art work experience?

Hi Yasmin,

Your options may completely depend on the area that you're from, but I have a few suggestions which you may not have previously considered. It's sometimes quite hard to get experience within artist companies, simply as they either don't need you or can't take on people legally, but there are plenty of other ways you can gain some experience which relates to the arts in one way or another.

You could definitely try contacting some local companies in your specific artistic preference (e.g. Graphic Design, Photography, etc.) and see whether you'd be able to complete a work experience placement with them (they may even ask you to come back again for another placement, but either way, they're a great contact to have!). This may not always be possible or there may simply just not be anything related to your interests locally. If that's the case, you could try a more general work experience, like the ones I've suggested below!

Have you considered looking at either schools (specifically art lessons or after school clubs) or workshops with children, as they nearly always need volunteers or helpers for sessions? You may not be all that interested in teaching or working with children, but this would still give you experience that was art and design related and also would help if you were to go on to do workshops with other age groups, too.

Have you tried local art galleries? Although it may not sound like the most exciting role, you could see if they need any volunteering invigilators? The role can change a bit depending on the gallery but usually, you help people find their way to or through exhibitions and sometimes you're required to know information about the exhibition to tell members of the public. This may be another way you can gain some experience somewhere in the field if you can't find something that relates exactly to what you'd like to do in future.

Although you're interested in art specifically, you could also brand out into other artistic areas and see if theatres or dance studios or anywhere like that could take you on. You could also try in art supply stores; although it's more of a customer service role, you'll need lots of artistic knowledge if someone has any questions about the products on sale. It may also be worth looking on Indeed, although it's known as a Job site, people do also list Work Experience offers on there too! You can change your location preference to see the ones closest to you, also. I have linked these here.

All the best with finding a suitable place for your work experience! Remember if there's a couple of options that take your fancy, you could always do some work experience with them during holidays or even take some time out of school or college to complete more (usually schools/colleges encourage this as long as it's not exam/deadline time, obviously!).

Hope this helps,
Harriet
Third Year Photography Student and Student Ambassador

thank you, this is really helpful !!