I really discovered my passions and dislikes and I’m grateful for the doors it’s opened for me, it’s really given me that head start I needed for my journey in the arts
Artworks: Cultivating the next generation of arts professionals
Developing the talents of local young people from diverse backgrounds through a trainee scheme for arts workers
Breaking down the barriers to careers in community arts
The arts sector should reflect the diversity of the community it serves. From 2019 to 2024, Magic Me’s Artworks programme provided a paid Community Arts Trainee scheme for talented young people from racially minoritised and working-class backgrounds in Tower Hamlets and Hackney. By breaking down financial and systemic barriers, we provided a clear pathway for talented local young people to learn more about professional participatory arts.
Learning on the job
We worked with ten trainees during the project, providing a two-strand training programme.
- On-the-job experience: Trainees assisted with practical Magic Me activities both in the office and in our intergenerational creative sessions.
- Specialist mentoring: Led by facilitator Lewis Greener, trainees engaged in a developmental workshop programme. Lewis taught our trainees about the theory behind participatory arts practice, and built their skills, confidence and knowledge through mentoring and supported visits to other local arts organisations.
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I knew I would be working with different generations and my local community but I did not expect to learn as much as I did
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I am definitely more confident and career driven than I was at the beginning of the traineeship
Celebrating our Artworks talent pipeline
Thank you to our amazing Trainees Nazifa Yazmin (2020), Hamida Begum, Jan Biedrzycki and Shazna Begum (2022), Chloe Latchford, Isobel Lehr, Yasmin Amin (2023), Rhovie Isiko and Kimberly Johnson (2024) - keep an eye out for them all as their careers develop. We were pleased to welcome Chloe and Kimberly back to the Magic Me staff team for a while - it's always a pleasure to see the talent training pipeline in action.
Support emerging talent
Artworks was a 2019-2024 project, developed and supported through local authority contracts and Trusts & Foundation funding. While this specific project has concluded, we continue to look for ways to support emerging talent in East London - learn more about how to support our work below.