I recently applied for a new position as an Equity, Diversity and Inclusion board member at The Charleston House. I had to write why I felt I would fit the position and writing the cover letter gave me the opportunity to really reflect on all my work and successes over the last 5/6 years. It made me feel really proud, something I can struggle with as I’m always working towards achieving my next milestone over giving myself the time to revel in my past ones. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!
I would like to start by telling you why I think I would suit this role, and I hope, as you read about my journey, you can see why these experiences show how I have all the skills you would need to fill this position.
I decided to leave my PAYE job (Colourstream, I worked as a Photo Lab Technician for four years, developing and printing camera film) back in 2018 when I decided to live and work in China, Chengdu. Alongside teaching English (I’m TEFL qualified and DBS checked) to children (3-6 years), I had the wonderful opportunity to have my first ever solo exhibition on my working photography project ‘Black Brighton’.
Curated alongside a local Chinese woman called Tracy who helped creative start-up businesses, and an American venue manager, called Rori, that ran an arts-based events bar/space. The exhibition spanned over 2 weeks with a soft opening that was an intimate meeting with the photographer – yours truly – a hard opening, and a TED style talk about diversity in China, towards the end. One of my main aims during the exhibition, would be to allow other people/friends from the Black community in Chengdu to gain too. So, for the soft opening I had a friend from Jamaica run the kitchen, keeping all the profits made, for the hard we booked an African cook to make traditional dishes that was accompanied by special cocktails made by the fellow curators. There was merchandise, a closed off space that projected The Making Of video, the print was sponsored by a local printers Tracy had worked with in the past. We had performances from poets’ dancers and rappers, all from the Black community, all people I had made friends with whilst living there.
It was an experience and an achievement I still don’t think I can put into words, even after all this time… It’s probably a peak in my working/creative archive that will be hard to champion. When I returned to England in 2019, I started my freelance career by becoming a Life Model, I became very involved in the Life art community and realised, there was very few diverse representations, especially living in such a creative city where Life art is so popular. I wanted to change that, that’s how Drawversity came to be. To try and eliminate the class and culture barriers of life art and modelling. For our children and children’s children, to see a reflection of themselves through art in history – and not as a monolith, a narrative that has always been controlled by the other.
From my own experience growing up with an ever-adapting passion for art, it wasn’t something that was seen as a career in my grandparents’ eyes; art is a luxury, something you can relax into when you don’t have to worry about money or how you are perceived by the world. It was more respectable to be a nurse or a lawyer etc… It should be understood, for some, it’s not a case of not wanting to do it, it’s that that whole world is unknown. We also have to take into account, it’s paramount to create a safe space, so people don’t feel fetishised or exoticised; there are many layers to take into consideration.
Alongside Drawversity being for the purposes stated, I also have experienced artists unable to replicate particular features and shades I have due to a lack of diverse models, this is another reason I think it’s important to create a more diverse society within art, all types of art. I can proudly say that through Drawversity, there has been a noticeable increase in the diversity of Art Models in Brighton.
Alongside my Drawversity classes, I have had the time to work on my ever growing, effervescent imagination that’s constantly churning out new projects and ideas. My most successful one alongside Drawversity is Black Brighton Market.
Black Brighton Market is a place where Black people and People of colour have the opportunity to sell their art, goods, services and perform to the general public. Creating equal opportunities and better profits within the BIPOC community. Starting 2022; I had a soft launch at the BARCO bash in July, from then we had a hard opening on our first market at our permanent residency at The Actors in October of 2022. Since then, I have had 13 markets at The Actors, a second pop-up at the 2023 BARCO bash, a pop-up at SOHO Brighton Beach House and a pop-up with Culture Connex (curated by urbanflo) at the Ironworks studio, as part of Brighton Fringe. I have a volunteer that works with me on the social media, otherwise all admin, artwork, web development, booking, management, interviews, is done by myself alone. As well as running it from
the ground up, it is also, currently, fully self-funded.
It has a Go Fund Me, and I will be working on funding this year, otherwise it has been me making relationships with the right people and trading skills. For the one-year anniversary I was fortunate enough, to have all the work I put into getting the market and all its vendors, recognised. With print (Brighton & Hove Magazine page 36) radio (RadioReverb) and television coverage (ITV Meridian News). Black Brighton Market is levelling up this year and is in communication with Brighton and Hove City Council about doing some outdoor
markets in the biggest shopping hotspots of the city, which is very exciting!
I was also honoured to have all this work I’ve been doing acknowledge, by being publicly voted Brighton Girl of the Year (December 2023/2024), through a community business called City Girl Network.
Alongside my passion projects, I have also become increasingly in need as a Virtual Assistant. I was initially headhunted, May 2023, by spoken word artist and writer Alinah Azadeh. An artist-in-residence at Seven Sisters Country Park and working on a huge project with lots of other writers, she needed help with admin, social media, correspondence and organisation. With a fantastic work bond, we are still working closely together, Alinah appreciates my ability to take charge and be a straight
talker, getting things done and being able to lay things out for her in ways that take off a lot of pressures. Since last May, I have booked new clients for a variety of VA requests, from focusing on campaign strategies, to newsletter building, online presence building and even in-person assistance at events.
It’s not just my organisation and communication, but my ability to creatively problem-solve and give logical and varied solutions that suit my clients on a personal level (be that tackling someone who needs to do things in a certain way or order due to their mental health or specificities). I myself come from a working-class background so understand that sometimes people can’t always afford the easy but maybe costly way of solving something, and might need to execute something in a way that is still professional and timely but cost effective.
On a more personal level, I think I would be great for this role because, not only do I live and breathe art, but I am equally business minded. I like to think I am someone who can create ideas off the top of my head, and then have the ability to bring it to life constructively. I have the foresight to see what issues might arise and the motivation to create an immersive and professional experience for all who participate. I always aim to do what’s best for the right people, even if it means I have to work a little harder to move and shift and make that space. I have done all that I have achieved off my own will and passion and have done it for the sole purpose of living and breathing art.
Jade Hylton 