Connecting with The Creative Community
- brownjc3
- Nov 13, 2022
- 3 min read
This past year I’ve been in charge of creating all sorts of events to bring people together for different reasons like entrepreneurship, networking, language, and most importantly creativity. I never saw myself being a part of a creative community until these past few years but the growth I’ve experienced both professionally and personally can’t be denied.
Why Connect with a Creative Community
There are a bunch of reasons to join a creative community. You’ll meet people with similar goals and interests that can either mentor you or help you along the way as you perfect your craft. Creative communities also have their own internal networks to help each other find jobs through referrals and word of mouth. Finally and the most important thing for me personally is accountability. It’s easy to drop a project before it’s finished due to stress, boredom, or just life getting in the way. However, constantly dropping projects will leave you stagnating in your own growth and frustrated because you’ll fear your work isn’t ever good enough.
Groups to Connect within Japan
Since I already live in Japan, it’s probably best I add groups based here. After all, I remember how hard it was to be here and not feel like you have anyone to connect to.
Legacy Foundation
Founded by the owners of Soul Food House David and Latonya Whitaker— the non-profit functions as a safe space for Black entrepreneurs to come together and celebrate each other and share resources. Being at the Legacy Lounge as well you never know who you’ll run into as well. It could be the difference between being small time and achieving exponential growth.
Black Creatives Japan
A small group of Black creatives based all over Japan. I wrote about this group before for Metropolis some time ago. The group serves as an online platform to connect creatives with each other to see what kind of projects everyone is up to and potentially bring about some collaborative opportunities.
Japan Based Filmmakers & Actors
A small Facebook group dedicated to videographers, photographers, and all those interested in the fieldwork. Creative work in cinema and videography is few and far between, so this is the group to go to if you’re interested in finding entry-level work for acting, editing, or even cheap equipment.
English Language Film School Tokyo
Although Japan doesn’t have a thriving indie film screen like LA, London, or NYC; there’s still a little niche group of people here dedicated to the art of on-screen performance for international talent. ELFS is the only English Language based film school in Japan and offers monthly classes on making short films, acting, screenwriting, and much more. Many Japanese creatives who want to strengthen their talents to go abroad also go here as well.
Artist Exhibition Events
These creative events are held with one goal—to help uplift and highlight the international talent pool here in Tokyo. Many have used these events as stepping stones to gain new clients, test their products, and even helped launch their careers into the world of photography, design, and music.
Co-Working Spaces
Coworking places are very popular with entrepreneurs, startups, freelancers, and professionals, but these places are always looking for cool ideas for events. Some coworking places offer opportunities for meetups, exhibitions of movies, books, shows, DJ parties, and much more.
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