The Connections Between Public Service and Artistic Practice

This week is Public Service Recognition Week, and I have been thinking a lot about the relationship between public service and creative lives. Some may not know this but I started my career in the federal government. For nearly two decades, I worked for the U.S. Department of State in several different offices. As part of that work, I got to go to the big diplomatic events like the Dayton Peace Talks, the Summit of the Americas, and the G-7. I saw Nelson Mandela make his first trip to Washington DC after being freed from prison in South Africa after 27 years. A choir of DC schoolkids sang Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika to him; what was once a song of defiance against apartheid would eventually be integrated into the country’s national anthem. I worked there part time while I pursued a master’s in film and video and ultimately brought my love of international relations and creative expression together. You may remember an earlier blog post I wrote about navigating multiple careers. But today’s blog post isn’t really about myself.

It is about the connection between public service and creative practice. While many people think of government workers as an army of faceless bureaucrats, I discovered so many people who – like me – had an artistic passion on the side. Poets. Actors. Painters. Dancers. Musicians. Filmmakers. And, yes, Writers. After I left government service to dedicate myself to the nonprofit world, I couldn’t stop thinking about all those people. I even ended up producing and co-directing a documentary called Creative Feds about two people who are equally dedicated to their federal government work and their music.

After the film played a number of festivals and community screenings, we opted to release it for free online back in early 2019 in the midst of a long federal government shutdown. We wanted to help put a face on the faceless government workers who have long been misunderstood by the general public. Today, as the federal government is facing enormous cutbacks in its workforce, I rewatched the film recently and it reminded me that it was as much a film about how these are people who don’t view their work as their day job and their music as their passion. Rather their stories showcase how the two are completely intertwined, making them better musicians and better at their federal work.

This made me think about what artists can learn from public servants – even those who don’t wear both hats.

PASSION

If anyone has read the Creative Resilience book, you know I have a love/hate relationship with the word “passion” since I think it is sometimes used in a way that equates passion with only doing what you love. Yet so much of making art is about balancing that core passion that drives you with the less exciting aspects of producing the work and getting it out to the world. Yet passion is often what motivates us to engage with the arts in the first place.

The same goes for the vast majority of federal workers. Many of these folks have dedicated their lives to their particular specialty, earning multiple degrees and certifications, even giving up more financially lucrative careers in the private sector to make a difference in the world. As I have seen many folks who have lost their jobs after dedicating themselves to federal careers for years, what has surprised me in seeing their posts on social media or in private conversations, is the focus. Even as they share the sadness or fears of their jobs being eliminated or making difficult personal choices to leave long federal careers, most of them start out by voicing the impact of their work on other people or the world at large. Passion begins with purpose, and what has helped public servants and artists thrive through the less exciting parts of their work is knowing their work can have an impact larger than themselves.

ADAPTABILITY AND CREATIVE PROBLEM-SOLVING

To grow in any field requires an ability to adapt to changes. For public servants, that may mean adjusting to priorities of different administrations in leadership. It also means adapting to new technologies; working with a variety of supervisors, teams, and clients; maintaining a culture of learning and problem-solving; and often having to sustain workflow even amidst hiring freezes or budget limitations. Even while navigating bureaucratic systems that can be confounding, many public servants find creative solutions even within those systems to help improve their work and impact. Artists similarly are constantly learning new techniques and skillsets, understand that the market is always evolving, and find creative solutions when faced with limitations of time, money, or capacity. 

TRANSFERABLE SKILLS

As many federal workers are now or may soon be out in the job market, those that will thrive will be those who bring with them so many transferable skills, whether they are focused on managing people, projects, budgets, divisions, communications, etc. The key is seeing how what you may not even realize is a skillset can be applied in a different context or space. Artists too often can use inherent scrappiness to their advantage, whether balancing their art work with other kinds of work, developing multi-disciplinary arts capacity, or taking on all of the broader skills – project management, marketing, mentoring, attention to detail, etc. that are often necessary skills to sustaining one’s art work.

HOPE
Public service and art making are not easy. Few people outside of these worlds really understand the sacrifices and work involved in maintaining a career or practice. Seeing comments tearing down federal workers may feel a bit familiar to artists who often face impressions that they don’t hold “real” jobs. Yet, in spite of all the obstacles involved with these work paths, what I have observed in both public servants and artists is an idealistic spirit that can be both personally fulfilling and have an impact in the world. Even in the face of enormous obstacles, they are able to maintain hopefulness. This is central to resilience.

If you are a public servant or an artist or both, know that your work matters and you represent the best of humanity. Thank you!