Gold Unit 1 Part B: Career development opportunities in the arts
You need to:
Find out about careers and activities in the art and design
Find out about events, courses, clubs in art and design
Take part in volunteering or training in art and design
Tell us what you have learnt, found out, and what information has been useful in your own development
Download the worksheet or the powerpoint template below to complete this section and use the step by step guidance below to help you.
If you don’t have powerpoint you can open the template in google slides instead.
Careers and Activities
In your own style, tell us:
What careers and arts activities are you interested in finding out about?
What kind of jobs or roles in the arts do you want to learn more about?
Are there any specific careers, organisations, or creative activities that interest you?
Do you already know someone in the arts that you’d like to follow or learn from?
Research
You need to research into opportunities that you could get involved in, to help you grow as an artist or designer.
If you’re not sure where to research, here are some ways you might find creative opportunities:
Ask a parent, carer or teacher – they might know about local youth arts projects, creative clubs, or workshops
Follow local arts organisations on social media – they often post about free events and opportunities
Check noticeboards in libraries, youth centres or community hubs for posters or flyers
Search online for "free art workshops near me" or look at websites like Eventbrite for face to face or virual activites.
See what activities Creative Briefs are doing that you could get involved in, outside of your Arts Award journey.
Ask someone who already works in the creative industries what sort of things they could recommend.
Find online events or competitions - you can take part in some projects from home
YouTube – Subscribe to creative channels and see what they do
Look at careers websites like BBC Bitesize Careers
Do some research, and then in your own style tell us:
What opportunities to take part in the arts did you find out about?
What events, courses, workshops, open calls, clubs, or projects have you discovered?
How did you find out about them – did someone tell you, did you search online, or see a poster?
What sources of information were most useful in your research?
You might have used various ways to research creative opportunities, for example, websites, social media, a college visit, speaking to artists, books, leaflets, careers advisers…
Which sources helped you the most and why?
Volunteering, Placements, or Training
Get involved in whatever you can. You might be able to get a work experience placement, or you might sign up to join one of the workshops or a training course you found in your research.
Describe any volunteering, placement or training you took part in
What did you actually do?
Where was it, who ran it, and how long did it last?
Were you involved in helping at an event, shadowing an artist, doing work experience, joining a workshop, or something else?
How did these practical experiences support your learning and arts development?
What did you learn from taking part?
Did you learn any new practical skills?
Did you see how artists or creative professionals do their jobs?
What surprised you?
What inspired you?
What information about further education or career options did you gather from anyone you spoke to as part of your volunteering or training?
Did you talk to anyone about college courses, apprenticeships, or university routes?
Did you learn about how artists and designers get jobs, or build a career in the arts?
What advice or information did practitioners give you?
What feedback did you get from anyone you worked with?
Did the artists, leaders, or staff say anything about how you worked or what you did well?
Did they give you tips or suggestions for the future?
You can include screenshots, quotes, or recordings of this feedback in your portfolio.
How has this experience helped your own career development?
Did it change your ideas about what you want to do?
Did it give you confidence or new goals?
Has it helped you think about what you might do next in your creative journey?
Send us your work
When you’ve completed this section, please upload it by pressing the button below.
Please make sure your name is on your work and also label it somewhere as Gold Unit 1 Part B.
This will securely send your files to our safe Dropbox.
You will need to add the full name of the child and a valid email address when uploading.
CHECK LIST FOR UPLOADING:
Make sure your upload includes:
Evidence of research into opportunities to participate in art and design
Evidence of taking part, and a description of what you did on any placement / volunteering / training / workshops
Reflection on how the experiences have helped your learning and development
Comments and feedback from any creative practitioners you spoke to.