I’ve always wanted to work with the young people’s team at the London Transport Museum (LTM) as they run an amazing youth employment programme offering a wide range of opportunities for young people. I am carrying out research and a review of existing toolkits and resources published for the museums & galleries sector on youth employment and talent development, including making recommendations for LTM’s future resource development, as an update to their Journey Planner toolkit focusing on apprenticeships from 2016.
Foundling Museum's Tracing Our Tales Alumni group
In addition to continuing to evaluate the Tracing Our Tales Traineeships for the Foundling Museum - this term there has been another Creative Writing Traineeship led by poet Anthony Anaxagorou - I have started to evaluate the Foundling Museum’s Tracing Our Tales Alumni group. The plan is for them to meet every month as a way to stay connected to the Foundling Museum and for the Museum to be able to track them in terms of what they go onto do next.
We took some of the alumni trainees to the Westminster Abbey Royal Carol Concert: Together at Christmas, hosted by the Museum’s patron the Princess of Wales, which was a very special event and a lovely way to start celebrating Christmas.
Young New Contemporaries
I am thrilled to be working with New Contemporaries on evaluating their pilot Young New Contemporaries programme, across two years with a group of 30 Year 13 students in their final year of studying an arts related A level and then into their next year beyond. This programme particularly excites me as it provides the opportunity for the organisation to support and stay in touch with the young people for an additional year to see what they go onto do next, maybe studying, or employment, or creative pursuits, or something else. Young New Contemporaries is run in partnership with the Institute of Education and is supported by Art Fund Reimagine.
You can find out more about Young New Contemporaries here
Summer holiday visits
Over the summer I visited a number of museums and galleries with my children. During our camping trip in France we went to the Musée de la Bande Dessinée in Angoulême, featuring the artwork from a wide range of comic books which my boys enjoyed visually even though many of them were in French! We also visited The Cathédrale de Jean Linard, an outsider art sculptural masterpiece created by one artist in a wooded area not far from Bourges (see image below). I could have stayed there all day!
Back in London, we enjoyed a day with friends at the newly opened Young V&A with the kids enjoying, in particular, the small worlds art commission, the arcades area and the theatre performance space. The front of house staff were very friendly and it was amazing to see how the building has been transformed.
I also took my children to do the detective hunt along the South Kensington pedestrian tunnel that I created with Monster Chetwynd as part of her Art on the Underground Commission at Gloucester Road tube station. This culminated with a brief visit to the Natural History Museum to find the ‘treasure’ and we explored the Earth Galleries but not for long because it was very hot. The bonus of Exhibition Road is you can pop in and out of the different museums if you know where you want to go inside them, so we also went to the V&A to look at their musical theatre display and the boys loved seeing Scar’s costume from The Lion King.
We also met friends at Hampton Court Palace one day, enjoying actors recreating an event in the Great Hall and visiting the Magic Garden. We are often away during the school holidays so it was enjoyable to visit so many interesting cultural venues not too far from where we live. We are lucky to have London on our doorstep as such an amazing cultural resource!
My youngest son making friends with one of the figures at Jean Linard’s Cathedral
ICA Safeguarding Policy
Back after my summer break, I have been wrapping up my work with the ICA on supporting them by updating their safeguarding policy which they are now actioning in-house, including training up staff ready to re-launch their youth programme. This followed on from my work with them as a critical friend earlier in the year, around them focusing on younger audiences.
Group for Education in Museums
I am pleased to start working with the Group for Education in Museums (GEM) on a scoping project looking into work placements and inclusive career pathways for young people into the museum sector workforce. Watch this space…
Pond Life: Albertopolis & the Lily
Last week I was excited to be at the launch of Pond Life: Albertopolis & the Lily the new commission by Monster Chetwynd at Gloucester Road tube station.
Chetwynd has created a salamander sculpture along with a series of five large-scale sculptural discs located on the disused platform, each featuring creatures that seem to be constructing sections of the Crystal Palace. Chetwynd became fascinated by the giant Amazonian waterlily which was the inspiration behind architect Joseph Paxton’s pioneering design for the Crystal Palace, the building which housed the Great Exhibition in 1851 in Hyde Park and later in Sydenham.
Where I was involved in the commission was in creating the related detective hunt of seven posters placed along the South Kensington pedestrian tunnel, inspired by the book Masquerade by Kit Williams. Visitors are invited to look for the piggy-backing frogs and solve the clues leading to a word that takes them into the Natural History Museum, to discover a hidden history and alternative stories often untold in Museums.
For more information about this Art on the Underground commission visit here
One of the seven posters in the South Kensington pedestrian tunnel
Monster Chetwynd Commission
I am excited to be working with artist Monster Chetwynd on part of her Art on the Underground Commission at Gloucester Road and South Kensington tube stations. I am creating a detective hunt influenced by Kit Williams’ Masquerade at seven poster sites along the South Kensington pedestrian tunnels featuring Monster’s collages, focusing on Paxton’s design for the Crystal Palace. This drew inspiration from the veined structure of Amazonian waterlilies, and was so successful that it raised money to help build the South Kensington Museums.
For further information on Monster’s commission - along with other Art on the Underground 2023 commissions - visit here
Working with the ICA
I’m excited to be working with the ICA staff as a critical friend to think about focusing on younger audiences. This started with an away day workshop with the Curatorial team and will continue with 1:1 conversations with staff at the ICA.
Ending 2022 & Looking ahead to 2023
2022 has been a fantastic year work wise, with continued working from home and an increased return to being in real life. My focus has moved to solely supporting early career individuals, or those looking at making career changes at a later stage, into the museum and gallery sector workforce, especially those individuals who are under-represented in some way.
I have continued to work with Freelands Foundation (setting up their first traineeship), Art on the Underground (supporting on their secondment programme), Tate (evaluating the Tate Collective Producers Mentoring Programme), The Photographers’ Gallery (evaluating the sixth year of their DEVELOP Programme) and the Foundling Museum (evaluating their traineeships for care-experienced young adults), along with a new client - the Wellcome Collection - for whom I worked on a piece of Youth & Early Careers Research along with another freelancer, Rachel Craddock.
In addition, I have been mentoring for University of the Arts London (UAL) and involved in a number of seminars, including chairing a panel discussion for the Museum Futures Summit hosted online by the British Museum and presenting at the launch of the engage journal 46: Generation Z & the Future of Creative Work for which I wrote an article on ‘What next? Supporting on progression routes for young people within the museum and gallery workforce’.
Looking ahead to 2023, I will be continuing with my regular clients, as well as starting to work with the Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA), and coaching on Arts Emergency’s ten week pilot coaching programme.
Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas & here’s to 2023!
Trans Awareness Training
I recently attended a two part online training course focusing on Trans Awareness & Supporting Trans (including Non-Binary) Young People. This was organised by engage & run by The Proud Trust. I am always keen to keep learning and this course resonated with me as a cis woman who has worked with a number of trans and non-binary young people since partnering in 2008 with The Metro Centre, PACE, and Gendered Intelligence on a project with LGBTQ+ young people, inspired by the Gay Icons exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery.
For me this training was so much better than any other courses I’ve attended online. I felt able to ask questions in a safe space, and benefitted from hearing from those who were generous to share their lived experience. The small group and the pace of the session allowed breakout conversations, covering a lot without feeling hurried. I would definitely recommend The Proud Trust for training of this kind and will be following up with their online resources for both my work with young people and to enable me to have open conversations with my two children. Thank you to The Proud Trust!
Autumn 2022
I took a break over summer to spend time with my kids and returned in September but somehow we are already in mid-October! I am continuing to focus on youth & early careers employability in the arts through my work evaluating programmes at Tate, The Photographers’ Gallery & the Foundling Museum. In addition I am continuing to work with Art on the Underground on supporting on their secondment programme from within Transport for London. I am also very excited to have started to work with the first Freelands Foundation trainee in a mentoring capacity after recruiting in July, alongside supporting staff to make the traineeship the best experience possible. I also continue to mentor individuals either formally or informally. I feel privileged to work with such a great variety of young people and clients.
Proud of my Mentee
I have been mentoring an amazing BA Fine Art student at UAL since February this year. She is from a working class background, and we have been having interesting conversations about use of language in the arts and the transition from Uni to employment. She has been working for student services throughout studying. I was excited to recently look around her degree show with her. She has now graduated with first class honours, and she has secured a job in a primary school as a Learning Assistant from September. It has been a privilege to go on this journey with her over the past six months. I see mentoring as a two-way process and learn loads as a mentor. I would definitely recommend it to others considering becoming a mentor.
Engage 46: Generation Z & the future of Creative Work
I am excited to share that my article has been published in the new engage journal which focuses on Generation Z & the Future of Creative Work. My article is What Next? Supporting on Progression Routes for Young People within the Museum & Gallery Workforce. It follows on from my report in 2020 for the Routes In Network hosted by Tate’s Young People’s Programme as well as the British Museum’s Online Museum Futures Summit panel discussion that I recently hosted. I attended the online engage 46 launch event and presented at the morning after discussion. I am looking forward to reading the rest of the articles and listening to the podcast series which takes place in autumn. For more information about engage 46 take a look here
Wellcome Collection Research
I am excited to start a short contract with the Wellcome Collection for which I will be researching young people and early careers employability, in line with my other work. I am working in partnership with freelancer Rachel Craddock on this research, which will help inform the strategic work around careers development at the Wellcome Collection.
Freelands Foundation Traineeship
I am excited to be involved in the launch of the first entry-level paid Freelands Foundation Traineeship as a call out:
“Are you interested in a career in an arts organisation, looking for an alternative to university and want to learn new skills? We are looking for a trainee to join our team. This is new a paid entry-level role. This opportunity has been created as an alternative route into working in an arts organisation, therefore we particularly encourage applications from individuals who do not hold higher education qualifications and do not have previous experience of working in a gallery. Instead, we are looking for a can-do nature, transferable skills and an enthusiasm for creativity and culture. If this sounds like you, we would love to hear from you.”
The traineeship will provide hands-on training and experience of working in an arts organisation. The trainee will work across a number of different departments, before they choose one team in which to carry out the second half of their traineeship. They will have regular meetings with a mentor and attend relevant courses.
This is a fixed-term position for 12 months from September 2022 to August 2023, as a three-day per week role from Tuesday to Thursday. The appointment is subject to a satisfactory DBS check. The salary is London Living Wage.
Freelands Foundation is committed to anti-racism and to addressing inequality in the arts sector. We welcome applications from all individuals, including those who are currently under-represented* in the creative and cultural sectors.
*Under-represented in this context includes, but is not limited to, people who identify as being from working class or lower socio-economic backgrounds; unemployed and/or have received welfare benefits; D/deaf; disabled; neurodiverse; LGBTQ+ and/or non-binary; and people who identify as Black, Asian or from an ethnic minority.
We are running a ‘Get to know us’ Zoom session on Wednesday 8 June for potential applicants to ask us questions. Alongside this I have been going into secondary schools, with my colleague Beth Lloyd Curator of Education at Freelands Foundation, to run some Creative Careers Talks flagging up the Traineeship and our new Creative Careers Resource.
Engage article: Generation Z and the Future of Creative Work
Following on from the Museum Futures Summit my proposal has been accepted for writing an article for Engage 46: Generation Z and the Future of Creative Work around a similar theme: What next? Supporting under-represented young people into the the museum and gallery workforce. The engage journal will launch in June 2022 with a number of online events, followed by a series of podcasts later in the year. For more information about the forthcoming journal visit here
Recordings of the Museum Futures Summit are Live
If you didn’t manage to attend the online Museum Futures Summit hosted by the British Museum on 8 March there is now an opportunity to watch the recordings of all six sessions of the summit - they are themed as follows:
Session 1 - Building on traineeships: sustainable, embedded change
Session 2 - Beyond traineeships: Kickstart and Apprenticeships
Session 3 - Beyond traineeships: alternative routes in
Session 4 - Rethinking recruitment
Session 5 - Critical reflection: the importance of evaluation
Session 6 - What’s next? Supporting careers after traineeships
The last session was the panel discussion that I chaired with some amazing speakers! I learnt a lot from hearing from speakers during the other sessions too so I would recommend watching all of the sessions.
Screen grab of Session 6 of the Museum Futures Summit
Creative Careers Resource
I’ve written a Creative Careers Resource for Freelands Foundation which launched earlier this week as part of National Careers Week (#NCW2022). Freelands Foundation will soon begin recruiting for a year-long, part-time, paid traineeship, which will run from September 2022. We have compiled the following resource in preparation for the launch of the traineeship. It outlines how young people in London can access free or discounted tickets, where they can attend training events to find out about the many opportunities available, how they can participate in dedicated programmes for young people and how they can access mentoring from industry leaders or even become youth trustees. We will also be going into secondary schools in early summer term to talk about creative careers.
Creative Careers Resource, Freelands Foundation
Mentoring & the Museum Futures Summit
I have really enjoyed mentoring with Arts Emergency over the past year, which culminated last night with an online celebratory event. My mentee has been amazing to work with, and has succeeded in getting a new job on a graduate traineeship scheme with Waltham Forest Council during the past year. A massive highlight was when she spoke at the Museum Futures summit earlier this week, as part of the panel discussion I chaired on What's next? Supporting careers after traineeships (more information here). When I met her at the start of the year she said that she was nervous about public speaking and I said that by the end of the year I would invite her to speak with me at an event and it did happen. In her new job she has to present in real life and online, so has become more confident. I was thrilled she accepted when I asked her!
On the day, she came across as confident and clear, speaking about her experiences of the different traineeships and apprenticeships she has done, and how she believes that there should be better retention of trainees and opportunities for progression within the same employer. For this reason her new job is with a council rather than within the creative and cultural industries. One of the summit attendees posted in the chat box after hearing her talk:
Brilliant, thank you. We have a decent retention rate and a really good employment rate post traineeship but you make such valid points. You have pushed me to approach colleagues about their commitment to employing trainees at the end of their term. Some teams have a great record of doing this but others less so. There is so little recruitment anyway but still, there can be no guarantees but if someone has been with us for a year, our priority should be to turn them into someone who will be taken on should the opportunity arise. Sorry, long comment, thinking aloud, but mostly I wanted to say thank you for airing something important we don't hear very often. I'm really glad you are in a meaningful role.
And my mentee texted afterwards in response:
That has absolutely made my day, thanks for encouraging me to do this Rach. I was so nervous beforehand but it feels amazing to have pushed myself and even better to think it might have a made a small impact!
I am looking forward to staying in touch with my mentee and meeting in person for a coffee and exhibition trip, as our mentoring has been solely online. For anyone interested in mentoring I cannot recommend it enough; I get as much out of it as my mentees.