The work experience journey continues.

During my week at the Bluecoat display centre I received an email from the Atkinson Gallery inviting me to attend an interview for volunteer work. I met a lovely lady named Jemma Tynan who interviewed me and accepted my application to become a volunteer at the Gallery. I have to attend a health and safety induction day on the 1st of May and then I am good to start. I will be assisting with the documenting of a recently acquired costume collection as well as running some mini summer workshops.  My confidence has grown so much since my work experience journey began and I have made lots of new contacts and have quite a few new career avenues I may chose to explore in the very near future.

The Blue Coat Display Centre.

I am pleased to say that after several months of applying to various artists and establishments I was offered a weeks work experience at the Blue Coat Display Centre in Liverpool city centre.

I started on Monday 30th March and finished Saturday 4th April. I have had the most enjoyable week thanks to Maureen Brompton (Director of the Gallery) and her team, Sam, Fran, Kate and Dot.  They made me feel very welcome and were extremely generous in sharing their knowledge of what it takes to run a successful contemporary art gallery and shop.  I can not thank them enough for an amazing week.

I have learnt so much this week and I can honestly say it has been a real eye opener in more ways than one. I hope to share some of the things I experienced during this week in future post but before I  do so I need to do a 15 minute presentation as part of the requirements of this module all about my week. In the meantime here is a link to the Blue Coat Display Centre website. http://www.bluecoatdisplaycentre.com

Another glimmer of hope!

The Atkinson Gallery, Southport.

A few days ago I emailed and telephoned several local museums and galleries appealing for work experience. I also contacted the Textile Society in the hope that they may be able help me with my quest or at least point me in another direction. Alas the lady I spoke to said they where unable to assist me and unfortunately she was not a liberty to give out any of the artist details.

I have since received two emails, the first being from the Merseyside museums and galleries again saying sorry they could not help and the second one was from the Atkinson Gallery who also said the same. However, the gentleman who replied to me from the Atkinson Gallery (Stephen Whittle, Museum & Gallery Manager) suggested that I might be interested in becoming a volunteer. He even went as far as to send me a link to the application form.  After checking with my university lecturer to ensure that volunteering met the module criteria as work experience I filled in the application form and I am awaiting there reply. 

If you any of my readers would like to know more about the Atkinson Gallery please visit there website www.theatkinson.co.uk.

Rejection, reflection and plan of action.

Rejection:I am sorry to say that everything was not Hunkydory, sadly I did not receive a reply to my letter requesting work experience.  I telephoned the company several times over the last few weeks but was constantly told the person I needed to speak to was busy. I left my name, number and email address but nobody got back to me. I rang again Monday and asked for a email address that I may contact the person concerned but the lady on the phone asked me what my enquiry was regarding, I told her work experience and she said "oh no we don't do that".

Reflection: My initial reaction was anger and disappointment, not because I did not get any work experience but disappointment in the fact that they did not acknowledge my letter nor did anyone return my calls. In the past at this stage I would have, had a cry, spat my dummy out dug my heels in and given up.  However, I did none of the latter I decided to evaluate and analys the experince as a whole. In doing this it made me realise that I had more or less pinned all my hopes on this one company, when in reality I should have been looking at other options and other possibilities. So the next question I asked myself was "If I can not find work experience with in the craft design field what other career paths appeal to me"? I looked back at the very first questionnaire we where given in this module and I had written down three things "fabric designer , craft designer, curator", now I have a new starting point.

Plan of action:   Research local museums, galleries and establishments that hold exhibitions. Don't limit my sights on just textiles or design. Establish contact via email or in writing or visit in person. Maybe look a little further a field, Manchester, Preston and Lancaster. Look at my list of contacts, maybe they might be able to introduce me to other contacts or cenections. So let the journey begin.