November has been a busy time for me with it being Discover! Creative Careers month. This is an industry-led initiative designed to provide young people from England with encounters and experiences of the creative industries through in-school, workplace and online opportunities.
During the first week, I ran a networking workshop for the Arts Students’ Union working with UAL students who then got to meet some industry professionals to try out their new skills. Later the same week, I ran another networking event for the Tate Collective Producers at Tate Modern to have the opportunity to meet Tate staff along with a wide range of industry professionals working in the arts and museum sectors. This was part of the TCP mentoring programme, and we are now in year five of the programme working with 19 mentoring pairs.
In week two, I gave a talk on behalf of GEM for CVAN London’s Creative Learning Hub which focused on Creating Inclusive Pathways for Young People (you can watch this back here) I also did my monthly online check-ins with the five trainees based at Idle Women in Accrington.
For the third week, I spent two days with care experienced young people at the Foundling Museum. One day was with the music trainees working with musician and song-writer Beth Hopkins. They have been writing their own lyrics inspired by the Museum’s Collection, in particular the Handel Gallery, and the young people’s own lived experiences. The second day was working with the alumni trainees who have a longer term relationship with the Museum and return monthly to focus on creativity, employment skills, connections, wellbeing and the foundling story. For both of these groups, I am the evaluator which involves participating and having 1:1 conversations.
In the final week, I hosted a webinar for GEM focusing on Career Opportunities in Museums & Heritage featuring speakers from the V&A, Warner Bros Studios and English Heritage (including one of their Young Producers) who all talked about inclusive pathways into working in the sector. This session was aimed at students aged 16+ and their teachers, along with any interested museum staff. The month ended with a consultation session with the trainees at the National Paralympic Heritage Trust, thinking about how they will keep in touch after their traineeships and how they could form an alumni group.
