Dazed is announcing a new initiative on the Dazed Club app for users to get involved in forging new, creative communities
Today, we’re announcing a new initiative on the freshly launched Dazed Club app: Dazed Club Curators.
The initiative is designed for the most engaged members of the Dazed community to be active in creating and nurturing communities on the app, whether that’s through throwing parties or hosting events. In essence, Curators foster the community spirit of the Dazed Club app by helping people link up and facilitating collaborations both on the app and IRL.
On top of a free Dazed Club membership and magazine subscription (plus free memberships for friends), Curators are granted three months of special access to the app and a verified Curator badge on their profile. They’ll be able to post their own events for community members to RSVP to, create group chats, and get more involved with the Dazed Club community. Curators will also get paid onboarding, support with programming your own events and there’s also potential for you to pitch ideas for events and workspaces to be hosted in the Dazed Space at 180 Strand, as well as a letter of recommendation from the Dazed team.
If you organise events and are passionate about the Dazed Club community, we’d love to hear from you. Keep an eye out on the Dazed Club app to find out when you can apply to become a Curator.
Meet the first six Curators below!
Simran Kaur, 22, fashion photographer and creative director
The pandemic gave me time to explore not just still life but also portrait photography, then painting, animation, stop motion, videography and my confidence began to bloom. When I started my third year of university, I began freelancing as a fashion photographer and creative director. I always loved fashion but the child in me was not ready to take the risk, only after Covid I felt the need to just do it.
My passion was born out of my childhood memories, love, emotions and feelings, people's story and knowledge of any type, as well as obsessively watching Mugler and Alexander McQueen's catwalks on YouTube. I’m hoping to continue to work with upcoming brands and designers – I feel a sense of duty in it – and the occasional editorial shoot, but my dream is to work for Blumarine or Mugler. I have so many ideas and moodboards, I’m just waiting for the right moment.
For me Dazed Club is a family and a community, a safe place to talk and share information without gatekeeping while connecting with others and finding opportunities. As a Curator, I want to share all the knowledge, information and such that was gatekept from me when I started out. I want to make the road for others a bit easier and I want to be there for the people that seek help.
Gracie Brackstone, 23, freelance artist
A lot of my work, including Art Is Coming, is based around community, bringing people together, making them feel loved, seen and safe. I document it all, all the time, coming up with concepts to make my friends feel like the stars they are and have them as my muse’s in all my photos. I recently turned all my photos from the start of my journey into a book ‘Life’s a Parade’, which is a celebration of my journey.
In terms of ambitions, I want to do anything and everything. Dazed Club kind of makes things seem a little less daunting, especially in London! It is such a big city and I have found it hard to maintain friendships and to find collaborators. This kind of opens up the industry more, the fact that you can attend events at the Dazed HQ, it is such a good way to network and throw yourself into things. Since using the app, I have had my work shared via Dazed multiple times, crossed paths with talented people and spoke a lot about ideas. I have shared and received tips, a lot around book selling and stocking, which has helped me massively! I think fashion and connections are so often gate kept, so if we have the opportunity to help each other we should.
My role as a Dazed Club Curator is basically engaging with the community, being generally helpful and bringing people to the platform. For me, I really want to bring Dazed up North! The dream would be that Dazed Club could pave the way to connect with creatives nationally, not just in London. I want to set up group chats for creatives up here. I would love to bring more opportunities to Manchester.
Ella Willis-Alvarez, 24, DJ
I’ve been spinning for nearly three years now. Raised on the eclectic sounds of my upbringing, I find joy in playing rare and lesser-known tracks. Introducing people to something new and witnessing their positive reactions is an indescribable feeling. Playing music I love is a true privilege, and the connection I form with the audience is a genuine energy exchange. Watching the crowd embrace the music as passionately as I do is a gratifying experience.
Dazed Club, to me, serves as a dynamic space that not only offers valuable resources but also facilitates the connection of creatives, fostering the formation of meaningful friendships and collaborative work. While some individuals may turn to social media platforms for such networking, the Dazed Club app presents a more streamlined avenue for these interactions. Unlike the challenges one might face on platforms like Instagram, the app's focused environment ensures that everyone shares a common purpose. This shared objective creates a sense of comfort, encouraging individuals to reach out, collaborate, and seek assistance with ease and confidence. I’ve used the app to connect with like minded individuals to exchange knowledge and provide helpful resources for those wanting to get their feet off the ground. Getting into music is an incredibly daunting thing, especially as a woman as it’s a very male-dominated industry. The group chats on the app have been such a great space to do so. I look forward to forming more connections and continuing to grow my network.
Zosia Laskowska, 22, creative director and multi-disciplinary artist
I am the curator and organiser of art exhibitions and live music events called IN ART WE TRUST. The focus of these events is to foster collaboration between musicians and artists, spanning various creative practices and transforming unconventional spaces into art venues. While I have plans to start creating my own art again, my current efforts revolve around providing opportunities for other creatives and curating workshops for our events, shaping our collective into a community-oriented collaboration. I began promoting the events through the Dazed Club app with regular open calls and quickly noticed the scale of improvement that helped our events expand into a polymathic web of creatives.
Looking forward, my vision for IN ART WE TRUST includes expanding to different venues and establishing it as a longer-running event. I aspire to collaborate with an artist for a solo art exhibition, publish a comprehensive publication featuring band and artist interviews. I am also hoping to work further with Dazed Club app users to support these aspirations.
As a Dazed Curator, my role is crucial for building important connections within the community. I blend in-app and real-life experiences by curating events, promoting collaboration among creatives on the app, and keeping the conversation going through post-event group chats about specific niches. I am looking forward to working with Dazed Club app users on upcoming events and projects and providing discounts for the event attendees.
Lauren Cremer, 24, digital artist
Any time I’ve gone through something challenging or new in life, I’ve used art as a means of coping, reflecting, or just keeping busy. Initially, it was all I had when I first moved to London since I didn’t know anybody, and couldn’t go outside. I would just sit in my room watching movies and making hundreds of 3D models, posters, collages. I started making little collages for friends and posters for bands that I know. Eventually I was able to start assisting on shoots with photographers and, later, planning my own shoots and projects.
Whether it's finding new people to work with, or sharing things that you’ve made that you’re proud of, Dazed Club is a really encouraging and positive community of people that are all just trying to find community and camaraderie in what is probably one of the most confusing life paths to navigate. There isn’t any particular roadmap or guidebook to being a creative person, and like so many others. I’ve just had to make it all up as I go, and learn by doing.
The Dazed Club app is a wonderful resource that helps you to not feel so alone in that; I see people constantly asking for advice and recommendations on all sorts of things. I also see people looking for feedback, sharing knowledge, and collaborations on their next projects. It’s a great resource that I wish I would’ve had earlier on, would’ve saved me from finding things out the hard way so often. Being a Dazed Club Curator makes it easier for me to help grow the Dazed Club community by spreading the word about what it is. I’ve even started running a drawing club for artists on the app. Everyone I talk to about Dazed Club always seems to be super excited about the ability to connect with so many people about things that matter to them.
Amber Ledrin, 29, creative director
My goal has always been to give back to up-and-coming artists by sharing what I know and giving them a space to be open, honest and vulnerable. This year’s focus is to create a space for us to discuss creativity as a tool for self-discovery, Leaving the performative lens out the door to focus on sensitivity, growth and reflection. But I’m also writing a book and working on my first exhibition; maybe I'll even launch a podcast.
Dazed Club is, first and foremost, a community of creatives at different stages of their journey. Some are dreamers, some hustlers, and others established creatives looking for people to connect with. It’s a space to connect with inspirational minds, URL or IRL. As any good storyteller, I’m a talker and a conversationalist – I use the app to ask questions, have great conversations, and get other perspectives on topics I want to explore. And that is precisely my role as a Curator: to spark inspiration, challenge ideas, and open discussion on creativity. See you at the first TABLE RESERVED, hosted by moi, at the Dazed Space on February 20th.