The Underestimated
Coaching and mentoring for Black and brown, neurodivergent, and working class creatives who know more than the system has ever given them credit for.
What this is
The Underestimated is a coaching and mentoring practice for creatives who have been doing the work – building careers, making significant art, navigating institutions, managing teams, while being systematically undervalued, underpaid, and underestimated at every turn.
This is not generic coaching. This is not about confidence tricks or mindset resets. This is about sitting with someone who has been exactly where you are, who knows the specific texture of this industry and what it does to people like us, and who can help you see, clearly and with evidence, that you know more than you have been led to believe.
The system got you wrong. This is where you start getting it right.
Who it’s for
The Underestimated is for:
- Black and brown creatives navigating predominantly white institutions and funding structures
- Neurodivergent artists and practitioners whose ways of working have been misread as deficits
- Working class creatives who have had to fight for every opportunity and are exhausted by the cost of it
- Lead artists and directors who are doing the most and being paid the least
Anyone who has been told — explicitly or implicitly — that they are too much, not enough, or lucky to be here at all
You don’t have to fit every category. You just have to recognise yourself in them.
Who is behind it
The Underestimated was founded by Ray Young — Lead Artist, Director and creative practitioner and with over 16 years of experience building internationally touring, multi-partner, access-centred work.
Ray is an accredited RD1st Relational Dynamics Coach, bringing both formal qualification and professional lived experience to their coaching practice.
What people say
“Ray’s support was nothing short of transformative, guiding me through complex professional challenges with warmth and clarity. The insights I gained were lasting, always giving me a tangible path forward. I wholeheartedly recommend Ray to anyone seeking a coach who is highly skilled and genuinely caring and invested in your success.” — Janette Alvarado-Cruz, Associate Director EDI, Notts University
“I deeply value the time spent in the session. Ray offered a safe listening ear and space to air my worries and goals. They offered safe boundaries, clarity and I was able to map out steps I’d take to realise my goal. Thank you.” — Ioney Smallhorne, Poet, Writer, Educator
“At a transition point in my career, I was feeling quite lost and overwhelmed. My coaching sessions with Ray were incredibly beneficial in helping me figure out my goals, and creating a practical plan of how to set myself targets and hold myself accountable.” — Ri McDaid Wren, Casting Director
The offer
One-to-one coaching
Individual sessions for creatives who want focused, personalised support. Sessions are held online or in person (Nottingham and surrounding area, or by arrangement). Each session is led by what you bring
— there is no fixed agenda, only your practice, your challenges, and your next steps.
Sessions are grounded in a Relational Dynamics framework, reflective, relational and shaped around what matters most to you right now.
Available as single sessions or a block of four. Blocks are recommended for sustained work and are offered at a 10% discount.
The Underestimated Programme
A structured cohort experience for a small group of creatives — maximum 8 participants — delivered over 6 weeks across 4 sessions. Each session builds on the last, moving from self-knowledge and worth through to practical tools and future practice.
The programme is designed to be commissioned by arts organisations, universities, development programmes, and cultural institutions who want to offer something genuinely transformative to their communities. It is not a diversity checkbox. It is a serious investment in the people your organisation
claims to support.
The Underestimated Programme moves participants through four carefully sequenced sessions from excavating what they already know, through naming the structural forces that have worked against them, to building practical tools for protecting their practice and mapping what comes next.
The full programme outline is available at scoping stage.
Talks, keynotes and workshops
Ray is available to speak at conferences, industry events, and institutional programmes on themes including:
- The structural undervaluation of Lead Artists in the UK arts sector
- Race, disability, and class in the creative industries
- Building a sustainable creative practice as a neurodivergent artist
- What institutions get wrong about supporting underrepresented creatives it — and how to do better
- Budgeting and fee negotiation for artists
Rates
The Underestimated operates a two-tier pricing structure. The freelance rate applies to independent creatives booking individually. The institutional rate applies to anyone booking through or funded by an organisation, company, or institution.
All rates are exclusive of VAT where applicable. Travel and accommodation costs are charged in addition to session fees for in-person work outside Nottingham.
Commissioning The Underestimated Programme
If you are an arts organisation, university, or funded programme looking to commission The Underestimated Programme for your community, Ray welcomes those conversations.
A programme commission includes:
- Initial scoping conversation to understand your community and context
- 4 x 2 hour sessions delivered over 6 weeks (online, in person or hybrid)
- Written resources for participants after each session
- A brief closing report for the commissioning organisation
- Up to 8 participants per cohort
Programme fees are quoted based on delivery format, location, and organisational context. Please get in touch to discuss.
Get in touch
The Underestimated is currently accepting one-to-one clients and commissioning enquiries for The Underestimated Programme. If you recognise yourself – or your community – in this offer, Ray would like to hear from you.
Contact: [email protected]
Based in Nottingham. Working nationally and internationally.