Agile City Member Spotlight: Flora Menzies
For our latest Agile City Member Spotlight, we sat down with Flora Menzies! Flora has been a member at Civic House for 2 years now, and works as a freelance consultant working with cultural organisations on strategy, evaluation, and audience development. We asked her a few questions to get to know here better:
How long have you been a tenant at Civic House/Glue Factory & what attracted you to the building?
I think it’s been two years now! I first found out about the building through its events like ArchiFringe. I was attracted to the architecture, the community ethos and its sustainability credentials.
Do you have any words of advice for those hoping to pursue a career in your field?
It’s all about the network. It was really scary going freelance after many years of a nice steady pay check. Getting in touch with people to ask for advice/coffees feels cringe-worthy but it’s definitely paid off for me when I’ve least expected it. Hold your nerve and try not to freak out. In terms of working in the cultural sector, I think my advice is go to as much stuff as possible and don’t forget what it’s like to be an audience member. A lot of people working in my sector (especially film) get free tickets to stuff and don’t even bother using them! You probably got into it as you’re passionate (it’s certainly not for the money!) so don’t lose that feeling. I think that the more passionate and engaged you are, the more likely potential clients will want to work with you.
How did you discover this is what you wanted to pursue as a career/passion?
I got into watching films through studying Italian at Glasgow Uni, in a very roundabout way I ended up volunteering at film festivals and it all sort of snowballed from there. I worked in film exhibition and education (so cinemas, festivals, public funding, film education) for many years. I decided to go freelance as I wanted to work with other art forms and types of organisation.
Do you have any upcoming projects you want to highlight?
I’m currently working with the BFI National Archive on the evaluation of an audience engagement project with their paper collection (old posters, photos, scripts etc). I’m also just starting some work with the National Museums of Scotland on a membership/audience piece. In terms of upcoming, I have irons in the fire but in my line of work you don’t tend to get much advance notice!
Where can we find out more about your business/company and your work?
Visit Flora’s Linkedin !
If you’re interested in our coworking space, or have any questions, send us an email at hello@agile-city.com!