Out & About is a non-profit association based in Basel. We are giving a platform to artists and creatives to talk about their professions and skills, and to share their stories with you.
Who We Are
We are a group of young creatives who, in 2020, decided to form an association to facilitate the transition into the professional world for ourselves and others in the arts and culture industry.
Our Motivation
Many graduates from our circle find the transition from education to the professional world to be very challenging, especially in the current global pandemic. Even before that, many college graduates were forced to initially accept low-paid internships or temporary jobs. To ease the transition from college to the professional world, we introduce exciting projects and individuals, engage in discussions with experts and experienced professionals, and share our experiences with each other. How do you navigate the crisis? How did you land your current job, and what tips have proven beneficial in hindsight?
Through interviews, workshops, or networking events, we invite you to join our conversations and provide insights into various professions, helpful advice on tools and methods for the workplace, as well as information on how to assert oneself, especially as a woman, in a still predominantly patriarchal professional world. We also discuss how men and women can benefit together from feminist approaches.
In the cultural sector, as well as in society as a whole, it is still observed that women face greater challenges than their male counterparts. Recent research indicates that women, in particular, take on additional caregiving responsibilities, reduce their working hours, and men often assume the role of sole family providers (Eidg. Büro für die Gleichstellung von Frau und Mann. 2020). These divisions of labor further exacerbate existing structures because, in previous years, approximately 59% of women in Switzerland worked part-time, compared to only 18% of men (Bundesamt für Statistik. 2019). As commonly known, these divisions of labor result in financial losses for women in retirement and an unequal power dynamic (Eidgenössisches Departement des Innern EDI. 2014).
Our History
We, four alumnae of the University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland, School of Art and Design in Basel, graduated in 2020 with majors in Art (MA), Art Mediation (BA), and Visual Communication (BA). One of us had the idea to continue meeting regularly after our studies to exchange experiences and challenges in our daily lives, and soon, the four of us enthusiastically planned a project. Since the fall of 2020, it has been actively in development and has persisted despite the challenges of the COVID measures. We quickly noticed that we were not the only ones who found the job search to be a real challenge. Currently, there are few entry-level positions to introduce students and graduates to the workforce through internships, assistant positions, and the like, to make connections and gain initial experience. We wanted to know how others have managed it: What are their strategies? What experiences have they had? And what skills do they consider truly useful? We believe it’s important and helpful to make this information accessible and tangible.
And because it was so great, here’s a group photo of the founding members:
Martha Kapfhammer, Ina Bandixen, Catherin Schöberl, Matilde Martins (from left to right)
Photos: Florence Dreier
Patronage
Claudia Perren, Director of the Academy of Art and Design, FHNW, Basel
For the financial support and the promotion of the first few project years a big thank you to:
and to Ruth und Paul Wallach Foundation.