‘O Captain! MY CAPTAIN’
In honour of my recent graduation, this post is dedicated to Dr. Nicola Guy and Sebastian Zenner.
Dead Poets Society (1989)
I finished my MA recently, a long journey trying out different careers following an industry year, a pandemic awarded degree and similar work across creative fields and mostly non-profits for little pay. You know how it is (or not). Stay with me, I promise I’m not wallowing. It feels like after years of trying to find myself and my career, at 25, I’ve sort of started finding my way. Neither by my power or my might, I would like to speak to a specific experience of teaching.
My reason for choosing an events MA at an arts uni should be self explanatory by now. I applied to one uni only and the possibility of rejection was not a thing to me until I got my acceptance letter. A deferred year later, I was ready to drop out. A switch to part-time and a £1235 fine later, I want to make one thing clear, Goldsmiths University of London, I do not like you. Because of the switch from FT to PT and the way I completed my modules, by year 2, I only had my dissertation to complete which I started early #keen and an optional module. I chose Music Management and then Project Management to make myself more employable and promptly dropped this in favour of an Arts Administration and Cultural Policy selection.
Under the tutelage of Dr. Nicola Guy, I had the pleasure of taking Communication, Education and Interpretation in the Art Museum and audited classes in Museums and Galleries as Cultural Entrepreneurs. Not to be a cliche, but these choices genuinely changed my life. You know when people are annoying and say they fell in love with their partner and everything suddenly made sense and you sort of roll your eyes (internally). Maybe they have a point.
I have never before taken a class or undergone an assessment that has made me feel so invigorated and alive. I feel like I’d been living and walking on standby until I took this class and it’s largely due to the teacher I had. So let’s talk about it. What went right?
The assessment: Create a museum guide for a new museum
I was really intrigued by the assessment, a 6000 word museum guide including a Directors Foreword or mission statement, location and architect, academic essay, collection and interpretation, education plan, income generating activities and future plans.
I had never experienced anything like this. It’s a big task and I went through many iterations of my final submission. I had the opportunity to interrogate the way art and art museums are meant to function vs the realities of what they are. I never once thought I would end up or want to end up in education but I had such a great time developing the education programme for this. Opportunities like this are such great moments to expand the parameters of learning and develop our curiosities, ideas and engage more with the subject matter.
I ended up making the Black Horror Archive which explored horror as a functional medium, its role across art forms and ultimately its place in the art museum.
2. The teacher
Nicola was (is) a great lecturer. There’s an excitement and care people have for areas and subjects they’re genuinely passionate about. Think Mychal and his love for the library. From jump, I could feel Nicola’s love for her craft but also her willingness and investment in my success. We had such interesting guest lecturers, learning topics, excursions and just all round great classes. The case studies were great, the reading materials were accessible and easy to navigate and Nicola? She’s just that guy. The baddest and realest lecturer - you will always be famous!
3. The relevance
What started off as an assessment has sort of warped into a potential learning programme and community development opportunity. It’s sort of brought me back to volunteering and why I enjoy it. It’s given me a whole new framework to measure and interrogate the events experience by and ultimately, it’s just reaffirmed all the possibilities and ways art intersects with literally everything and its role as a functional tool for learning, change, development and literally more.
When we speak of cultural workers, we need to include educators who go out of their way to shape our experiences and guide us towards the materials and works of those before us that will take us further. In thanking Nicola, I would also like to extend my gratitude to Sebastian Zenner.
Seb, there are 1000 achievements I could make and the if I charted my path, it would absolutely lead back to you in some way. I started volunteering (and enjoying it) through an event Seb would organise, a communtiy literature festival. He would encourage me to take part in library and literary initiatives, and eventually offered me the role that led me to this masters and a career in arts events as a whole.
With teachers and workers like this, I also remember why I love media that encourages and celebrates their role. Think Dead Poets Society and Abbott Elementary. That quote ‘You know what they say, those who can, do and those who can’t teach’ is not only rude, but a disservice to the process of learning, mentors and facilitators. Get to know.
