A week in the life of a university student intern with our Arts Engagement & Outreach team

Sitting across from Katherine Hoskins at the start of my placement week, we jot down a few goals I’d like to achieve during my four days at Westlands. What kind of work experience am I hoping to undertake? Thrilled by the opportunity to experience the day-to-day workings of an arts engagement team, I’m nonetheless aware that it’s a big step outside my usual environment as a history student.

Since it was Octagon’s diverse outreach projects that initially drew me to the venue, I opt to put down audience research and impact-monitoring as areas of interest. Secretly though, I think I’m also hoping to undertake some totally new areas of work too. As I begin the placement with little outreach experience outside a heritage environment, more than anything I find myself eager to experience the amazing breadth of The Octagon & Westland’s innovative community engagement projects. Across the week, my hopes are more than fulfilled.

Straight away on Monday, I’m spoilt for choice with the diverse range of projects I get to be involved with. From learning about Arts Council England investment in the morning, by the afternoon I’m dancing and stretching and laughing in a Movement Through Cancer class as part of The Octagon & Westland’s Arts for Health & Wellbeing programme. Chatting with participants and following imaginative dance routines, the huge wellbeing benefits of the sessions quickly become clear. I find I’m feeling smiley and refreshed by the end–– and fascinated to hear more about Carrie’s other innovative classes using the arts to improve health.

Fast forward to Tuesday and Wednesday, and I’m getting stuck into even more exciting areas of work experience. As well as drafting promotional material for Westland’s Accessible Pricing Scheme, I’m excited to get the privilege of watching the rehearsals and performance of Little Bulb’s interactive dance show Listen Dance. Though I was initially curious about what to expect, the show’s unique concept of teaching different dance styles through audience participation was–– unsurprisingly–– enormous fun. Not to mention, it was also hugely informative to see another way that theatre can be used to connect the wider community.  Getting to experience the show and its impact definitely helped put Yeovil on the map for me as a cultural venue, and widened my awareness of what prospects there are for arts careers in the wider South West region.  

Image Above: Little Bulb performing at Westlands. Photo courtesy of Len Copland

To round off my week at Westlands, I worked with Sarah researching future partner schools for the Creative Learning & Education Schools Programme, as well as concluding some research with Nick into press contacts for an upcoming show. Being especially interested in how cultural venues research potential audiences, it was great to gain experience of exploring future partnerships and contacts for an arts organisation.

Throughout the four days, I almost lost count of the number of new skills I had the opportunity to gain, ranging from processing feedback data to drafting a social media advert– and even trying my hand at writing a few blog posts! Working with a lovely team of people, I really enjoyed the opportunity to get immersed in projects I’d not tried before, and build plenty of experience of working with an arts engagement team at a theatre venue.

Before I get the train back to Exeter on Thursday, I sit down with Katherine again to review how my placement has gone. I’m quick to note that I’ve enjoyed getting plenty of experience in audience research and impact-monitoring– my initial goals for the week. But more than this, I realise that I’ve had the chance to try so many new areas of arts engagement too. While I’m still umm-ing and ah-ing about my exact job plans post-uni, the placement has given me insight into a whole new range of possibilities, and has more than confirmed my love for working in engagement and outreach in the arts.