From a young age I have always wanted to educate others, thus I feel a job in education (teaching or even art curating in a gallery) would best be suited to me.
What research I have done;
To find most of these places I have searched Google for addresses, email addresses, and phone numbers of various places all within the educational department.
I also used resources that had been put together by the university it gave a list of names and email addresses, I still then checked to see if they were still valid, as well as using my knowledge of schools around my local area to apply at and contacted art galleries I already knew about.
Who I've applied to/ contacted;
The New Art Gallery Wasall
Ikon art gallery
Eastside projects gallery
Four Dwellings primary academy
Lordswood Girls High School
Lordswood Boys High school
World's end primary school
Woodhouse primary academy
Hurst Green primary school
Leasowes High school
Birmingham children's hospital (educational team)
Four Dwellings High school
Cadbury sixth form college
Hillcrest High school
Bartley Green High School
Places I've had response from;
Four Dwellings primary academy
I have relatives who attend this school, I also attended the school in my primary years leaving in 2004, since then the school has changed a lot.
Whilst picking up my relatives from school I thought I should personally apply to the school.
It wasn't long until the head of school came into the reception area to greet me, he said unfortunately, because of them being in special measures (reason they're now an academy) that they wouldn't be able to take me on for a placement, but if I wanted to return and try in 2015, then I'd definitely be able to have a placement.
Worlds End Academy;
I called the school to ask about work placements the receptionist gave me and email address to inquire.
I received a response to my email very quickly but Unfortunately they had no places but said they would keep me on record in case any placements become available.
The New Art Gallery Walsall
I emailed the coordinator of education at TNAGW Zoe, and asked about any placements on 5th March.
I had a reply from her on instantly asking me to fill out an application form.
I then met with her when our class took a trip to see what it's like to work in the various positions in different galleries.
I spoke to her in person about what I'd need to put in my application to be selected to work in the education department.
My application was then sent back on the 17th of march.
Up until April the first I hadn't heard anything back to I emailed Zoe to see if she had received my application, I still had no response.
It was then on the 25th of April I then emailed Zoe again to see if there was a problem with my application, to which she replied saying that the gallery had been very busy, and there was a backlog on applications, so they wouldn't be able to take me on a placement.
Eastside projects;
With eastside projects I volunteered to help out and try and gain some relevant work experience;
To begin I emailed Elinor Morgan 21st January at eastside and asked about a possible work placement, I was asked to fill out and application form and send it back.
After correspondence I was requested to go to eastside and meet with James, 14th February 1-2:30pm, I was inducted to health and safety procedures and found out some information about eastside, such as;
- The way the gallery is run
- What artists can exhibit their work
- What's required of volunteers
- How the volunteering program runs
(there was slight confusion over this as James told me it wouldn't be classed as a work placement as I was only volunteering my time, after speaking to Cheryl and Elle about the confusion, they both insured me that it would count towards my placement.)
I had offered to help the gallery prepare for the exhibition (painting walls, setting up exhibition) but was told I was not needed.
Bill Drummond Exhibition I invidulated the opening night of the Bill Drummond exhibition (14th March) 5-8:30pm
After the exhibition opening I decided that invidulating wasn't something I'd like to do because there was no actual connection to education or teaching involved, although I learned aspects of what galleries have to offer.
I offered to help out a few more times after this time see if my opinion would change, but it didn't. I still want to teach or have an educational role, therefor, this placement was not suited for me.
Leasowes High School;
I first contacted Leasowes high school in February when I called the school to see if they accepted work placements.
I was given an email address to contact and sent my email on the 27th of February. After receiving no response I called the school again and asked if there was somebody I could directly speak to, they gave me the email address of a Mr. Roe, I contacted him on the 4th of march regarding a placement.
On the 14th of march I still hadn't received a response to I emailed Brian again. On the 19th I received a response off Brian saying that he always contacts the relevant field for that particular placement he then gave me two email addresses to email and ask about the placement, I emailed both and I received a reply from Eve on the 31st of march.
She said that I should be ok to have a placement after the Easter break, however it was then I ran into further complications as she was requesting a CRB that I did not have, she said she would see if there was a way around having a CRB and would get back to me.
After 3 weeks of not hearing anything back I emailed her to see if I was still able to get a placement, she then asked me to meet her on Tuesday the 6th of may.
Whilst meeting up with her, she said that there is a application form I need to fill out with relevant referees and send it back to the school, however, this will be emailed to me by someone else after she has contacted them.
She said once the head teacher has given the go a head I can start my placement but this wouldn't be until the next half term.
As of Wednesday the 21st may, I am still waiting for The necessary paperwork I was told I'd receive by email.
When I eventually receive the email, I will finish the application and give all the relevant information that they require.
What I plan to do on my placement;
Spend at least one week at the school in the art department.
- See how lesson plans are set up
- See what the school has to offer as a placement
- What the school has on its curriculum
- Attempt to teach/co-teach a lesson
- Plan my own lesson
- Ask for daily evaluation
I was a bit resistant to apply to four Dwellings with it being My secondary school but with my deadline approaching and not much work experience I decided it was a relevant option. After my meeting with Eve at Leasowes I decided I would ask for a placement at Four Dwellings. (6th may)
The first thing I did was call the school to see if they accepted work placements. The receptionist put me on hold whilst speaking to the business manager, she then asked me to email the inquiry address and assured me it would be directed to the right department at the school.
I received a email back off the head of the art department(7th may), he said I need to contact him next week because he's tied up with year 11 exams this week but I can have a placement as soon as we've arranged dates.
20th may 2014- I have been offered a place to start the beginning of next term, (still finalising dates)I have also been told the school will conduct a CRB check on my behalf and I will be able to keep the certificate for my own use afterwards.
My plan for my upcoming work Placement;
- Meet with the head of art
- Take the relevant identification required for my CRB check
- Agree on times and dates
- Spend at least one week at the school in the art department.
- See how lesson plans are set up
- See what the school has to offer as a placement
- What the school has on its curriculum
- Attempt to teach/co-teach a lesson
- Plan my own lesson
- Ask for daily evaluation
Ikon art gallery
When I was in secondary school I took part in a group project working with Ikon over a period of 10 weeks during 2006.
The idea if the project was to get young people interested in Art, I worked with a lady called Kate who worked at the Ikon in the education department .
We produced a publication piece (leaflet) by the name of Onki which is an anagram of Ikon)
When I looked on the Ikon website it said that there volunteering process had already finished and that I wouldn't be able to apply till June, after speaking to Stuart and telling him about working with Kate he gave me her email address.
I emailed Kate and she remembered me from the project, we then set placement dates to meet and times, I was invited to the IYP; (The Ikon Youth Programme (IYP) is a group of young people aged 15-19 from Birmingham who meet regularly to make artwork, meet other young people, host events and develop their own projects) at Ikon held on the 13th of may from 5-7:30, here I met a group of young people interested in art and met with two artist called Juneau projects.
Kate has told me she will be in contact with me as soon as she can find me a placement, she has also offered to let me become a member of the IYP and help to produce work with the
"Black Country Voyages (2014-17) is an art programme for local young people, aged 15-19 years old, on board a canal boat Aaron Manby generously leased from Sandwell Council. Black Country Voyages is organised in collaboration with the Canal & River Trust.
This year we are working in Smethwick, Langley Green, Stourbridge, Tipton, West Bromwich, Wednesbury and Brownhills. Our main partners include the Glass House College Stourbridge, RSA Academy Tipton, Sandwell Community Libraries, the Galton Valley Heritage Centre, the Cradley Heath Creative and the Birmingham Canal Navigations Society.
Juneau Projects, Birmingham-based artists, are leading the Black Country Voyages with a project inspired by nature and its interaction with society. Working closely with members of IYP they will transform the interior and exterior of the boat into a hand-painted archive of people’s ideas of the natural world. This interactive programme will involve workshops, live performances and exhibitions to engage with audiences along the way."
What I plan to do for this placement;
- Create a publication piece (poster/ or leaflet)
- Work with IYP
- Work at the Ikon in the Education Department
- I want it to be informative
- Showcase the work I will be doing with Juneau project and the Ikon.
- Further my knowledge of how the Ikon runs the education department
- Give a tour and talk on an artist exhibition
Total hours of worked work experience;
5 hours at Eastside
2 hours and 30 minutes at Ikon.
