The Hidden Challenges of Event Curation

We all love going to events. It’s an entertainment, a time to gather in community, to make new friends, to receive healing; it’s a transformative experience.

We would all love it if events were free, or if we could pay as little as possible. When there are tier prices, we all tend to go for the cheapest ticket, even if there’s only a £2 or 3£ difference between concession and general release. And I get it, when we’re on low income, every little penny counts. 

The reality is that for an event creator, every little penny also counts. Even more so, because there’s so many hidden costs that need to be covered so the event can happen that most people are not aware of. Venue hires, materials, transport…These are obvious expenses that we normally take for granted. But what about the invisible ones? The ones no one ever thinks about? Can you imagine what they are?

Behind every event curation, there’s hours of preparation. Not just for the event itself, but for the craft offering as well. There’s countless hours of research, artistic practice, marketing design, marketing sales, content creation, phone calls, emails, admin time, connections with other artists, collaborations… And this is not counting the hours we’ve put into developing our art professionally, by investing in courses, and continuous professional and personal development. It takes a type of personality to hold space, and to be able to do so, one has to look very closely at one's insecurities, limiting beliefs, fears, and break through all of those with deep inner work. That’s countless hours of personal practice that are also taken for granted, but not every space holder does. It’s a personal responsibility and it comes with one’s integrity. 

No, you’re not paying for that in your ticket, you are assuming the space holder has done that amount of inner work if they’re proclaiming themselves as capable of creating such an offering. If the experience is transformative for you, you can safely assume the space holder is doing constant inner work, and no one pays for that. It is something worth remembering for all of us. The quality of the event we attend reflects the level of inner work, personal and professional development the event curator has achieved in their journey. Something to consider when we invest in an experience. It’s a reward and an acknowledgement system that we are co-creating and has never existed before.

It’s an invisible labour that no one pays for. We as artists, don’t charge for those hours of preparation that nobody sees, otherwise events would be excessively pricey, which would make people not want to come to the event, which then would make the artist starve even more. It’s a vicious cycle that needs breaking.

And here’s the thing. We all need to change that mentality. We need to start seeing events as part of a circular economy. I help you and you help me. I enjoy and receive your offering and you receive a fair payment for your hours of labour, which would motivate you to keep creating transformative spaces where more opportunities for growth and community gatherings are offered.

In the old paradigm, where capitalism was the rule of all things and consumption was the norm, it was all for the benefit of the few. In the New Earth, we need to start doing things differently, and start seeing things as an investment in each other’s growth rather than seeking for the best deal or our own personal benefit only. And yes, if you’re buying something from Amazon, Tesco, Facebook, or any other big corporations where you can save a few pounds by taking the cheaper offer, go for it. Those corporations are not gonna go bankrupt because you took the cheaper deal. They would only go bankrupt if we boycotted them and started buying locally to small businesses that are fully independent, rather than us choosing speed and convenience over slow, handmade products that are not always available.

You get the juice, right? 

The same happens with events, workshops, courses, retreats… Any experience of this kind has countless hours of invisible craft making that no one sees or pays for.

If we all shift our mindset and start paying for the events for their true value, we will still receive heaps of benefit because the growth we’ll experience from attending them will be equally proportional to the growth the event creator will have as a result of people attending to their events. Plus, they will stay motivated to keep going, as the attendance to their events is a direct feedback that what they’re doing is working in the best interest of all.

And please, if you’re really struggling financially and you feel saving 3£ when purchasing a concession ticket will make a difference because it will allow you to pay for other things you need, absolutely! Go ahead and do what you need. I’ve been in that position for a few years, being self-employed and not having a regular job meant my income was limited and unsteady. I always went for the cheaper option, and sometimes even avoided attending certain events because I couldn’t afford it whatsoever. I have been healing my scarcity wound for a long time now, and through being an event creator, I got to experience the other side of the coin. Noticing how the tendency for concession tickets is a thing, and still feel underpaid despite offering accessible prices to my offerings. Experiencing this is what allowed me to shift my mindset and see everything as a circular process where we all benefit from investing in something we like, rather than seeing it as a linear process where I’m “paying” for someone else’s benefit.

So my invitation is, next time you invest in an event, notice if your drive is to go to the concession ticket immediately rather than the general release. Notice if the difference between the 2 tiers is small enough that it won’t really make a difference if you pay 2 or 3£ extra. See this as an investment on yourself rather than a payment to someone else. Both you and the event curator will benefit from this investment. It’s not a linear creation, but a circular co-creation that benefits both ways. The event wouldn’t be happening without your presence in it, so you are a co-creator of the experience as well. Remember all the invisible love that is purred into the event curation and pay a bit more if it is within your means. Your extra payment in the tier will support people who couldn’t come if investing that money on an event means that they wouldn’t be able to put any food on the table that week. And finally, after you have experienced the event, please leave a review if available. Your review propels visibility and encourages others to take the risk and assist those events. It helps the event curator to be seen and grow their community, and mostly to believe in themselves and believe that their passion is worth the blood, sweat and tears that go into making them possible.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for reading me. Thank you if you have supported my events. Let’s keep the spiral of support weaving till the infinite and beyond.