Learning Behind the Scenes
Throughout June, we welcomed three work experience students into our office, each spending a week discovering what it’s like to work behind the scenes at a thriving arts charity. One of those students was the wonderful Flik. With a passion for journalism, writing and photography, we invited her to capture her experience in her own words. Here’s what she had to say about her week at Creative Arts East:
For one week, I decided I would push my boundaries and join the team at Creative Arts East as a work-experience student. As an artistic person myself, I was eager to have my placement here so that I could learn more about the creative industries and job opportunities within it. I’m glad to say that overall, it was an exciting process, and I thoroughly enjoyed my week here!
On my first day, I was immediately met with a positive environment and many smiling faces that were happy to greet me upon arrival, and I found that everyone in the office were very patient and I was eased into helping with tasks, rather than being thrown into the deep end straight away. One of the things I had to do was order stationary for the office online and then input the month’s invoices onto a spreadsheet, which allowed me to explore the financial side of the job. I believe it was helpful, as it gave me insight into the bundle of duties that must be carried out so that the organisation can progress.
Aswell as discovering the responsibilities that held the team together, I learnt about the Rural Touring Scheme. This is when the people working with Creative Arts East bring creative workshops and performances to more rural areas where the people living there might lack the opportunity to discover the different artforms without spending a large sum of money for travel or costs for equipment. The Creative Arts East team bring these chances to the people so that they can explore their creativity freely.
I felt that I grasped the idea of working in a creative environment, and how much further it goes than just what you see on the surface. I felt like I was part of the team when I helped to print flyers for upcoming events, being there in a meeting and figuring out the different roles in the office.
At first, I thought everyone in the office would be very strict, and I would have to do my work alone in silence. During school, I got the impression that workplaces would be unbearable and I wouldn’t be able to talk to anyone comfortably. However, to my surprise, the office at Creative Arts East was light-hearted; everyone was easy to get-along with and it was fun to join in on the friendly-banter and conversations with a bonus of tea and biscuits available!
At my time at the Creative Arts East, I was given the ability to share my thoughts and ideas on different projects or concepts that the team were talking about. I found that from the start of my week to the end of my week, I had already grown more confident in my speaking, and I no longer felt uncomfortable when put into a position where I had to socialise with people I had never spoken to before. I would encourage others to do their work experience placement here, and I enjoyed it so much that I want to go help volunteer with the Creative Arts East during my summer-break.
Flik’s Top Tips before starting Work Experience
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Don’t worry about feeling silly for asking questions, your employers don’t expect you to know everything about the workplace.
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Make the effort to learn about what the workplace stands for/does.
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Set goals for what you want to take away from your work experience.
Flik’s Q&A with the CAE Team
Would you describe your work at CAE as your long-term career?
Zoë, Community Touring Manager – I’ve been at CAE for nearly nine years now, which seems crazy! I started off in comms which is an aspect of the arts I’ll always enjoy, but I really love my role now. Whether it’s programming live performance in collaboration with community venues or working closely with touring artists, the role is very varied and presents enough challenges and development opportunities both for me and for CAE to keep it exciting.
Alice, Community Cinema Manager – When I joined CAE, starting out as a part-time administrator, I didn’t expect this to be my long-term career, but 19 years later, I can say that it is! I had always wanted to work in an arts environment, but didn’t know in what way, and I’ve been able to develop and learn within the organisation to be in a role that I enjoy.
What inspired you to work at the CAE?
Natalie, Executive Director – Helping artists find audiences and supporting audiences to discover that ‘the arts’ can be for them.
Julie, Office Manager – I feel very grateful that my working path led me to Creative Arts East! Most of my working life has been in ‘Arts Admin’ and I came across CAE and their brilliant work when I was based in a local authority. The CAE team has a unique and nimble way of seeing, understanding and reaching into communities, to plant, inspire and nurture creativity for people, wherever or whoever you are. So, I’m always excited to see the fresh and inspiring ways the team supports people, artists and communities, and how it brings us all together to experience, explore and enjoy brilliant Arts and creative activities. Every day has the anticipation of ‘curtain up’ and watching what will unfold!
What’s your favourite thing about work? Why?
Aston, Marketing & Communications Assistant – The flexibility it provides me to pick up other jobs and creative roles in organisations and as a freelancer.
Sophie, Marketing & Communications Manager – Other than working with a great bunch of people for a great cause, one of my favourite things about my job is building processes, solving puzzles and tackling problems. It keeps my brain active as I find solutions to tricky tasks, and it’s very satisfying to implement new methods that improve productivity.
When you first started working at CAE, what was the trickiest obstacle?
Lea, Projects Manager – When starting at CAE, the trickiest obstacle was trying to absorb all the information on each project and learning the acronyms and terminology! What I came to find was that I didn’t need to understand everything all at once and found time along the way to understand things bit by bit, by attending multiple events and speaking to other colleagues individually.
Siobhan, Programmes Assistant – Like Lea, working across multiple projects meant there was lots to learn! Our Arts for Health programme, for example, has had several previous iterations and names, so piecing together its 10+ year history was a challenge to begin with – and still is sometimes! And speaking of names, learning all the names of our lovely Creative Socials participants was tricky at first too, though I’m now confident when each one walks through the door that I’ll get their name right first time – if in doubt, try Margaret!
We hope you’ve enjoyed reading about Flik’s week at Creative Arts East. We’re always delighted to welcome work experience students into our team, giving them the opportunity to gain hands-on experience while sharing their own perspectives. Thank you, Flik, for documenting your week so thoughtfully, and best of luck for the future.
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