Aksana Khan

Like many others in the group chat, I started 2024 with low expectations. We haven’t finished the year yet but it has been the maddest time to be working in the arts – and not necessarily in a good way. Alongside my mates, we’ve been processing different timelines – from deeping the repercussions of the culture wars on our health, to the collective holding of breath as we await the fall out from the UK general election results. As a result, a lot of my age mates feel like they have to be cautious, that they’ve hit the glass ceiling, and were/are in cycles of burn out. (If you’re any of my beloveds’ managers, give them a pay rise/F**k you!!) 

But as the year has progressed, recognising what’s within our sphere of influence, we’ve decided to try to be the healthier versions of ourselves. While it’s been a rough ride for us who try not to make our career a personality trait – after all, you’d be surprised with how many conversation openers are “what do you do?” – things are starting to feel different now. It still feels uncertain but there is this playfulness that opens up when you choose not to define yourself by your career.

In the interest of practising of gratitude and not wishing my time away, here’s five things I’ve enjoyed about this summer: 

1. Leaning into the things that just had me invested as a teenager. It’s why I wouldn’t be surprised if Britney’s Blackout comes up in my Spotify Unwrapped but I’ve been enjoying Pop Culture with Chanté Joseph. It’s an easy-to-listen Guardian podcast for the chronically online and makes you feel intellectual about topics that seem so first world and silly. Each episode bangs, no notes. 
2. Getting in touch with what’s happening locally. I’m making a concerted effort to not be on my phone as much and literally touch grass because not everyone has that morally absolutist point of view that you read about on Twitter. It’s been a year of surprising interactions and conversations with strangers (especially about devolution and what’s the difference from a county vs district council in the ‘shires). You may mock the pensioners who write letters of complaints, but I raise you with “have you emailed your local representatives and/or had a chinwag with your neighbours?” The village we talk about has to start somewhere somehow.
3. The Belgrade Theatre’s See it First programme – a programme of activity where audiences could see new writing before it heads up to the Fringe. Considering that ACE is under the light with its ‘strategic review’, and how many articles there have been recently about the future of the theatre sector, there’s deffo an urgency to support regional theatre showcasing great talent that’s not just focused on commercial musical theatre. I really enjoyed Main Character Energy and My Mother’s Funeral – and I’m excited to see how this partnership with Paines Plough will go. This is especially because it’s in Coventry – a city that seems to have gone quiet after City of Culture and has plodded along post Birmingham Commonwealth Games.

4. Channelling the Bengali energy of feeding others in a time of crisis. During the horrible week of the racist riots, I cooked every single day as a way of channelling my anxiety. It might be procrastination – but the more anxious I am, the more extravagant the meal. I tend to go through a phase of following so many cooking influencers on Instagram to unfollowing them (usually just before Ramadan lol) but Mob has remained a constant. It’s replaced what BBC Good Foods used to be when I was a lost student in halls. This recipe for Gochujang Linguine is now in my rotation and it just bangs. 
5. Whipping out my phone to identify plants. My childhood pals and friends know me as the person who hates bugs, loathes the smell of soil, and refuses to go camping. I’m still that person (no matter what the city girls say!) But when I moved last Christmas, the garden was part of the reason why we chose our new gaff. A couple of months in, I’ve been in awe of the craftsmanship of its previous owner who planted this floral symphony – where saturated colours and sweet smells morph together. It’s amazing how when one flower withers, another immediately blooms in its place. My gardening skills remain basic – limited to de-weeding and snipping what needs doing. But from figuring out what’s in my garden, I’ve been able to name what I can see growing around the town I live in. It’s made my world feel bigger 👩🏾‍🌾

I hope you make your own lists and that we see out the rest of the year with warmth and love x