Meet Shanaz Gulzar, Producer

To celebrate International Women’s Day and Careers Week, we got in touch with members of our team for some career advice. On LinkedIn, we'll be sharing their stories and tips throughout the week, so keep on watching this space!

Shanaz Gulzar, Producer

Talk to women already working in the industry! Be bold, develop strong relationships with like-minded peers, have difficult conversations. We speak for ourselves; if we don’t, others will speak for us (and we know how that plays out)!

As Producer, Shanaz works with artists to bring their ideas to life; from the glimmer of something to its existence on stage, in a street, a park, a gallery or wherever the artist had imagined it to be. 

What made you want to apply for your role and what was your career journey before that?

I love festivals and years of culture, the energy, adrenalin, and focus it takes to deliver seemingly impossible projects. It reminds me of sprinting; you can see the goal at the start of the race, but it takes everything you’ve got to get there, with that extra burst at the end! 

I was familiar with MIF’s work for a long time and wanted to be a part of that innovative energy. I’ve worked freelance as an artist and producer for most of my career, so it was a huge change for me to work in an organisation and to be part of such a big, brilliant team. The combination of the Festival and The Factory was what ultimately helped me decide to be here. 

My experience as an artist helps me as a creative producer, in helping artists in early stages of shaping ideas and where their thinking is taking them. It’s also useful in pushing through when you hit an ideas block- I find that the most exciting (and painful) part of a project. 

Manchester fizzles with possibility and opportunity for bigger brighter ideas, even more so now with The Factory around the corner.

Favourite part of your job? 

I love making something from a conversation, form the intangible, the joy of bringing ideas into reality. There’s nothing like it. The butterflies in your tummy on opening night, the excitement of the audience interacting with the work for the first time - nothing compares. I love following the audience around, incognito of course, to listen to what they have to say, good and bad, and see if I agree.

Biggest challenge in your role? 

I’m sure it comes as no surprise that the biggest challenge is matching the ambition and scale of a project with budget, human resource and time. In the last two years, extraordinary world events have shown us the consequences and impact of Covid-19 for our friends and peers globally.

What excites you most about The Factory? 

Showing artists around The Factory on site visits, seeing them realise the potential of the space and its location. I’m also really excited to see how the people of Manchester (and beyond) embrace it. I can’t wait to see families, young people, all communities at The Factory, and the symbiotic relationship between audiences and artists at the venue. 

What advice would you give to other women working in/wanting a career in sustainability in the arts?

Talk to women already working in the industry, (in some roles we’re overrepresented, you can guess which those are)! Be bold, develop strong relationships with likeminded peers, have the difficult conversations. We speak for ourselves; if we don’t, others will speak for us (and we know how that plays out!)