In an ambitious scheme to weaponise glitter as a career path, Global Grooves, a carnival arts organisation that’s never once caused a glitter shortage in Tameside, is offering free Creative Careers courses to Rochdale teenagers, some of whom reportedly thought “career” was just the name of a new dance move.
The programme, running from November to January, promises sessions in music, dance and visual arts, alongside that essential life skill: learning how to stage an event. Presumably with more duct tape than hope.
Open to 13 to 18-year-olds (or 25 if you’ve got “additional needs” or, as Rochdale Council refers to it, “just still live here”), the sessions take place at Richard Street Studios, a location just central enough to confuse Google Maps and your gran.
The course includes inspirational guest artists, which one participant described as “like a TED Talk, but with more interpretive drumming and fewer LinkedIn tips.” According to organisers, attendees will “gain a deeper understanding of what it means to work in the arts industry”, chiefly that it involves multiple side hustles, exposure to papier-mâché inhalation, and politely clapping at things you don’t understand.
Past participant Saskia, now riding high on four unconditional uni offers for costume design (and the eternal hope of not having to work in Greggs), praised the course for giving her the delusion, sorry, belief, that you can actually make money in the arts.
Additional “taster” days are available at The Vale arts centre in Mossley for those who enjoy their creativity with a side of train fare and existential dread. Meanwhile, select participants will be invited to join Global Grooves for work experience, which is like volunteering but with more banners and slightly fewer biscuits.
Holly Prest, Global Grooves’ artistic director and professional optimism engine, said: “This is a fantastic opportunity to explore your creative side.” She added, “You’ll meet new people, learn new things, and get dangerously close to someone wielding a hot glue gun.”
Travel expenses can be claimed, a novelty for most artists, and access requirements are welcomed, which is more than can be said for most Rochdale buses.
Sign-ups close on Monday, October 20. Anyone interested is advised to apply soon, before the council repurposes Richard Street Studios as a storage unit for uncollected traffic cones and haunted filing cabinets.
