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If you are not familiar with the concept of a portfolio career, it’s a basically a catch-all term for people whose working lives do not unfold as a single-track pursuit in one discipline alone.
Instead, these people most often work in multiple part-time jobs or across freelance projects, and may be seem in different sectors at once. Or, they may work in one role for a period of time before they take up a related, yet fundamentally different, job after that.
This working style sounds like a lot of fun with never a dull moment in sight. But managing these multifaceted, multi-skilled careers and income streams is a fine art in itself, and is not everyone’s cup of tea.
Read: How I manage my portfolio career in the arts (part 1)
So, if you are curious to know if this career-style is for you, or you need help refining your own multitasking work techniques, read on for some top shelf advice from two more stellar arts professionals who know how it’s done.
Kate Ben-Tovim, creative producer and curator
Areas of work: As an independent practitioner, I am a creative producer and a curator. I do this via Turning World, the boutique cultural agency I share with co-Director Tam Nguyen.
I also regularly consult to government and cultural organisations as a strategist. This can mean different things, but usually involves elements of strategic planning, organisational planning, fundraising and writing.
Qualifications/training: I studied classical saxophone at university – a highly esoteric speciality! I also did some graduate study in international relations, and while my qualifications did not technically ‘equip’ me for the [arts] workforce, they laid the foundation for many of my professional interests. Other training I have received has included the Asialink Leaders Program and an intensive language course in Indonesia. Most recently, I have done an AICD (Australian Institute of Company Directors) Governance course.
Was a portfolio career a deliberate choice? Or more in response to market / arts sector demand: It has been a deliberate choice for the past 15 years, which is when I became a freelancer. I find it genuinely interesting to switch between different modes. Working with artists, festivals, governments – they all have elements of creativity and challenge, which I find very stimulating. I also find that each part of the portfolio finds a way to positively impact the others. For example, artists seem to benefit from my understanding of how government mechanisms work, and vice versa.
Biggest career break: Working with DFAT (the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade) from 2011-2012 in New Delhi was a real game-changer for me, as it solidified my interest in cultural diplomacy and gave me some unique hands-on experience working alongside diplomats to deliver large-scale cultural programs. I’ve used this specialist knowledge a lot since then.
Biggest mistake: I’m pretty bad at repeating things. I’m always attracted to the start-up phases of projects, which keeps things interesting, but it often means you are working with unknowns rather than more familiar sets of variables. There are times when I probably could have capitalised on a successful idea or project by doing it again, but I didn’t.
Best thing about my portfolio style arts working life at the moment: Some great new projects with artists have just been funded, so now the fun begins!
Worst thing: A portfolio career can be unstable. The last seven years have included having a baby, COVID and moving interstate. These have been major career interruptions, which felt hard to navigate without a singular ‘track’ to follow. I’m glad I stuck it out, but it felt perilous at times.
Best portfolio-style work day hack: I try to chunk work up into focused full-day/half-day blocks, rather than do ‘a bit of this and a bit of that’ every day. If I don’t, I can easily lose track of conversations and deadlines.
Best advice for up-and-coming freelancers about how to manage this style of career:
Consider what skills you have that organisations with decent budgets will pay you for, and keep them current. You do need some elements of a portfolio that can reliably earn you an income if a long-term freelance career is your aim.
Jessica Russell, producer and videographer
Areas of work: I’m a video designer, independent producer and videographer specialising in arts content.
Qualifications/ training: Bachelor in Performing Arts, WAAPA (2016), Masters in Screen Studies (Directing and Cinematography), WA Screen Academy (2019).
Was a portfolio career a deliberate choice? Or more in response to market/arts sector demand: Absolutely a response to the demand. I started a dual bachelor degree fresh out of high school in both film and theatre. I left that after a year thinking theatre was my only love. A decade later I was back to film, purely by an offered opportunity, and I picked up cinematography when I realised [that via the] camera was how I was connecting to film. Now picking up the video camera is what I do with most of my days.
Biggest career break: As a producer, it was working with choreographer Mitch Harvey and Co3 Contemporary Dance on Mitch’s work MindCon. We had a massive warehouse, two major grants and a diligent and ambitious team!
In videography, it would be working on Prima Facie with Black Swan State Theatre Company. I’ve had the pleasure of working with Kate Champion since she became Artistic Director, but solely in a videographer capacity. I was touched when she reached out to join her creative team for such a renowned work.
Biggest mistake: I don’t think I’ve had one big mistake, but I’ve certainly learned from a collection of smaller ones. I try and operate under the guise of ‘you don’t know what you don’t know’. Particularly as an independent producer, there’s a lot I’ve had to piece together from mentors and my own experiences. It took a long time to become comfortable asking the simple questions, to stop acting behind a guise that I knew everything.
Best thing about my portfolio style arts working life at the moment: Travelling with work, which involves a suitcase or car full of camera gear. I’ve been all through WA in the last 18 months and was in Ballarat late last year finishing a feature documentary for a friend. I choose to prioritise work that offers an opportunity to travel.
Worst thing: The scarcity mindset. I’m working through this, but reclaiming the power to say ‘no’. You’ve got to trust when a project doesn’t align with you, and that can be for the simplest or most complex of reasons. You’ve also got to trust that more work is waiting after you’ve said ‘no’.
Best portfolio-style work day hack: If you’re overloaded, stop emailing people and start calling them. It’s amazing what you can work through in a 10-minute phone call versus four to six business days of emailing back and forth with slightly passive follow-ups. But then always send an email after that phone call, confirming what you discussed.
Best advice for up-and-coming freelancers about how to manage this style of career:
Your worth is not just calculated on the number of hours a project takes you, but the experience you bring to that work. The people you want to work with will understand this. Also, remember to pay yourself superannuation. If you are freelancing, no one else is paying that but you.
