Reflections on Mentoring For All

As we approach the end of the Museums Association's pilot project Mentoring for All – a project that looks to develop a new model for mentoring for the sector – I have been reflecting on my journey as a mentor. Check out my blog for the Museums Association here

Freelance Consultant for Freelands Foundation

I am excited to have started working with Freelands Foundation as a Freelance Consultant, researching,  setting up and managing an internship programme for them. Freelands Foundation's mission is to "support artists and cultural institutions, to broaden audiences for the visual arts and to enable all young people to engage actively with the creation and enjoyment of art."

Take a look at their website here for information on their exciting range of programmes including their Salon events, films Thinking Making (about Plymouth College of Art) and West Rise: School by the Marsh (about an amazing primary school near Eastbourne), as well as their partnerships with the South London Gallery, Cultural Learning Alliance, Gasworks, Tate Exchange and the Insitutue of Education.

A.N.D. Advocates Facilitator

I am excited to have recently been appointed to co-programme and facilitate the A.N.D. Advocates Programme for A New Direction this academic year. I will be working with a team of teachers and senior leaders from schools across London with significant experience in and a passion for the arts & culture in education. The programme includes five Continuing Professional Development (CPD) sessions featuring inspirational speakers and peer-sharing opportunities. To find out more about A.N.D. Advocates visit here

Visit to The Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre

Last weekend we took a trip to Great Missenden where Roald Dahl lived and wrote many of his stories in his writing hut in his garden. His hut has been painstakingly recreated as the centre piece to The Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre, also based in the village. My six year-old is obsessed with Roald Dahl, his amazing characters and stories - having read all of his books - so it was an obvious place for us to visit. The Museum is divided into three main galleries: the Boy Gallery which explores Dahl's childhood, the Solo gallery focusing on him as a writer, and the Story Centre full of interactives for inspiring youngsters to write their own narratives. In addition there are spaces for school groups and special events, with the buildings based around a courtyard which also features a replica Willy Wonka gate at the entrance.

I was impressed by the friendly staff and the range of interactives throughout with indications on the visitor guide of things under-fives might enjoy, which was useful with a little brother in tow. Children are each given a 'My Story Ideas Book' to encourage them to write their own stories and I can see us using these at home. We will be back when we have more time, as we would like to explore the village and local area as well. There are trails to follow so that you can visit places that inspired Dahl, such as the local library - which Matilda visits whilst her Mum is at the bingo - and the garage where Danny lives with his Dad in Danny the Champion of the World.

You can find out more about the Museum here

My six year-old sitting in a replica of Roald Dahl's story writing chair from his writing hut

Learning Guide: The Bureaucracy of Angels

Today I was excited to be at A New Direction's Keeping Creative Conference: cultural learning in times of change. This included the launch  of The Bureaucracy of Angels Key Stage 3-5 learning guide which I wrote for A New Direction, commissioned by Art on the Underground. The guide is available to download online, along with the full interview by artists Broomberg & Chanarin, the full interview by Ghias Aljundi - a British Syrian's story - and information about how to enter the I-D Creation poster competition for schools & colleges. Take a look here

The Bureaucracy of Angels

The Broomberg & Chanarin commission for Art on the Underground, The Bureaucracy of Angels, is now being screened at King's Cross St. Pancras until 25 November 2017. See my post below for more information about the project. A link to the learning guide I wrote will follow soon. It features an interview with the artists.

The Bureaucracy of Angels in King's Cross St. Pancras

Learning Guide Coming Soon...

Working for A New Direction, I am in the process of proofing the learning guide I have been writing for key stages 3-5 about the forthcoming Broomberg & Chanarin commission for Art on the Underground, The Bureaucracy of Angels (2017). This film records the demolition of 100 migrant boats in Sicily in the winter of 2016 and features some of the refugees who have made the difficult journeys.

The film will be screened in King's Cross St. Pancras Station from 28 September to 25 November 2017. This location has been chosen as it is close to the exit of the Eurostar, a passageway between the UK and the rest of Europe, presenting the film to passersby. The learning guide will be launched on 10 October at A New Direction's annual schools conference.

For more information about The Bureaucracy of Angels visit Art on the Underground's project page

Art Block

I enjoyed going back to the South London Gallery (SLG) for the launch of the new creative space Art Block based in the Lakanal building on the Sceaux Gardens estate, behind the gallery. This was a project that I had hoped would be realised during my Head of Education maternity post at the gallery but the refurbishment of the building (following a devastating fire in 2009) was delayed several times. The team had done an amazing job to create a bright, bold, welcoming interior; the children on the housing estate having worked with designer Morag Myerscough. Every six months a new artist will be commissioned to change the look of the space.

This project is part of Open Plan, an SLG project working on three local housing estates over three years, funded by Freelands Foundation. For more information visit here

My eldest son making art in the new creative space Art Block

A Windmill in Brixton?

Today I took the kids to Brixton Windmill to visit one of my Art on the Underground trainees who volunteers there. Who would believe there is a windmill in Brixton? It sits in Windmill Gardens next to a lovely playground,  a 15 minute walk from the high street. Volunteer millers make wholemeal flour there at weekends and sell it locally. We got to go up to the first floor to see the mill working and to find out about it's heritage - it's the last working mill in inner London, built in 1816. The Windmill runs open days monthly, with bookable tours, along with special events throughout the year.

To find out more visit here

Abigail shows us around the interior of Brixton Windmill

DEVELOP Careers Festival

Yesterday was the launch of DEVELOP: Preparing for a Career in the Photography Industry at the The Photographers' Gallery. I am excited to be evaluating Year 1 of the programme, and I enjoyed meeting lots of 14-24 year olds interested in photography at the launch event. Evaluation included talking to participants and inviting them to tell us what they'd like to see as part of the programme by placing written cards on a washing line of ideas, as well as filling out questionnaires that included participants' demographics to monitor whether the Gallery is attracting the identified audience to the programme. 

Check out more about DEVELOP here

Washing line of ideas

Clay Station Trainee Research Trips

Ceramic artist Matt Raw shows one of the trainees around the V&A's Ceramics collection

I'm currently working as a freelancer for Art on the Underground as the Engagement Project Manager on the Clay Station project. On Tuesdays and Wednesdays the trainees are making bespoke clay tiles with ceramic artist Matt Raw and members of Assemble. On Thursdays they are going on research trips with myself, and others, to places such as Town Gas in Hackney (set up by artist Aaron Angell and offering free workshops for young people), the Contemporary Ceramics Centre, the British Museum (Chinese Ceramics), Grayson Perry: The Most Popular Art Exhibition Ever! at the Serpentine Gallery, the V&A (Ceramics collections) and also the London Transport Museum to find out about Frank Pick and his vision for Art on London Transport. I have also been mentoring the trainees on these days. Their research will lead up to the final day of their traineeship when they will each create their own tile in Matt's studio, inspired by what they have seen and the skills that they have learnt. 

For more information about Clay Station visit here.

DEVELOP Programme Consultant

I am thrilled to have been appointed by The Photographers' Gallery on a freelance contract to evaluate, advise & make recommendations on Year 1 of the Gallery's new DEVELOP Programme for 14-24 year olds preparing for a career in the photography industry. We have started the project with a focus group to be followed soon by a Careers Festival to launch the programme - please spread the word to young people you know!

What we love about our school!

Today I organised a poster making session for parents and children from Elmwood Primary School to say: What we love about our school! I am part of a group of parents in Lambeth who are campaigning against cuts to school funding and today there were many events organised across the uk to raise awareness of the campaign. For more information visit Fair Funding Lambeth Facebook & Twitter  

#schoolsjustwannahavefunds

Mentoring for all

Earlier this week I went to Arts Council England's offices in Birmingham for a training session aimed at Mentors who are part of the Museum Association's new Mentoring for All scheme. I also got to meet my lovely mentee who I will be partnered with for the next six months; when I will be spending time getting to know her, exploring tools and techniques from training, and supporting her as she thinks about where she wants to be in the future. Having had formal and informal mentors myself I know how much I have got from these relationships and I am keen to give something back to the sector. I have informally mentored a number of people over the years but I am excited to be part of a more formal pilot scheme which includes training and evaluation #MentoringForAll

Hull City of Culture 2017

I enjoyed my recent trip to Hull to explore the City of Culture, in particular:

- encountering What I Want more than anything else - young people working with artist Mark Titchner at Hull central library to create audio works (books ripping, pages floating down the stairwells, etc), video pieces and the painted Equality for all mural hidden amongst the library's book shelves along with a banner and flag outside, part of a Networked Narrative project

 - meeting artist Mark Wigan at the Museum of Club Culture with his bold designs for posters, DMs, clothing, etc taking me back to my clubbing days!

- seeing artist Jasleen Kaur's Ideal Standards carpeted toilet artwork as part of Fountain '17 inspired by Marcel Duchamp's Fountain (100 years ago) and Armitage Shanks (200 years ago)

- gazing at Weeping Window the 14-18 NOW commission of the poppies on tour on the exterior of Hull's Maritime Museum building, which I missed when it was initiated in London

- visiting two exhibitions at the Ferens Art Gallery: Skin with Ron Mueck's stunning lifelike bodies of varying scales, and where I met a local lady who had been painted green for the Spencer Tunick photographs taken in Hull city centre who was excitedly pointing herself out to everyone; and Offshore: Artists Explore the Sea featuring a beautiful video by Saskia Older Wolbers

- checking out the new Humber Street Gallery with the exhibition Somewhere Becoming Sea_ featuring the mesmerick North Sea Semaphore by Isabella Martin with double screens opposite each other

And the best part of my visit was meeting all the enthusiastic and helpful volunteers across the city proud to be from Hull! Check out forthcoming exhibitions and events here including the Turner Prize 2017 later in the year.

Learning Guide Writer

I am pleased to have been appointed by A New Direction on a freelance contract to write a learning guide for key stages 3-5 about the forthcoming Broomberg & Chanarin commission for Art on the Underground. Watch this space!

Art on the Underground Clay Station Traineeships

I am excited to be working freelance again for Art on the Underground. This time as the Engagement Project Manager for the Clay Station project. This focuses on setting up a traineeship programme for Clay Station with artist Matthew Raw and members of Assemble, in partnership with Create Jobs. The two traineeships will provide clay induction training, followed by hands-on making experience with Matthew Raw and Assemble. The trainees will learn the skills to create and fire the tiles which will become part of the artwork Clay Station, based near Seven Sisters Underground Station. They will also support their own learning by completing a trainee diary, by meeting weekly with their mentor (which is me), and by going on research visits. The traineeship will culminate with them each designing and making their own tile.

For more information about Clay Station visit here

A fond farewell

After just over a year I am sad to have left the SLG because my maternity cover post as Head of Education has now ended. I have really enjoyed working with all the staff (in particular the highly skilled and lovely education team), the community local to the gallery (especially those who are part of the community forum, which I set up) and the artists (being involved in the installation of Roman Ondak's exhibition with young people was a highlight for me). 

It's an exciting time for the gallery and I look forward to visiting and seeing how things develop in the next few years, in particular:

The new project supported by the Freelands Foundation that will enable the SLG to transform its work with residents on local housing estates. This will include moving The Shop of Possibilities into the redeveloped Lakanal building as a new creative space for children and families on the Sceaux Gardens estate (behind the SLG), with two artist commissions in the space each year and two annual outdoor commissions on the Pelican estate (behind the former Peckham Road Fire Station). Before I left I also recruited the first Gallery Trainee with the aim to attract applicants who were under-represented in galleries and who were thinking about an alternative to studying at University. Take a look at the Freelands Foundation website for further details about this project.

And the opening of a new cultural centre for the gallery in 2018, housed in the former Peckham Road Fire Station. It's exciting to pass by and see the scaffolding up with workmen on site. Take a look at my previous post below for more information.

Building work starts on the former Peckham Road Fire Station

It's an exciting time to be working at the South London Gallery (SLG)! The stage two bid to the Heritage Lottery Fund (which I contributed towards) was successful and the gallery has started construction work on the former Peckham Road Fire Station with the aim to open it to the public as a cultural centre in 2018. The SLG are now seeking donors and partners to help raise the final £700,000.

I have just appointed the first additional post in the lead up to the fire station opening. This is a Heritage Education Coordinator who will be responsible for working with schools and community groups responding to both the fire station building and the gallery's archives (which will be publicly available for the first time both online and displayed in the new building). This role will also be involved in collecting oral histories, working with heritage trainees and setting up a volunteer programme. In addition, the SLG is also currently recruiting for an archivist.

For more information take a look at the SLG's fire station website page and also at the article "Peckham's former fire station rises from ashes as new hotspot of art" in the Evening Standard

Fair Funding For All Schools

I have been getting involved in the campaign for fair funding for all schools - nationally signing online petitions and more locally in Lambeth writing to my MP Helen Hayes as well as flyering at my son's school. The government wants to cut £25 million from Lambeth schools by 2019, meaning that some schools are having to save up to 25% of their budget. At my son's school they will lose out on £254,872 by 2019, the equivalent of £689 per pupil. Whilst I agree with the principle of providing additional support to pupils in challenging areas, I do not agree that these additional resources should be found by cutting funding to other schools. This will have inevitable consequences for curriculum breadth, staffing levels, lesson resources, extra-curricular opportunities, etc. I believe it would be fairer for all children if more money could be found for the following key aims:

1. Increasing investment in all schools by protecting funding in real terms for the life of this parliament
2. Providing the additional funding needed to implement the proposed formula so that funding for schools in more poorly funded areas is increased without cutting funding for other schools
3. Ensuring sufficient funding for children with significant special educational needs and disabilities

The government claims that there is not enough money available to do this, yet free schools are being built in areas where additional school places are not needed (as well as where there is a need) and there are plans for extra money to be pumped into grammar schools. Parents and teachers will be fighting their corner in the next few months to make sure that their voices are heard and that the National Funding Formula really means 'fair' funding'.

For more information visit Fair Funding Lambeth Facebook and Twitter