From the beach to the dating pool, red flags are a form of communal protection: the water isn’t safe, keep out. Green flags, on the other hand, are like lighthouses, guiding us towards safety and belonging. In my time navigating these choppy arts industry waters, I’ve learned to trust my gut when it comes to people, institutions, and opportunities. If someone feels too good to be true, they’re probably not real. If a workplace leaves you feeling emptier than a box of fruit snacks on the playground, it’s time to clock out (early). But when an application portal prioritizes accessibility or a job listing includes a salary? Those people probably know what’s up. “Trust your gut” is an awfully short blog post (3 words okay, boss?), so let’s dive in and categorize some common arts industry experiences.
What about the glitter flags, you ask? Stick around till the end to find out what glitter flags are, and how they give me hope for our imperfect industry.
Building a foundation of trust and communication between coworkers or collaborators takes time. The Western world would have us believe that speed is everything, and stopping to smell the flowers is frivolous, lazy, or impeding progress. In reality, moving slowly and gathering people together in an intentional, gentle way is how we create resilient, reciprocal communities that can enact real, lasting change.
When new collaborators or clients approach me with urgency and assumptions — “drop everything to help me build a website this weekend” — something fundamental is missing from that interaction. For one, we probably need to write up a contract before getting down to business. Even the most casual of collaborations benefit from a shared agreement, because the process of negotiating terms and outlining responsibilities often reveals our unspoken assumptions and expectations — which can prevent painful misunderstanding down the road! Stepping slowly, steadily, and responsibly into a new relationship is the greenest flag there is.
Online, they look perfect. Smiling photos of kids making art, peppy captions with disarming emojis, and a perfectly diverse staff page. Green flags, right? Not necessarily. Online personas are often crafted to convey a particular image and social positioning, making it hard to distinguish authentic values from calculated marketing strategy.
Thankfully, real time experiences are harder to fake. Go to an event and take note of how people in leadership positions treat newcomers. Are they only attending to people with social capital (or even cringier, actual capital)? Do entry level workers seem too stressed and tired to enjoy the event? Personally, I’m a fan of dropping a nuanced question in a Zoom chat and watching what happens. If it’s a 501(c)(3), ask for some clarification on their mission statement. If it’s a collective, try asking about their decision-making process. Sometimes, we have to dive a little deeper and use our curiosity to understand other’s true intentions, motivations, and values. It’s worth the extra effort to find your people and avoid bad actors.
Fractured Atlas has a transparent, tier-based compensation structure. In other words, people working at the same tier make the same amount of money and everyone knows everyone else’s salary. To some, this might seem strange or inflexible. To us, pay transparency is one way we can practice anti-racism on an organizational level.
In a workplace, pay transparency is about fighting back against entrenched power dynamics that put profit over people. If workers don’t know that they are being underpaid compared to their coworkers or the industry standard, they won’t know that they can and should advocate for better wages or benefits.
Outside of the workplace, transparency around money is still a glowing green flag. Talking frankly about money with fellow artists, friends, or family members is how we protect one another and build collective wealth. For example, when I was honest with a friend about my credit card debt, they lent me some money to pay it off. We worked out a fair, 1-year repayment plan — one where I pay them back slowly at a much lower interest rate. Alone, we are vulnerable to the harmful practices of big banks and corporations. Together, we are resilient.
While pushing artistic boundaries is often considered a virtue, pushiness is a glowing red hot flag when it comes to personal boundaries. When someone doesn’t take no for an answer or finds seemingly small ways to test your boundaries, it’s a powerful indicator that they…have got some personal issues around power. It might be time to channel your own power and make a change that leaves you feeling good and safe.
Every relationship has its seasons, and every creative collaboration or working relationship will have highs and lows. And while stand-alone experiences can be easy to categorize — red flag, green flag — the vague, messy parts of life are where things get interesting. Personally, I’ve found that all the best places and people go beyond easy binaries like green or red. They operate on another wavelength, a different dimension. To me, qualities like substance, vulnerability, and joy are my glitter flags — the bright, undeniable signs that a workplace, friendship, or collaboration is worth investing in. What are yours?