BCA Career Spotlight: Retail Manager
“Worse things happen to better people.”
Spotlight on: Issa Randall
Outside of Black Cultural Archives, our Retail Manager, Issa, is a keen photographer who holds mini-exhibitions to showcase his art. His favourite photographs are a series titled ‘An Easy Tension’, which explores how Black people have to transform themselves and their bodies in certain spaces to accommodate the white gaze in society. When inside the walls of BCA on 1 Windrush Square, where all forms of being Black are explored and celebrated, Issa feels no need to metamorphose into something others might want him to be, and it is this which drew him to the role. This is his second stint at the heritage centre after first coming on board as a front-of-house team member in 2018 – demonstrating the progressive nature of BCA and a leader in a field where Black people rarely progress beyond entry-level positions.
Issa starts his day doing a stock take, exploring how many visitors the shop had the previous day, and tracking trends such as sales per visit and cost per spend. He then carries out market research to see what’s new, audience reception and if it makes sense to purchase, and he may finish his day having meetings with members of the public who get in touch with products they think BCA may be interested in stocking. This, being able to put faith in Black businesses and creators, is his favourite part of his role and represents a constant engagement with and commitment to the Black Pound movement that others may only indulge in sporadically.
Issa found his way to Black Cultural Archives via Illinois and Ohio, where he went to university to complete a BA in Communications with a minor in photography and an MA in photography. He didn’t have a planned trajectory or career path, preferring to focus instead on acquiring various experiences and accumulating knowledge. He advises others to do the same and embrace versatility.
Issa has two pieces of advice for his younger self and those embarking on their career journey in the sector: learn another language, as it is a powerful medium through which you can be exposed to and experience culture, and remember that ‘worse things happen to better people’ – it is this mantra which enables him to break free from the tendency we have as humans to think ‘why me’ when something does not go according to plan, to put the negatives into perspective, and keep moving forward. From Illinois to Brixton, we wonder where this mentality will take him next.
Schools: Seeing Ourselves Workshops
Did you know that we offer interactive 'Seeing Ourselves Workshops' aimed at raising career aspirations in the arts for children in Key Stage 1? Explore different roles in the arts and heritage sector with associated characters 5-7 year olds might better relate to:
Conservator (Superhero), Archivist (Explorer), Curator (Storyteller) and Artist (Spy).