Students Develop Podcast Series Showcasing Creative Careers

Durham Sixth Form Centre students have collaborated with cultural organisations across County Durham to produce a new podcast series exploring the realities of building creative careers beyond major cities.

The project, titled Spotlight on Creative Journeys, was developed in partnership with Into the Light, a county-wide cultural partnership created from County Durham’s City of Culture bid. Into the Light brings together organisations including Beamish Museum, The Bowes Museum and Durham University to expand creative opportunities, improve wellbeing, foster pride in place and increase access to cultural careers.

Created and produced by students, the podcast series was designed to shine a spotlight on the county’s thriving creative community while exploring the importance of place, opportunity and personal development in creative professions.

Recorded in the TV Studio at Durham Sixth Form Centre, students worked to deliver a live industry brief with support from the Into the Light team. Across 20+ podcasts, they interviewed a diverse range of guests, including artists, actors, designers and photographers from across the region.

The conversations explored creative career paths, community and identity, the challenges and rewards of creative work including the skills, confidence and support needed to sustain a creative practice. Guests also shared advice they wished they had received when starting out.

Students took responsibility for every stage of production, serving as hosts, researchers, producers, production assistants, sound and lighting technicians, audio editors, social media creators and writers.

The project provided valuable hands-on experience in media production, interviewing and storytelling, while offering direct collaboration with creative professionals and helping students build a portfolio of real-world work.

We would like to thank Into the Light for giving our students this amazing opportunity and all the wonderful guests who gave up their time to be interviewed for this project.