody.
Ethan Bennett, former Collyerian and Portsmouth Photography graduate, said: “It was wonderful to reconnect with the college and pass on my experience to the students at this amazing event.”
Sarah Davison from Macro4 added: “Collyer’s is a wonderful college; we have already offered a job to a student and also had two students for work experience. It is fantastic to work with a college that understands our company and the opportunities we can provide to students and actively promotes them.”
Sarah Shannon from the University of Portsmouth was equally impressed: “The students were great and so switched on. We had lots of fantastic conversations.”
Flo Westbrook, a freelance photographer, shared her positive experience: “What a truly special group of young people! Their curiosity, engagement, and thoughtful questions made the experience incredibly rewarding.”
Abby, a Storm12 apprentice and ex-Collyer’s student, shared her journey: ” It was amazing to pass on my knowledge and share how important being brave and proactive is in the industry. I hope the students felt inspired just like I did two years ago.”
Max Tyrie Head of 3D Animation & VFX at University of Chichester delivered a session on animation: “Collyer’s students were engaged and enthusiastic.”
Brad Tudor-Gayler, Head of School and College Partnerships (South-East and London) at Falmouth University, summed up the event: “The Festival and Futures’ Fair was such a brilliant day. This is the third year in a row that I have attended with Falmouth University, and each year it just gets better and better!”
Jenny Bailey, Collyer’s Director of Faculty for Business, said “We are very lucky to have links with such a wealth of employers, universities, and outside organisations. A massive thank you to all who attended and gave their time so generously.”
Laurie Huggett-Wilde Director of Faculty for Arts added “Thanks so much to everyone who was involved and came from across the country to provide inspiration to our students.”
Students cheerfully ended the day enriched with more knowledge on creative careers thanks to the festival and will hopefully soon be using the information to aid them in making decisions for the futures.
Stephanie Do Carmo Gomes, Student Reporter
