This year we were joined by seven enthusiastic students from across the north-west, as part of the year 10 work experience week hosted here at the Whitworth.

Students took part in a 4-day work placement, starting with health and safety, and an introduction to the gallery, and our programmes. The students took part in investigative work around the gallery – learning about current exhibitions, like Turner and Santiago Yahuarcani, as well as getting involved in workshops and rebuilding a digital Whitworth replica using our Minecraft resource.

For the final two days, students explored career pathways and discovered many hidden roles that actively contribute to the day-to-day operations of the Whitworth. From the gallery technicians and conservation staff, who build and look after the exhibitions, to the shop buyer, and data manager, who sources shop products, and makes sense of all the Whitworth’s data.

Students also visited the collection stores, and learned about outsider artists, as well as current issues and ethics surrounding object provenance, social history, and decolonisation, with a member of the curatorial team.

We felt that the students gained a lot from their time with us, and hope that they will continue to visit and explore heritage sites, with their new found appreciation for art galleries and museums.

Below are the combined responses to nine questions the students answered at the end of the week.

What have you enjoyed this week?

Textiles

Archives_________Santiago

Malgorzata Mirga-Tas_________Spinning Wheel

De-framing artworks______Sculptures Turner

Conservation_________Whitworth Park

Meeting artist Sally Hirst and learning about her work and upcoming exhibitions

Have you learnt any new skills?

– Cleaning artworks
– De-framing artworks
– Spinning cotton on a spinning wheel
– Working with others

What were the job roles that you were surprised to learn about in the art gallery?

– Art technician
– Conservation
– Building Manager
– Café manager
– Curator
– Shop buyer
– The Data management

“I had never heard of an art technician before, but they are integral to an art gallery! Art technicians work with artists to change the museum for exhibitions, this can mean that they are working on multiple projects at a time making it a very busy job. The technician we met has handled works that cost up to £60 million, and has access to 60,000 works owned by the Whitworth. I recommend looking into this job for those who take Design and Technology as a GCSE.”

Who/which area of work was your favourite to learn about?

“Sally hurst or data management or conservation”

“Designing the layout for the art exhibition rooms”

“I enjoyed learning about marketing and retail as I didn’t realise the amount of thought and data needed to make sure products are attractive to visitors.”

“I liked how science linked into the art and how the conservators store the art in specific temperatures, humidity and the most surprising, the UV level, so the art doesn’t fade. It was very interesting how they store so many different pieces of art in such a small area.”

“My favourite area of work to learn about was definitely conservation (preserving and protecting art so they can be viewed for many years to come). It was really interesting to see all the different things that could damage an object; pests, temperature and light! Sarah, one of the conservators, thinks that it is very cool that the only other person who has spent this much time with this object is the artist. We looked at bugs under microscopes and had a go at cleaning up smudges on art with sponges.”

What is one thing you will take away from this work experience week?

– “It has improved some of my social skills and I have learnt all about the many different roles that
go into running the gallery. So i know more jobs that I can go to.”

– “I don’t have to be completely sure of what I want to do in the future but I have learnt about what
want from a job.”

– “Working with other people in the cultural community whilst not being completely familiar with the
community, and behind the scenes.”

– “One thing I will takeaway is knowing every time I go to a museum or gallery, I will understand all of
the different elements that go into putting on the exhibitions.”

– “How important art is to society, communities, and how closely linked it is to all aspects of life”

– “I was very surprised to hear about how everyone ended up with their current job. Everyone came
from different backgrounds: graphic design , zoology, architecture and photography being just
some of them. I think that this gives the Whitworth a very diverse ecosystem of people with
different passions and interests.”

After this experience, can you tell us whether art and culture is important to you, and why?

“Art is important to me as it helps calm me and take my mind off what may be stressing me like the pressure of school. It gives me and other people opportunities to express ideas, thoughts and understand people in different ways I didn’t know beforehand.”

“They are important to me as they allow creative expression, and for people to make connections with others.”

“The experience reformed stereotypes I had about art and art galleries and made me realise that you can learn about people, history, communities and artist stories through art.”

“My week at the Whitworth has definitely reinforced my belief that art is super important for every young person. School can be very busy and exams are stressful so I think it is super important to explore your creative side when you can. Even if you don’t take art GCSE you can benefit from engaging with, and appreciating the arts. I know that I will be coming back to the Whitworth with my friends this summer.”

Has anything you’ve learnt this week, helped you to work out what you would like to do in the future?

Was there anything you were hoping we would cover, but didn’t?
“Nothing except L.S. Lowry”

Is there anything you want to say about this week?

“It was fun and a good learning experience.”
“I learnt a lot of things. Probably more than in school”
“It was more interesting and entertaining than I thought it would be.”
“I think the people that I met were really cool and interesting, and it’s definitely helped with my confidence too and art overall is just awesome sauce!”

A big thank you to Lucca, Daisy, Oliver, Olivia, Meg, Hannah, and Caspar for sharing their thoughts and feedback. It’s been really great to have you all join us for a week.

Jason and Steve