We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Bethany Wearden a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Bethany thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

I’ve always loved stories. I was a huge reader as a child – often finishing more than one book a day. As I grew up, I became interested in other forms of storytelling – theatre, film, immersive art experiences. I was intensely curious and voraciously consumed everything I had access to. I often wished I could talk about all the stories and ideas I was thinking about with other people but I didn’t have a lot of friends with the same curiosity and this was before online communities were easily accessible.

I lived mostly in Asia when I was growing up so films were almost always subtitled and often the only way to see a new film was to ask the neighborhood bootlegger to find a copy somewhere online and burn it to a DVD. The few times we got a new American movie to the cinema with a same day and date release as the U.S. was a really big deal! It was at one of those same day and date release film screenings that I realized the stories with the widest reach and audience, the stories that were creating the biggest conversations were films. That was when I decided I wanted to find a way to be part of that ecosystem. I wanted to be at the center of that storytelling and the conversations that were happening because of those stories.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I went to film school and studied screenwriting but by the time I graduated, I realized I was much more excited about other people’s stories and projects than my own. I decided if I was going to spend all my time pitching, finding supporters and funders, and gathering audiences for stories, I wanted them to be projects I was really passionate about. This is how I found my way into the artist support world.

I started out in filmmaker support at Sundance Institute managing the Sundance Film Forward program which took U.S. and international independent films and filmmakers to different cities around the world that didn’t often have access to independent films for week-long film programs featuring screenings, conversations, and workshops. It was an incredible, life-changing experience and cemented my passion for supporting artists and connecting them with new audiences who love their work also.

Since then, I have developed two different fellowship programs for emerging and mid-career artists working in various mediums. Nothing gives me more joy than hearing an artist talk about their love for a project they are developing. Finding ways to support those projects through resources, funding, creative collaborators, and/or audience development has become my life work.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

There needs to be a greater recognition and appreciation for the essential role that artists and creatives have in a community and society as a whole. Artists are not islands who create and operate outside of a community. They are integral to the flourishing and development of that community and culture. Artists ask big questions and reflect back the beautiful, hard, and complex aspects of a society and without their creative lens, society becomes stagnant and stilted.

Practically, I think the best place an individual, organization, and/or community can start is to simply ask artists and creatives, “What do you need?” Sometimes the answer is really simple – like a physical space to work or a connection to an individual or organization they want to meet. And sometimes the answer is more complex and may need the support of a whole community – like funding for a big project or a place to show their work. Artists know what they need and are experts on their own creative and professional development.

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

I love reading about how different writers write. I think there is so much to learn about creativity and entrepreneurial thinking from how a writer goes about creating characters, plot, and a whole world from thin air. “Bird by Bird” by Anne Lamott is an incredible peek into a personal creative process and Anne offers really helpful practical advice. Ann Pachett’s essay “The Getaway Car” shares her unique writing style – often composing an entire novel in her head before writing any of it down. And the “Writers on Writing” podcast (https://www.writers-on-writing.com) offers insights from authors across the writing spectrum.

On the more practical side, I really enjoyed the “StartUp” podcast series from Gimlet Media which gave a very raw, inside look at how different businesses and creative endeavors got started. Ironically, the start-up Gimlet Media has since folded but I think there’s a lot to learn from their story.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bwethany
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bethanywearden/