Collaborations are a powerful way to develop your career. They offer not only a form of artistic support but also an amazing opportunity to learn from others and expand beyond the creative frameworks you are used to writing in.
If you are feeling stuck, lonely, or bored, a collaboration can become an exciting artistic adventure. It will ask you to negotiate your artistic perspective with others, to be openly vulnerable, and to stay open to the unknown.
As with community, working with collaborators has a multiplying effect and can sometimes speed up the process from development, through production, to sharing it publicaly. It can also give you a chance to share your work with new audiences and in new environments. This is because collaboration brings together not just two (or more) people, but also their separate networks, skills, and creative perspectives. A project that might have taken you months to complete alone can move forward more swiftly when ideas are exchanged, feedback is immediate, and responsibilities are shared. And when the work is ready, your collaborator’s audience becomes your audience too, opening doors to readers, listeners, or viewers you might not have reached on your own.
One of my favourite collaborations story is poem White, I wrote with the support of Maó Alheimsdóttir for the performance Ég kem alltaf aftur, directed by Pálína Jónsdóttir as part of Reykjavík Ensemble. The performance was co-created by a group of Polish artists living in Iceland and presented during Reykjavík Arts Festival. I had been feeling stuck with a text I was working on for the performance, but after joining forces with my friend and fellow writer Maó, I was able to finish the poem during a single coffee break. The poem has lived a successful life since. It was published in the poetry collection Pólífónía af erlendum uppruna (2021), and later further developed, and used in a Moving Classics: Sonic Flux collaborative project with Einkofi Productions, which resulted in the poetic short film Liminality (2022), directed by Pálína Jónsdóttir with music by Halldór Smárason, and videography by Martyna Daniel.
Your Task
- Map your opportunities for collaboration. List three people you could potentially collaborate with. Choose artists you trust emotionally and artistically, people who inspire you and who might be open to working together.
- Draft short ideas for each collaboration. For each person, brainstorm a rough idea. Consider:
- merging different formats (poetry with music, text with visuals, etc.)
- joining forces within the same discipline
- a subject or theme you could explore together
- a shared goal, such as a publication, exhibition, or a public presentation
- Choose one idea and take action. Select the one idea that speaks to you the most. Create a simple action plan and reach out to the collaborator to start the conversation.
Reflection
- What would success look like for you, both in terms of the work itself and the experience of creating together?