Name of Student: Lottie
Pathway Programme: Pathways to Art, Culture and Heritage
Internship Role: Festival Assistant
Summary of Organisation: Kensington + Chelsea Art Week was founded in 2018 with a public consultation by a group of volunteering arts industry professionals. They are an independent, not-for-profit cultural festival and a placemaking organisation.
Please briefly outline the project/tasks/responsibilities you worked on during your Professional Pathways internship.
My Professional Pathways placement was working as a Festival Assistant at Kensington and Chelsea Art Week. My main task was putting together the app version of the Public Art Trail. This involved visiting sites around Kensington, speaking to artists and putting the information together in a logical and easy-to-follow order. I then assisted with the creation of a similar Poetry Trail. We organised and ran a Poetry Circle Event for local creatives who had been selected to share their work in a supportive and friendly setting. As well as this, I was trained on live streaming the camera equipment and microphones to broadcast art a panel talk to multiple platforms. Our roles also included getting creative – helping with finalising art murals, and the presentation of a piece in an exhibition space.
How has the Professional Pathways programme helped you in taking the next steps in your career?
Taking part in Professional Pathways has definitely helped me to understand better the variety of options available in the arts, culture and heritage sector. The experience provided me with a thorough understanding of occupations I was not aware of during the training, and then with relevant work experience in the placement week. I now have a much clearer understanding of what my options are for after university as well as for job roles I could look into when applying for graduate jobs in my final year next year.
Given the Professional Pathways internship is 35 hours in total, what advice would you give to other students to ensure they gain as much as possible from the experience?
I found that 35 hours is enough time to immerse yourself in your role, learn about the company you have been placed with and usually to explore some areas more than just what you have been tasked with. Over my placement, I was tasked with a few smaller projects within different areas of the event which I found allowed me to learn and understand about the running of a large scale, public event and the organisation behind this. The duration of the internship was perfect to immerse in your role because, if full time, it mimics a working week.