Process – Futures Lab

Engage locally with the city

• Joining the immersive bootcamp program at BOM lab
• Including my shed challenge in my portfolio

Connecting to practices, practitioners and events

• Connecting with Antonio Roberts learning more about his practice
  • Only engages with open-source software
  • Likes to know how things work, his main challenge is doing something with the processes after he’s investigated how things work
• Visiting Digbeth First Fridays
• Visiting Eastside projects
• Meeting artist duo Mike McShane & Ekaterina Luzgina
  • Mike McShane tends to find a lot of opportunities for employment through lecturing and running workshops alongside his creative partner Kat
  • Kat tends to make work through residencies at STEAMhouse in particular

Looking up jobs to go into and further freelance opportunities

• Artist Curator Traineeship at Eastside Projects

BOM LAB

Through my time at BOM lab I discovered that the BBC are opening new studios in Digbeth in the coming years, with an emphasis on virtual and post-production. The goal of the immersive bootcamp is to train people from marginalised backgrounds (unemployed and underemployed, BAME, etc.) and upskill freelancers, in order to enhance their employability. With this in mind, I am creating a portfolio project to showcase my skills in 3D and videogame development. With this portfolio I plan to apply for roles in the videogame industry with the goal of securing employment, receiving feedback on my work and growing my network. I also wish to bolster my portfolio as a creative technologist with a wide range of skills. I am also benefiting from learning the production pipeline of the Unreal engine as an artist with a new tool to create moving image, immersive and interactive work.

FREELANCE WORK

Soon, I would like to undertake freelance creative work. From the materials delivered during this module, I have understood the importance of keeping receipts and staying organised in terms of budget, spending and income. I think it is important to set clear project outcomes and a timeframe for these results to be completed by.

EMPLOYABILITY MATERIALS

I started another Instagram two years ago when I felt my artistic practice was transitioning from mainly photography to digital and immersive arts. I started with the username lrowen97, which I felt was slightly illegible as it is hard to read my initials, especially if you do not already know my name. I changed my username to lewis___owen (read “Lewis triple underscore Owen” to those who I am sharing my tag with verbally) to simplify the readability. I share stories of my work in progress to show people what I am doing and also gain feedback as I work. It also shows others I am active.