Facing Rejection (but creating anyways)
July 2025 - 8 Minute Read
Let’s be honest: rejection is a major player in the arts. Whether you're freelancing across sectors or delivering big projects in a corporate boardroom, the sting of a "no" is part of the package. From your very first audition or application, rejection starts making itself comfortable—hanging around your training, saying hello during professional milestones, and occasionally popping up just when you thought you’d outgrown it.
Over the course of my DYCP interview series, facing rejection—especially in leadership—has been a recurring theme. Artists, CEOs, and freelancers alike have shared their thoughts on:
The first time rejection hit and how it redirected (or derailed) their path.
Handling regular rejection in personal and professional ambitions.
Supporting teams through rejection, while avoiding a department meltdown.
Understanding rejection as part of leadership or creative business, not just creative work.
What’s been most fascinating is the shared sense that, in the cultural sector, rejection isn’t just something to get over—it’s something to practice. Over time, the goal becomes less about avoiding rejection and more about using it—rerouting energy, staying in the game, and somehow making art through it all.
Practising Rejection (Yes, It’s a Skill)
For me, the “no’s” have often been unexpected twists that led somewhere better—though it’s taken time (and loads of reframing) to see them that way. Many others echoed this during my interviews, offering varying reflections and advice—some conflicting, all honest:
Rejection is part of the job: It should be as mundane as tax returns and project reporting. Don’t give it more emotional weight than it deserves.
It’s cyclical: rejection will keep coming, so don’t fixate.
Let your reaction be creative: rejection doesn’t have to kill your idea. Use it as fuel to drive you somewhere else. Yes it is tiring but honestly, so is wallowing in the rejection.
Subjectivity is not truth: someone else’s opinion of your work doesn’t define its value—you do.
As a leader, your reaction sets the tone: if you spiral, your team will too. Rejection can be a moment to rally and redraft, not just retreat.
Stay neutral: emotional regulation helps, especially for those of us who feel everything (hello empaths). Neutrality isn’t always detachment—it’s resilience. Staying neutral can stop the surge of adrenaline or emotional crash that is tied to your project/idea outcomes and can be an interesting practice for essential self regulation.
Rejection, But Make It 2025
Let’s not ignore the context. The arts sector in 2025 is under financial strain (shocker), caught between political turbulence, shifting audience demands, and organisational burnout. Fewer large-scale projects, smaller pots of funding, and a lot more “we love it but can’t support it right now” emails.
For freelancers, this means adjusting expectations—not lowering them, but adapting. Rejection shouldn’t define your work or worth. Instead, it can be a tool for clarification.
Common responses I’ve seen or practised across the years:
Ask the right questions upfront: Before applying for a role or commission, ask funders or orgs what they’re really looking for. If the callout’s vague and full of odd buzz words, save your time and energy by requesting transparency from the get go.
Sit on the other side: If you get the chance to be part of a decision-making panel, take it. You’ll see how often rejections aren’t personal—they’re logistical, political responses, or due to limitations completely out of anyone’s control (who doesn’t love more red tape and project demands from higher up).
Don’t overcomplicate: Many orgs are at capacity (another article for another day). If your application reads like a novel, it might get skimmed (or skipped). Keep it sharp and easy to digest. This doesn’t mean dilute, it means get to the point.
Freelancer Frustrations: The Unpaid Hustle
Here’s the kicker: writing all of this, it still feels like the freelancer is the one who has to do all the emotional labour. But through these interviews, it’s also clear that organisations need to take more responsibility in how rejection is delivered and handled.
Some thoughts from freelancers that stuck with me:
Don’t make applying a full-time job: If your £5k project requires three interviews, an in-person pitch, a presentation, and a final round of questioning, maybe reconsider how much you value someone’s time. Once you provide that commission or project, I’d argue 1k of that money should go straight to the artist for their admin time and emotional resilience answering to your interview process.
Think about your rejection etiquette: People remember how they were treated. A vague “we went another way” doesn’t help anyone grow—or feel encouraged to apply again. You will miss out on high calibre artists applying the next time round and of course, word spreads if a funder or org is unaware that their tone was ill informed or lets face it, down right rude.
Rejection goes both ways: A hierarchical approach creates distance and distrust. If you reject poorly or thoughtlessly, don’t be surprised if relationships with artists, communities, and even audiences start to erode. Artists will reject your ambitions & ideas too if opportunities are mishandled too frequently. If starting to be met with animosity or frustration as an org/role, how you are managing your artist call outs and recruitment? This may be a place to start reviewing.
Time to Rethink the System
Some practical ideas orgs might want to consider:
Collect and use data: Who’s applying? Who’s getting through? If patterns emerge—like high numbers of overqualified applicants not progressing—it might be time to reassess the clarity or intent of your callouts. Seeing a mass increase of emerging, mid scale and long term career artists applying for the same opportunity - maybe reassess how your opps are being offered out or how projects are impacting long term success/longevity - is the app suppose to sustain or be a light touch connection? Transparency around this can support how the rejection is later faced.
Review your offers: Are you recycling the same opportunities from years ago? Have priorities changed without the messaging following suit? Are your offers inconsistent due to a high turn over of someone in the role? Are you archiving which artists and companies have been applying for the long term (maybe thats an indication of their ability to survive despite rejection - a useful note if the project demands a high level of success or outcome) Consistency matters, especially when trust is low. Reflection on your patterns of offers is essential in creating new, exciting avenues. If this is not happening in your org or role, time to investigate.
Be transparent about goals: Is this a stepping stone opportunity or a sustaining one? Clarity on this front helps artists understand where to invest their energy—and what outcome to expect. Also consider if all your opps or projects are short term, quick fixes…is that to jump start creativity or an easy way out of committing to long term ambition/relationships? Most freelancers can read this from a mile off.
In Closing: Rejection Isn’t the Endgame
The reality is this: there are more good ideas and talented people than there are resources. That’s not new. But we do need to talk more about how rejection is handled—across all levels.
Rejection will always sting a bit, but how we respond to it—as individuals, leaders, and institutions—shapes the future of our sector. Done well, it becomes a catalyst for innovation, resilience, and even better ideas. We all play a role in keeping the arts sector thriving and evolving, so sometimes looking at the mechanics and interpersonal workings of rejection can be an enlightening place to continue the conversation.
So if you’re reading this post-rejection, consider this your cue: regroup, reframe, and reorganise thoughts into creative action.