Arts, Heritage and Materials Science Work Placement
03 March 2023
The Arts, Heritage and Materials Science Work Placement was an ambitious new programme for 15–18 year old East Londoners from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic backgrounds which took place during the summer. We invited 10 young Londoners to learn about the Institute of Making through making and then co-design a hands-on activity at the public open day at UCL.
Why we decided to run this programme
Our aim with the programme was to learn more about the young people’s experience of making and to grow understanding of how to be more inclusive to young people from underserved backgrounds. With the opening of a new workshop at UCL East, we hoped that this programme would help inform decisions about the new space, as well as improving our existing work cultures & relationships with the community. Through youth consultation and co-design we sought to empower our young people to use their authentic voice to feedback on their experience of being at the Institute of Making.
While the above was our hope for our own learning, for the participants themselves we wanted to provide the type of paid work experience, socialising and hands-on learning which they had to forego during the pandemic, and which are so essential to confidence and mental health.
The programme structure
The project began with two consultation sessions with a youth advocacy group from East London. The project then recruited a group of ten young people who would attend a programme of seven sessions. The first three sessions focused on the group becoming acquainted with the Institute of Making environment, the research aims of the project, and hands-on making skills around henna and other organic dyes with maker Nuz from Huq That. The latter four sessions focused on co-designing hands-on henna sessions with the participants and asking them to complete Young Researcher assignments. The group taught their newly acquired making skills both at the Festival of Stuff and at a community event in East London, and presented their findings on what a new Institute of Making space in East London could look like. After this, the project coordinator, Tasnim Siddiqa Amin, worked on evaluation and reflections for the project as a whole.
Madiha's experience on the programme
15-year-old Madiha from Poplar took part in the programme. We invited her to write about herself and her experience on the programme:
“I am Madiha. I was born in Saudi Arabia where I spent most of my childhood. My family and I had to then move to Ajman, Emirates where we only lived briefly, for about one year. After much sweat and tears, my dad managed to get us to the UK in the hope for better education for me and my siblings. He is the strongest, most hardworking man I have ever witnessed and the best father anyone could ever ask for.
It was a pleasantly intense and an overwhelming experience to be given the chance to participate in a placement job at the Institute of Making, UCL. I have always heard from my older brothers that UCL is one of the best universities and very hard to get into. So getting this sort of opportunity was a very shocking yet exciting opportunity, especially as a Muslim girl from a very practicing family. I wasn’t allowed to travel anywhere too far without my brothers, which I didn’t mind because I love traveling with my brothers anyway.
This Work Experience was for BAME (Black, Asian and minority ethnic) people, which I didn’t really mind. As henna does originate from BAME cultures I believe it was important to teach the people from these cultures first, before spreading it outside of BAME ethnicities. To spread the message of these amazing cultures, they need to be first learnt by the young people from these cultures itself.
The Institute of Making selected 10 students from East London who were eager to learn about natural dyes, and henna. We were a team of our own. The first day into the session at UCL, my heart was hammering against my chest, out of nervousness but also excitement. Very excited actually. We learnt how to do finger knitting with thin straps of wool with Sara and played games to get to know each other. I couldn’t wait for the next session to begin. Throughout the programme I made many friends, and they were all amazing. I met Nuz from Huq That who came to teach us about the historical, cultural and practical sides of henna. We learnt how henna is made and how it is packaged in a cone.
Nuz was an amazing role model for me. She motivated me to start my own Henna business. I also learnt about natural dyes with Ellie who works as a technician at the Institute of Making. Zoe, the director and another great woman I met, has an incredible amount of positivity around her and constantly pushed us to accomplish as far as we could possibly go. The work experience taught me how to be more efficient at work, and how work contracts usually work. It also let me develop my mind mapping skills and idea development skills!
During all of these sessions we were also trained to open up our own making station to teach henna to the public in a community event. During that community event, I learnt an incredible amount of skills. For example, how to approach strangers, how to catch their attention, how to draw audiences in, how to be a good guide, how to be a good team manager, and also built my henna account on Instagram. Us ten girls, as a team, also got a chance to open our own small community event at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. This time, the event was fully planned and conducted by just us young people. The community event challenged me on many levels, and increased my self-esteem. That was that, however I think the main star of all of this is Tasnim who actually made this whole thing happen. She was there every session and helped us throughout the programme. When I was very stressed and overwhelmed about project managing our community event, Tasnim was there to reassure me.
My work placement with the Institute of Making was incredible and educational on many levels. I was only 15 years old and I was eager to gain as much work experience as possible. The Art, Heritage & Material Science of Natural Dyes Work Placement was the most realistic and meaningful work experience I have ever taken part in.”
A gallery of pictures from the programme
Questions and feedback from our second co-design session prior to launching the programme.
Participants exploring the Materials Library after a session with our Materials Librarian Sarah Wilkes.
The group learning about natural and organic dyes in the Institute of Making workshop.
Henna artist Nuz from Huq That leading a discussion about the diverse cultures, heritages and identitites connected to making with henna.
A stunningly intricate piece of henna art by one of our participants.
A board explaining the group's henna stall at the Festival of Stuff.
The group being briefed alongside roughly 100 volunteers, makers and academics before the start of the Festival of Stuff.
A participant teaching their family henna skills at the Festival of Stuff.
A written reflection by one of the participants, about their experience running an activity at the Festival of Stuff and what skills they learnt.
The group decided to run their community event in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in East London and teach henna making skills to local families and passers by.
One of the completed research assignments helping us to consider young people's idedas for the new space in East London.