Reading chapters from Poor Artists made me think a lot about my own journey through arts. Like the authors, I’ve always found it hard to imagine making a living from art, especially working in more experimental and underground music scenes like industrial noise and ambient. For a long time, I worked outside the arts—in hospitality, casinos, and now as an outreach worker in a homelessness charity. Creative work always felt separate from the jobs that paid the bills.

The chapter reminded me that I’m not alone in this feeling. It’s tough to find your place in the arts, especially if you don’t come from a background that gives you easy access to the right networks or spaces. I realised I might not have been looking in the right places, or I didn’t know what opportunities were even out there.

One important realisation I’ve had recently is to appreciate the things I already have. I’ve been lucky in many ways—I live in a guardianship space where I don’t have to pay full London rent, and I have the freedom and space to work on installations and make sound without worrying too much. For a long time, I didn’t have to work full-time, which gave me the chance to study and focus on developing my creative practice.

I now see how valuable that time and space have been. I also understand that once you work full-time—especially in a busy, expensive city like London—it becomes much harder to keep a creative practice alive or even to expand it to a full-time income. This makes me think more carefully about how I can make the most of my current situation, while continuing to explore ways to build a sustainable path in the creative field.