Words by Scotland Drummond
The Back My Project initiative gives creatives a chance to pitch their ideas to a panel of industry experts, funding bodies and potential sponsors.
Ahead of closing date for entries to Back My Project (Monday 25th May, 5:00pm) we caught up with Jamie Nimmo from the Oh Really Gallery to talk about the pitching process and the challenges facing creatives looking to get their ideas heard.
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Jamie Nimmo sounds a bit exhausted on the phone, but it’s hardly surprising – he’s spent the last few days wading through business plans and listening to podcasts about entrepreneurial pitching.
It can be hard to find the information and resources about funding for creative projects – information is squirreled away under multiple sub menus of labyrinthine websites.
“It takes persistence and fortitude to find the stuff,” says Jamie “so when an opportunity like Back My Project comes along, where you can get exposure to the right sorts of people, it’s really great.”
“I’ve had a few projects on the back burner for a while and this seemed like a great opportunity to meet people from outside of my usual networks and to get my ideas heard.”
Having the creative idea is a great start, but as many have found out that’s often all it is. To get your creative ideas to become living breathing projects requires plenty of hard work, buckets of business-minded thinking and a healthy dose of luck
“There should be more of a recognition that even though we’re creatives, the art of a successful pitch is a traditional business and we should be ready to creatively apply the lessons from business entrepreneurs to our own creative ideas.”
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If you’re interested in pitching your idea to people looking to invest in creativity, have a read of the Back My Project announcement. You’ll find guidelines for what the judges are looking for, tips on preparing your pitch and the terms and conditions.
One Comment
I was just trying to register with Back My Project because of course I am a creative type and have oodles of satirical scripts dealing with war and the good conduct thereof. Clearly things are not being conducted properly by the present combatants and they need some really good advice from experts like me – Piss Off is one piece of advice and I have other handy hints, such as how to conduct an environmentally friendly war – one needs to know these thing, ya know. Anyway, I will probably discover that this comment has gone to God – hullo God – and nobody wants to hear my brilliantly creative, musically lush, stylishly silly stuff. I have had a couple of articles in The Heckler – and letters. Get back to me – Happy Jan