Creative Careers Cafe explores opportunities at EKC Dover College

EKC Dover College recently hosted the Creative Careers Café, a project introducing students across East Kent to exciting career opportunities in the creative sectors.

Held on our campus, the event was run in partnership with the Maison Dieu (Dover Town Hall) and Artswork in a bid to help students to explore their options and to teach them about the heritage of Dover.

With almost 150 participants from our College, Astor Secondary, the Harvey Grammar and Dover Christ Church Academy, this event was very engaging for both the students and the local artists who took part, with the day being some people’s first visit to the College.

Workshops throughout the day were held in our College’s classrooms and student zones. These ranged from learning how to create eco-friendly tote bags with renowned fashion designer Eirinn Hayhow, to producing music inspired by the sounds of the Maison Dieu building site with producer and DJ Cherif Hashizume.

In additions to these areas in College, our very own salons even played host to hair-braiding sessions. In these, students were able to create intricate hair designs inspired by portraits that hang in the Maison Dieu.

The Maison Dieu building itself was open to hard-hat tours on the day, with students being given the opportunity to look around the site and explore this key part of Dover. As well as being shown around the building, they got to see what it will eventually look like upon its reopening next year.

This event was part of Artswork’s cultural development program, Activate Young Cultural Changemakers, aimed at inspiring young people aged 25 and under in Dover to explore art. It is supported by public funding from Arts Council England with a goal to broaden horizons and raise aspirations.

The Creative Careers Café was also organized as part of the £10.5 million Lottery-funded restoration of the Maison Dieu.

EKC Dover College students were engaged throughout and keen to learn more about the exciting creative career opportunities that could be in their future, with activities such as stone-carving having fully packed sessions all day.

Artswork’s Creative Producer Apprentice said of the day: “The purpose of the event was to inspire, educate and engage young people. It was a fantastic opportunity to learn from professionals in Dover’s rich network of creative industries and each professional shared a unique journey of how they built their career.  It was energising to see the payoff of the event in the responses from other young people.”

Plans are now underway for further Creative Careers Café events which EKC Dover College looks forward to playing a part in. These will continue to encourage young minds into the world of Creative and Design, and will be hosted at the Maison Dieu when it reopens in 2025.

It has been great to work with our local community on such a big project and one that will be making significant change to the town of Dover in the future.