Work Experience at DLWP
Written by Ellen Doughty
Work experience at the De La Warr Pavilion helped me to fully engage with what it means to be working within an ‘art industry’. I was able to grasp concepts that meant very little to me before, such as the amount of work that is actually required to set up an entire exhibition. Aspiring to be a photographer my self, I was interested in finding out more about what it would be like to have a career within the industry, but also the different options that you have other than being the artist.
On my first day I was given the opportunity to work with a live programmer who was running a concert that very day. I worked behind the scenes running for the band and was able to partake in the many activities and jobs that are required to make the event possible. Such as, catering and generally making sure that things ran as planned. The concert was by my view a success, and the auditorium in which it was held was packed full of people.
On my second day I had the chance to work on the front reception/shop, which gave me and insight into stock count and sales, but also how to physically sell stock and sell tickets for upcoming events.
On the third day, I truly learnt what it meant to work ‘behind the scenes’. Running round doing fire extinguisher checks, making sure that signs were properly posted and that operations within the building were running smoothly. This made me realise that hard work does sometimes go unrecognised compared to those in the spotlight.
On my final day, I worked with Tales for Toddlers which is an organisation run within the building, which is a free morning of entertainment and learning for toddlers in a creative manner. I was able to follow closely the set up of the morning and also help run the forty five minute sessions which included, songs, poems and being creative with physical materials.
As my time concluded I reflected on all the things that I had learnt and realised that those were all great, but I also just really loved the aesthetics of the building and the creative, friendly yet intelligent environment that is within the site.