Getting Work Serious

During my time in Art/ Design Education, I have undertaken numerous internships and placements

2012 - Field Work pop up shop
2013 - Rose de Boreman South bank Market/ Month-long craft placement in Bulgaria
2014 - Frilly by Lily
2015 - White Stuff
2016 - Tigerprint (to be completed)


I think it's fair to say that I am an opportunist. And I do fear I've picked a degree which doesn't give me as much time as I would like off to take on more roles! However I have learnt a great deal from what I have done, and have gained a good idea of what motivates me, what my ethics are and most importantly what I enjoy doing (though this is still pretty up in the air.)

I am at a stage where I need to be strategic - I've realised I need to focus on one thing to be able to get the best return from it. I can still be opportunistic, but I'll be in the best place if I do some work to make these opportunities happen.

Of my placements, I've found the day to day roles agreeable, however I don't feel motivated by consumerist industries, making money out of physical materials. A lot of my projects focus around interactive/ engaging design, creating something spatial in the hope the user will learn something through experience. The key to my work is the context, the concept and the story behind everything. I like explaining this narrative alongside my work, therefore I struggle with my course sometimes as I know that the aesthetic should stand alone!

Therefore I want to get into museum/ gallery/ exhibition work. I have skills within design, of which I really enjoy the research side. I fear my academic writing and communication skills need more work. I feel like building on and demonstrating this passion will allow me into a role within this style of workplace, on which I can learn more about the industry and aim myself into a position which seems most suited to me. Though I want to stay involved in design, I feel like the administrative side of it may also agree with me, I wouldn't know until I try!

I see these as possible roles to pursue
- Graphic Design team for Exhibitions (general museums)
- Curator/ Researcher roles (art/ design museums specifically)
- Exhibition designer (something that straight in requires an interior architecture degree)

Though these are still quite broad, I feel like I would get a huge amount of satisfaction knowing that I was a driving force behind exhibitions and experiences which inspire and excite others. I would like to continue my own art/ design practise along the side, but I definitely feel getting experience within one of the great London institutions would teach me a lot, and make me really proud of where I work and what I do!

Through this research - these sources jumped out at me

Creative Choices - Heritage Jobs - a great source if you know what kind of sector you would like to work in, but are not entirely sure of what roles you would like to do.

Museums Association - this is a link to their intern-ship/ placement page, which I will be keeping my eye on in case anything paid and/ or relevant comes up. I will look into their talks and conferences further, but at this moment I feel like it is definitely worth joining for the free access it provides!

National Museums Directors Council  - this site also offers a job page, as well as lots of up to date articles

On twitter I also managed to find people in relevant positions to follow (following links through blog posts such as the V&A one here. Though I have fallen out of touch with twitter, now I have direction I feel I will use it (along with Linked In) to keep myself up to date and interested with all things curatorial (in need of a better word.)

So places I would love to work include; the V&A (proper and of childhood), the Design Museum, the Fashion and Textiles Museum, the Barbican..., Though I also greatly enjoy the Tate and the RA, I feel in my heart that I should stay as closely connected as possible to the world of design, so potentially wouldn't put contemporary/ the fine arts as high on my list as others. Despite saying this all these places excite me greatly.

I have to admit my love of arts and design, and my desire to pursue it from a young age, was cultivated through excited visits to museums, galleries and historic homes. Though it might not be what I do forever, I'm coming to the end of a degree by which my creative side feels exhausted. I believe that if I am in an environment such as this I will continue to feel enthralled and motivated, benefiting my own creative practise, and hopefully inspiring a new generation of artists and designers.