Outreach Internships: Strengthening Community Pathways to Auckland Art Gallery

2015 Outreach Interns: Kylie Epapara, Joshua Good and Roberta Ellis

'Educators need to prepare learners to be citizens who desire to reconstruct society so that it improves the lives and satisfies the
needs of all people…'
– Paulo Freire, Pedagogy of the Oppressed

‘It’s an EYE-SORE!’ was an interesting description of the Les Sauvages de la Mer Pacificique wallpaper print in our Upper Grey Gallery. Joshua Good, one of our three Outreach Programme interns, was commenting on the print of a section of the 1804 wallpaper designed by Jean-Gabriel Charvet and manufactured by James Dufour which is one of the works in our Printing the Pacific exhibition curated by Assistant Curator Mathew Norman.

Charvet and Dufour would never have dreamed that 187 years after producing their wallpaper, which was relished by the European and American bourgeoisie of their day, was now described as an ‘eye-sore’ by a descendant of the ‘inhabitants of Tonga’ who are fancifully depicted in the imperialist work. Neither would they have imagined that it would become the catalyst for artist Lisa Reihana’s acclaimed work, in Pursuit of Venus [infected].

Observing these gallery works as a starting point for enquiry was just one of the activities participants of the Outreach Internship Programme completed at the end of the first semester for Manukau Institute of Technology (MIT).

When the opportunity arose for our Outreach Programme to collaborate with MIT’s Faculty of Arts Department, we responded immediately! The Bachelor in Creative Arts professional practices module was a perfect match for our Outreach Programme, and enabled us to utilise the internship model to work alongside local tertiary art students with Outreach work in Otara at the local school, only five minutes away from MIT, Sir Edmund Hillary Collegiate Senior School.

Under the tutelage of MIT lecturer and artist Steve Lovett, third year BCA students Joshua Good, Kylie Epapara and Roberta Ellis completed a 10-week internship with us. This included being based at the Gallery as well as being placed with Sir Edmund Hillary Collegiate Senior School assisting Art teachers Mose Eteuati and Loa Toetu’u.

Roberta Ellis
Bachelor Creative Arts Degree
Graphic Novelist – Otahuhu 

When I started this internship, I was unsure where to go. In the beginning, I was very nervous because it was a new place and I was also needing ideas for a final year art project with MIT. Four weeks into my internship I met the Senior School art students on my Outreach community placement with Sir Edmund Hillary Collegiate Senior School in Otara. I learned from that experience that working alongside these Year 10 & 13 students wasn't that hard. By working with them and travelling back and forth, between MIT, SEHC and Auckland Art Gallery I had the opportunity to experience something new!

As part of the internship, I had to assist with a private gallery event in the Mackelvie Gallery space, and my family were able to see me in the Art Gallery environment as well as view the work of artist Lisa Reihana in Pursuit of Venus [infected]. They enjoyed it very much. It is one of my favourite artworks in the Gallery too. In the end, the result of my project was a graphic novel-style poster I created which conveyed the class project lesson of the Year 10 Mural Class of SEHC – How to Create a Mural. My process was simple and easy to follow. But that’s just the short version. Thank you, Auckland Art Gallery!   ,

Kylie Epapara
Bachelor Creative Arts Degree
Artist & Printmaker – Waiuku 

My name is Kylie Epapara. I’m a student at Manukau Institute of Technology (MIT) in the third and final year of my Bachelors in Creative Arts. I applied for this amazing experience after meeting the Outreach Programme Coordinator at Auckland Art Gallery. This internship was designed to give MIT students on-the-job work experience in which we were given mentorship from staff at the Auckland Art Gallery and were placed in one of their Outreach Community Programmes.

In this case, it was at Sir Edmund Hillary Collegiate’s Senior School Art Department working under Mose Eteuati, the department head, and the art teacher, Loa Toetu’u, and with their Year 10–13 students. I am so grateful for this opportunity and found everything very informative. The staff at the Auckland Art Gallery are very friendly and knowledgeable people who have so much to offer the Auckland community. My highlight was being shown through the back-of-house areas of the Gallery and being able to have a more personal experience with the art. Over the last 11 weeks I enjoyed being a part of the Gallery Outreach team and our placement at Sir Edmund Hillary Collegiate made it clear that my future is in teaching! I’m looking forward to my journey and working with New Zealand’s future artists.

Joshua Good
Bachelor Creative Arts Degree
Graphic Artist – Papatoetoe

My experience with the Auckland Art Gallery’s Outreach Internship Programme was a very positive one! I had the opportunity to do things that I hadn’t had the chance to do before. Things such as planning, preparing and presenting about myself and my art in front of various-sized audiences. This ranged from presenting at a local high school in front of 40+ art students during my Outreach community placement to speaking behind a podium with a microphone in Auckland Art Gallery’s Auditorium to industry professionals! As well as this, I also had a couple days in a real classroom environment helping out art students with their work. I got a lot more out of this internship than I expected and the team that orchestrated it did a stellar job at making everything run as smooth as it did!

More Information: 

Auckland Art Gallery Outreach Programme fosters new connections between communities and the Gallery. Together with community partners we collaborate with projects that reach beyond the Gallery’s walls as we utilise our exhibition and collection programmes to further our network understanding of our wider diverse Art community. For more information about the Outreach Programme:

Contact: Ioka Magele-Suamasi
Auckland Art Gallery, Outreach Programmer
iokapeta.magele-suamasi@aucklandartgallery.com 

The Outreach Internship Programme is a volunteer internship accessible by application only and currently available to students through the following courses: 

(Semester 1)
Manukau Technical Institute Bachelor of Creative Arts Programme
Contact: Steve Lovett (Lecturer)
steve.lovett@manukau.ac.nz

(Semester 2)
Unitec, Auckland Bachelor of Visual Arts Programme
Contact: Aanoali’i Rowena Fuluifaga
rfuluifaga@unitec.ac.nz

Learning through the Arts: What’s the value? How do you do it well?

Did you know that students participating in a one-off art gallery learning programme were shown to perform on average 9.1% better in their use of critical thinking skills than students who hadn’t? This improvement increased to about 18% for students from low socio-economic backgrounds, and students from ‘minority’ groups. 

Auckland Art Gallery Schools’ Team do lots of research into best practice in Arts learning (and learning in general), and into the impact of Arts learning on students within and beyond the subject. We integrate this learning into the programming we develop for schools.

We wanted to share with you a few things we’ve found really interesting and useful lately, that we thought would be valuable for classroom teachers, in the classroom too.

Crystal Bridges study

• American study, focusing on what learning came out of a one-off gallery programme for school students 
• Largest study of its kind involving 10,912 Years 1–13 students and 489 teachers at 123 different schools 
• Results show critical thinking, recall, tolerance, empathy and cultural interest increase
• Effect is greatest for rural, high poverty and minority students 

Visible thinking skills

• A flexible and systematic research-based approach to integrating the development of students’ thinking with content learning across subject matters. Visible Thinking has a double goal: on the one hand, to cultivate students’ thinking skills and dispositions; and, on the other, to deepen content learning. By thinking dispositions, we mean curiosity, concern for truth and understanding, a creative mind-set, not just being skilled but also alert to thinking and learning opportunities and eager to take them 
• At the core of Visible Thinking are practices that help make thinking visible: Thinking Routines loosely guide learners’ thought processes and encourage active processing. They are short, easy-to-learn mini-strategies that extend and deepen students’ thinking and become part of the fabric of everyday classroom life. 

 Projects that use visible thinking skills to explore visual art and beyond

• Project Zero programmes and research (many other programmes are listed with this link)

– Christa Napier-Robertson, Schools Programme Coordinator

Research and resources

We are Auckland’s wharenui/home for authentic and meaningful engagement with art for all... 

Over the past couple of years, we’ve started working on expanding what we can offer for secondary students and their teachers, and this statement – part of the Gallery’s new purpose/values/vision statement, really resonates with much of our thinking over this time.

We are very conscious that the Gallery and its resources have a lot of possibility for use in schools, with potential applications across a broad range of subject areas. And we know from our stats that many schools aren’t currently accessing these resources – a shame for many reasons, not least because they’re owned by the very people not accessing them!

So, how do we support meaningful and authentic engagement with this institution and its resources, by students and teachers in a diverse range of subjects? Especially when our subject speciality sits most specifically in the Visual Arts and Art History?

What we know is that you can’t have authentic, meaningful engagement if you don’t know your audience well – what’s happening for them, the challenges they face, and the needs they have. If you can understand that, you’re at a point where you can potentially respond to real needs – and ideally you’ve got a great opportunity to collaborate together, and share your varied expertise in creating the best possible resources and experiences for all.

So as part of this push we undertook a small research project earlier this year. We asked 18 teachers from nine schools, in Visual Art, Art History, English and History, to tell us about their experiences and needs. We also shared specifically the types of resources we have available (for example, the art, our physical environment, our staffing expertise, resources like our research library) and asked what they imagined we could do with these that could best benefit their needs. Lots of interesting data came out of these conversations . . . and even more questions for us to follow up in the future! I’ll share more about our findings (and further questions) in the coming months, but wanted now to share a few, and what we’re doing now to start to respond in one area.

All the teachers we talked to:

• were enthusiastic about the possibilities of engaging with the Gallery and its resources in their subjects, and had lots of ideas about how meaningful connections could be made 
• needed to teach students visual analysis skills 
• said that help in doing this would be appreciated, as especially for English and History, this wasn’t something that teachers necessarily felt confident in doing 
• identified how an important focus in the classroom is in developing students’ research skills 
• found it difficult to locate accessible, reliable content that could be used to support students in this process; and in relation to art – a serious lack of information on New Zealand (and even international) art, artists and contexts 

In response to the last couple of points, we’ve started a process of developing some of this content, alongside support activities and resources that could be used or adapted for use by teachers both in the classroom and the Gallery.

For two upcoming collection shows on display at the Gallery during Term 4, 2014 and Term 1, 2015 (Age of Turmoil: Art in Germany 1900–1923 and The Social Life of Things) we’ve developed bibliographies of books, articles and websites students can access for further research. Alongside this, for Age of Turmoil, we’ve developed:

• a PDF with an overview of the show, plus detailed descriptions of a good number of the key works 
• two videos of the curator – one with him talking to a PowerPoint where he discusses the German context in the period 1900–1923, the other where he shares his curatorial process in developing the show (including photographic images of his planning process) 
• curriculum aligned worksheets tailored specifically for students of Art History, Visual Art, History and English 

We intend to continue developing resources for future shows, and we’ve got many more ideas for how we could develop these even further, but we’d love your thoughts to help with this. Feel free to let us know any feedback you have on these resources – how they work for you, how they could be improved, plus any other ideas you might have for other resources of any kind.

We’d also love to hear your feedback on the findings shared above – do these reflect your experiences? Is there more you’d like to share, or a different perspective not represented?

Feel free to respond in the comments section below, or email us at education@aucklandartgallery.govt.nz with your thoughts.

– Christa Napier-Robertson, Schools Programme Coordinator

Youth Media Internship 2014: A Mentor's Perspective

Programme Mentor Jacques and AUT Media Mentor Sarah

Reflecting on the past two weeks I realise I am in awe of what we have accomplished: For a team who came together as relative strangers a mere eight days ago we have achieved one helluva lot!

From icebreakers to editing I have been impressed by the overwhelming enthusiasm invested by everyone involved. This faith in and commitment to what can, at times, be a rather chaotic process inspires me hugely and I am honoured to have been involved in such an exciting initiative.

Highlights for me would have to include watching the antics that ensued as as the interns negotiated day two's brainstorming activities, having the opportunity to share my personal journaling process with a group of fellow young creatives and of course the final day's rough cut screening.

I also thoroughly enjoyed leading the storyboarding session on day three and deeply appreciated the opportunity to further my skills as a facilitator. I am rather fanatical about storytelling and relished the chance to share my passion and experience/skills in design thinking with a group of impressionable young creatives. Interns; your creativity and confidence astounds me. Keep doing what you're doing.

The chance to work alongside the gallery's education team and wider staff was equally exciting. The experience of collaborating with such a dynamic and gifted team was certainly a privilege and I really value the insights into Gallery operations, processes, careers and philosophies I gained. The world of Art can often be somewhat secular, so to have the curtain peeled back is an incredible experience from a student perspective. A massive thanks to Selina Anderson and Mindy Catt, your energy, leadership, sheer determination and never-ending supply of hilarious bunny videos were very much appreciated.

If I were to summarise the internship experience in a single word I would have to go with: empowering. The relationships, empathy, skills, insights and confidence I have built through my involvement with this programme over the past two years are truly invaluable.

Thanks Auckland Art Gallery – you're awesome!

– Sarah Loggie, AUT Media Mentor

Youth Media Internship 2014: From Premiere to Premiere

Programme mentor Jacques offering technical help

Some quick, last minute changes in Adobe Premiere aaaaaannnnnndddddd… DONE! All the interns had finished their short films, ready for rendering and exporting. Jacques, the tech whiz mentor, made sure that all the films were ready for playback later in the day for the premiere screening of the films.

Reflection

We reflected on what the past two weeks have meant to us and how we have each benefitted from it. What went well? What didn’t go so well? As mentors, we did well in our documentation of the programme and offering help where possible. The interns all did well in encouraging one another and always being open to learn new skills and processes.

One big family

With the pressure of the films off our shoulders, the remainder of the day was left for us to hang out and have some fun without the segregation of teams. We’re all just one big family now. After a quick photoshoot on the sculpture terrace, we were free to play in the creative learning centre, read stories, draw… basically just chill. It was nice to be in a completely stress free environment after the intensity of the past two weeks.

Group photo of Interns and Mentors

While the movies were being prepared for their premiere showing, we spent some time creating short drama skits that showed a memorable part of the programme. This was very enjoyable and allowed everyone to get active and creative. The skits were performed in the theatre where the final films were to be shown. But first, let us take a selfie!

Interns taking photos

Most of the interns weren’t comfortable with being in front of the camera at the beginning of this programme. There was no shyness now as all the interns seemed very comfortable with having literally hundreds of photos taken of them. Perhaps this was because of all the photos we’ve taken of them throughout the week, or maybe just the atmosphere of excitement in the auditorium. Either way, the Interns were happy to muck around in front of the lens.

A team introduces their short film

The audience started entering. Members of the gallery staff, including the stars of some of the films, were invited to this exclusive premiere of the Interns’ short films and our short film based on the interns’ time here. It was such a great experience seeing these finally come to the big screen. We are incredibly proud of what each team produced.

An Intern receiving their gift

Each intern has clearly grown in their creativity. They have become more aware of the talent that they possess and have started to open their minds to the endless possibilities in art. We are honoured to have been a part of this programme and are looking forward to the future of these amazing and talented interns.

A huge thanks must go to the Auckland Art Gallery and Colab AUT for facilitating this event. In particular, Mindy Catt and Selina Anderson from Auckland Art Gallery and Clinton Watkins from Colab. We are also grateful for the expertise and insight of Jacques Foottit and Sarah Loggie. And, of course, thank you to every intern who made this adventure awesome.

All the best, Martin Hill and Reuben Poharama

For and Against: Debating Ideas and Concepts around art!

A case study around developing a new cross-curricular secondary school programme piloted with Year 12 History students from Pukekohe High School.

The moment of truth! The students were now asked to use the content they had been given to debate the moot ‘The influence of the Renaissance is obvious in art from today’... The debate was a roaring success – both groups were lively and engaged, and were keen to discuss their interpretations and ideas... I'd facilitated many debates in the Gallery prior to this one, but immediately this stood out as more successful.

The analysis and discussion of works of art can offer rich learning opportunities appropriate for a broad range of subject areas. Motivated by this thinking, we wanted to develop a programme that gave secondary students from a range of subject areas the opportunity to build relevant content and contextual knowledge around works of art, to explore the big ideas these generate, and to then apply this knowledge through a facilitated group debate designed to encourage high level critical thinking.

We developed a focused tour and debate programme (For and Against: Debating Ideas and Concepts around Art), combining the strengths of two of the Gallery’s teams. The first part of the session is led by one of our Gallery Volunteers, who work with the public to deliver daily tours and have an comprehensive understanding of the Gallery and its collection. The second part of the session is led by one of our Gallery Educators, who work with schools and community groups and specialize in facilitating sessions where students use critical and creative thinking to analyze artworks.

We trialed this new programme with a class of Year 12 History students from Pukekohe High School. They had been studying the Renaissance, and were preparing for an internal standard for which they needed to write an essay on the art of the Renaissance and its effect on art in the present.

We introduced their debate topic: ‘The influence of the Renaissance is obvious in art from today’. When they discovered they wouldn't know which side of the debate they would argue from until the second part of the session there were groans and slight looks of panic on several faces, so we assured them the debate would not be a test, but rather a fun and lively way to apply their knowledge, share their thoughts and hear the thoughts of others!

Part 1: Volunteer Guide-led tour 

Juan de Juanes, Saint Catherine of Alexandria, 16th century

We started in Little Miracles, an exhibition of 16th century Renaissance paintings and then spent time discussing several works in-depth. Students also had opportunities to share their own knowledge and interpretations, and she encouraged them to link what they were hearing now back to what they had learnt in the classroom.

Tony Fomison, My Personal Christ (St Anthony) 1976

We then viewed examples of ‘art from today’. The challenge was to identify or relate the characteristics of the Renaissance works we had discussed to these contemporary New Zealand works. The students were supported through this process through discussion and were encouraged to look at the notes they had taken in Little Miracles to compare and contrast the works.

Part 2: Educator-facilitated debate 

The moment of truth! The students were now asked to use the content they had been given to debate the moot ‘The influence of the Renaissance is obvious in art from today’. Their teacher, Liz, and I stepped back at this point, and gave the students space to voice their opinions, use the notes they had taken in Liz’s session, and to use their prior knowledge. Where needed, we would step in to further fuel a discussion or push them further with their thinking.

Colin McCahon, Takaka: Night and Day 1948

The debate was a roaring success – both groups were lively and engaged, and were keen to discuss their interpretations and ideas. An atmosphere of playful competition kept them on their toes, as both sides wanted to 'win'. I'd facilitated many debates in the Gallery prior to this one, but immediately this stood out as more successful. Giving the students access to content and then allowing them the time to digest it and manipulate it made a huge difference. Challenges we’ve since thought through – sticking to our timing – they could have kept debating much longer, and trying to keep all of the students engaged during the debate, not just the ones who are really comfortable talking in public. The arguments from both sides were well measured, supported with evidence and convincing. For example, the 'for' group argued that the influence of the Renaissance was clearly visible in McCahon's Takaka: Night and Day. They thought his dramatic use of light and dark tones referenced the chiaroscuro technique used by Renaissance artists.

Successes: 

• Students said they found arguing a given point of view challenging, but useful. This is a skill they need for essay writing in several subjects, not just History. They also liked hearing different perspectives from their peers during the debate, and having the opportunity to learn from each other in that way. 
• The flexibility of this programme allows the Gallery to respond to a teacher's needs, or to a specific topic of study. Liz was able to introduce lots of content, which secondary students need. Their teacher was engaged and encouraging throughout the entire session. Her enthusiasm helped students maintain interest. 
• Liz’s past experience with secondary groups had seen her solely as a ‘guide’, her role purely to share content. She has found in this environment students are often reluctant to ask questions or participate in discussion. Alternatively she found the For and Against programme created an atmosphere that allowed students space to show curiosity or share their knowledge, making it a more rewarding experience for them and for her. 

Going forward:

• Taking into account the challenges in the pilot, we are now offering this programme on a regular basis along with the rest of our Secondary Learning programming: 
• I love working with this age group, and really enjoyed the opportunity to hear them voice their opinions and share their knowledge in such an enthusiastic way. 
• Bring your students in and let us know what you think! 

– Gallery Educator Vivien Masters and Volunteer Guide Elizabeth Buchanan

Image credits: 

Juan de Juanes
Saint Catherine of Alexandria 16th century
Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, gift of Sir George Grey, 1887

Tony Fomison
My personal Christ 1975-1976
Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, purchased 1976

Colin McCahon
Takaka: night and day 1948
Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, gift of the Rutland Group, 1958

Youth Media Internship 2014: The End in Sight

Interns critiquing their peers' work

Today we started with a quick critique session. We all had the opportunity to look at what each of the groups had done so far and offer some feedback about each of the short films. At this stage feedback plays a key role in motivating the Interns to fine tune and push their films to a higher level.

Getting the job done

Editing was the main focus of today. There was an atmosphere of concentration and determination in the studio. Talking to the Interns revealed that there were still a lot of ideas that they would like to develop. Everyone was optimistic and knew that they would get it all done and calmly carried on working.

Reflective drawing of an intern

This year’s Interns love to express themselves through their own art. Many of the interns doodle or draw as part of their reflection. As not everyone in the group can work on editing at the same time, a few chose to reflect through their drawings. The interns have a lot of skills in many different fields and their artistic ability has really shone through over the last two weeks.

Pizza for lunch

One of the highlights of this programme that everyone agrees on is the food we get everyday. The programme has been fully catered for with a combination of snacks, sandwiches and everyone's favourite: pizza. Lunchtime today was a much needed break from all the work everyone had been doing. Some were so focused on their work that they needed to be peeled away from their computers to take a break.

Programme mentor Jacques lending a hand

Jacques, one of the programme mentors, helped a lot today. He knows a great deal about the technical side of things. The Interns called on him when they were faced with something that they didn't know how to do. His expertise in this area helped in the process of learning that the interns have gone through.

– Photos and text by Reuben Poharama and Martin Hill, AUT Media Mentors

Youth Media Internship 2014: Positively Messy

Rechecking our goals

Today, after taking a look at the art boards downstairs, the Interns were given some questions similar to those answered in the first few days. The aim of these questions were to help us remember our goals why we are making these films. We have been busy making our films for the past few days now so it was good to take some time to refocus and make sure we're still on track.

Shooting some last minute footage

Very soon after, we got back to work. The teams were all at different stages of production, which is expected with their unique styles. There was editing, filming, even props making in the studio which is slightly worrying as the groups should probably all be editing by now. There was definitely progress being made, however, I just hope that this progress is enough to get the groups all on schedule.

Borrowing eyes from another team

There was an encouraging amount of cooperation both within the teams and between them. I loved seeing the interns help other teams when they weren't busy with their own films. Because editing is often difficult to do with three people at once, there were many times throughout the day when a team member was not needed in their own project, freeing them to help others with theirs.

Interns get messy

The studio got a little messy today, not because the Interns are dirty, but because there was some very arty filming taking place. The techniques used in some of the their films are unique and exciting. We all look forward to seeing the final results on Thursday.

Interns play music and work

The end is slowly creeping closer. With only one day to finish everything, the pressure is on for everyone to get their projects done. Luckily, to ease the stress, the interns had access to a guitar and cookies. Both of which are proven to relieve mental pressure… I think. The atmosphere in the studio is still positive though, and everyone is still enjoying being a part of the programme.

– Photos and text by Reuben Poharama and Martin Hill, AUT Media Mentors

Youth Media Internship 2014: Monday Morning, 3-Day Warning

Editing in Adobe Premiere Pro

Starting the day with a lesson in Adobe Premiere helped clear the fog in our minds in terms of how to piece together our short films. Jacques showed us all how to layout the windows, sort the files and some basic editing techniques. The tutorial was followed by action – trying this ‘editing’ thing for ourselves. 

Showing a quick mock-up video

For the next while we began to put shots, titles and images together to form the basic outline of our films. Not aiming for perfection, but rather an idea of what it could be. These quick videos helped us explain the direction of our production and how we are going to achieve our goals.

Notes from the critique

Each group presented their rough cut videos and spoke about the direction of their production. It was exciting to see the creativity in what has been done so far and it gave us all an opportunity to find inspiration for our own films. Critical feedback from the group helped to understand how each film is perceived by individuals. We look forward to what the interns will be doing over the coming three days.

Snacks to cure the stress

Wait… Three days? Actually more like two and a half. These films will need to be completed by Thursday which leaves the final half of today, then Tuesday and Wednesday. Not a lot of time at all. Don’t worry everyone, more snacks have been ordered to help with the stress.

– Photos and text by Reuben Poharama and Martin Hill, AUT Media Mentors

Youth Media Internship 2014: Do you need it? Yes!

Figuring out the camera

Today was a jam packed day focused around the Interns filming the things they needed to. It was pretty intense and, for some, like jumping into the deep end having done nothing like this before. They took this in their stride and gave it their best shot.

Working together as a team

In each group they had different roles and responsibilities. They really took ownership of these roles. They understood which part each of them played and how these parts came together as a group. The planning really shone through and allowed the groups to work effectively to complete the tasks that needed to be done.

Interviewing the Director, Rhana Devenport

When filming in and around the Gallery the Interns interacted with the people there. It is interesting to see such a diverse range of people all from different backgrounds coming together in this one place to appreciate the art within it. This diversity allowed the interns to gain some interesting responses from these people when they interviewed them.

Selecting music for their short film.

Only two groups could film at a time because either Mindy or Selina had to supervise the interns. So while two groups were out filming the other two were conducting research about their enquiry. The Interns had access to the Gallery Library and spent their time reading books, gathering information from online sources and some even began selecting music for the soundtrack of their film.

Together with the Youth Events Sqaud (YES)

Today we also had lunch with the Youth Event Squad (YES). This is a group of young people that work with the gallery staff to plan and run exciting events for other young people at the Gallery. Many of them have come through the Youth Media Internship program and inspired many of the current interns by showing them where these types of opportunities could lead them.

Working with the content

The rest of the afternoon was spent watching and organising the content that had been generated throughout the day. Doing this can be just as important as generating the content in the first place and is often something that is overlooked. The interns had some important decisions to make. What do they keep or disregard? Do they need more content? Is there anything missing?

– Photos and text by Reuben Poharama and Martin Hill, AUT Media Mentors

Youth Media Internship 2014: Make a Move

The teams became a lot closer today. After writing out our individual strengths and goals, we decided, as teams, the roles that each person would have. It was helpful for us, the documenters, to go through this process at the same time as the interns.

Each team was then to write and present a proposal for their films, explaining what their film is about and what they want it to look and feel like. Writing a good proposal is very difficult and presenting it in front of people is often intimidating, however, the interns showed intelligence and insight in their work. Presenting their proposals allowed the teams to receive constructive feedback from the rest of the group.

We needed to start making things. The gallery was hosting an event that invited members of the public to make leis, either for themselves or to add to the community lei. How could we miss this opportunity? At the same time, we were invited to listen to a storyteller tell Hawaiian legends. This was a great source of inspiration as many of us will be telling stories through our films.

Sandwich break! Everyone out! We’re moving! The high school students were all eager to go to University.

Colab at AUT University has provided us with filming equipment and a studio space to work in for the two weeks. This afternoon was an intense round of workshops on storyboarding, journaling and filming, which were very “hands-on” and allowed for the young artists to finally feel like they were making something as a team. It was great for the interns to see the different techniques and ways of doing things in all three of these areas.

The feeling of excitement is building as the teams get closer to starting production. I have a feeling it’s going to get very intense very soon...

– Photos and text by Reuben Poharama and Martin Hill, AUT Media Mentors

Youth Media Internship 2014: An Intern’s Personal Reflection

Day 1

The thing that struck me during today, was how much about art I don’t know. Before arriving at Auckland Art Gallery, I assumed that the majority of what was left to understand about art was mainly about personal interpretation. However, after today I have come to a different conclusion. During our tour of the Gallery Selina explained to us the composition of several early 1600’s paintings. She explained how, since most people of that time period did not know how to read or write, artists employed symbolism into their art work as a way of creating narrative. Although this was a fairly simple idea, to me it was a very important piece of knowledge that I was shocked I was missing. It reminded me of how much there is left to learn and made me even more grateful than I already am to be involved in the program.

Day 2 

Today was a strongly idea-based day. During the most part of it, we were brainstorming and pondering what aspects of the Gallery, and art as a whole interest us. After many different activities, discussions, and a delicious lunch, our group has successfully come up with an idea to investigate that interests all of us, one that we we are very excited to work on for the rest of the time here.

– Anonymous Intern

Youth Media Internship 2014: What's the Big Idea?

Discussing responses to questions and quotes

Today the Youth Media Interns focused on generating ideas and looking deeper into the enquiry that each group wants to follow. The exercises that the interns took part in today helped them come to a greater understanding of what they would like to research. One exercise particularly looked at a range of questions with various strengths and weaknesses. The interns reflected on these which helped them formulate their own questions that they were personally interested in.

All of the different exercises were not only to help formulate enquiries but also build connections within their teams. Each group was able to understand and make effective decisions quickly with each member having an input. This will be crucial when they start producing their short films as they only have a limited time to complete many tasks.

Conveying meaning through movement

The interns have shown an impressive amount of enthusiasm and intelligence. They have also built strong relationships with their colleagues which is vital for any successful team. Everyone has made the most of the time that we have had, especially today, which was filled with valuable learning experiences.

Thinking as a team

Today was also valuable for us as the documenters. We will be making a short film as a documentation of the Interns’ creative process while they produce their own films. We also went through the idea generation process with the interns today. Our enquiry is about each person which meant we needed to get some insight into their thinking through the use of reflection.

Ideas for reflection

Personal reflection will not only help to document the process but will also help the interns gain insight into their own ways of thinking and doing, creating a greater awareness of the decision making process.

– Photos and text by Reuben Poharama and Martin Hill, AUT Media Mentors

Meet the 2014 Youth Media Interns

The new Youth Media Interns

Today the Youth Media Interns began a fun-filled journey to produce their own creative short film based around their experiences at Auckland Art Gallery. The interns come from all over Auckland with many different skills and interests. This diversity became very apparent when we were sharing goals that we would like to achieve through the programme. We are excited to see what each member of the group is able to contribute.

A big part of today was the tour. This gave the interns the chance to begin thinking about what they find interesting about the Art Gallery. This helped give them some ideas about what their films might be about. We met some of the staff and were able to hear a little about what role each person played within the Gallery. This ‘behind the scenes’ look was a unique experience.

Dave Bavage, Head of Gallery Development & Visitor Services, speaks to the Interns

Towards the end of the day we discussed the values that will be important while working in teams for the next two weeks. We first individually decided – from the list we brainstormed – which three were the most important. We then paired up and debated which of the six values were the three most important. The pairs then debated in groups of four, then eight, then as one big discussion to decide the final, most important three. These values chosen were:

1. Open-mindedness 
2. Constructive 
3. Imagination 

Open-mindedness, constructive and imagination were the three top values decided by the Interns

The interns were sent away for an afternoon break while the teams were being decided. There was tension in the air as they waited to hear who they would be teamed up with. After watching some inspiring videos the interns were split into their teams to discuss ideas, values and what each member would like to contribute to and gain from the experience.

Individual goal setting

It has been a great start to this year’s programme with everyone being very open and friendly. We are really excited about what is to come…

– Photos and text by Reuben Poharama and Martin Hill, AUT Media Mentors

Taking the Leap: The Youth Advisory Group Pilot

PART TWO: WHAT WASN'T WORKING TAUGHT ME MORE

The programme is four months in and the YES (Youth Event Squad – much better name) are flying ahead, planning exciting, accessible, participatory events for later this year. So a slightly different approach this blog – now that we are all up to speed on what this programme is, I want to share here some of the mini crises I have been having over this programme and what I have learnt from them. There are advantages to staring at the ceiling at night wondering if I am doing any irreversible damage to this programme and feeling more than a little out of my depth.

The first few meetings felt vague and flat. Not because of the members, but because I had gone in thinking ‘I don’t need structure these guys know the place!’ I was so wrong! We started to run before we could walk, I had to hold them back from branstorming events because we hadn’t even set goals, I had no ‘big picture’ to give them because this was a first for everyone involved. I was confused, so they were confused.

Looking back at how this programme has evolved, at the beginning I was worried about what was the purpose of my role in this programme, what was their purpose (were they here for them? Or for the visitors at their events?), and what was the purpose of the events? Was I to worry about the audience of these events? Was I to worry about the creative aspects of the events? Sensing the panic here? I thought so. Once I realised my sole purpose as an educator on this programme was to create a safe and creative environment where these young people can develop leadership and capability skills, I relaxed. Trust the process was my new mantra.

I called meeting with my colleague (Community Learning Coordinator and Ultimate Frisbee Coach), motivated by a growing sense of panic of the unknown. She reassured me using an unexpectedly helpful sports metaphor. Imagine myself as the coach of these young people, they are my team and the ‘events’ are the finals. While I want them to get them to finals, I don’t want to focus on a ‘win’ (the outcome/event) because otherwise the entire season (learning’s and experiences) seem like a waste of time if we don’t make it! If I am only focusing on the outcome, then the entire process feels futile if you don’t (to use a horrid word) ‘succeed’.

So how was I going to develop leadership and capability skills? By modeling them. So acknowledging what I don’t know, and what I can do better explicitly is important. I have made the meetings more structured than I originally thought was necessary, I have taken to sending out meeting minutes between the meetings, and then a week before a ‘Hey this is what’s happening, don’t forget to come’ email.

I decided that people can’t develop leadership and capability skills in a group of 12. So I am going to split them into smaller groups, with each group managing their own event/programme. Now their strengths and skills can shine and voices can be heard. It seems obvious that twelve people cannot plan one event without some serious problems arising! Imagine 12 directors for a film. Diabolical. The added benefit is we will now potentially have four events which they have creative control over and can support each other on.

To limit the chance of any future mild panics, at the end of every meeting I reflect with colleagues. I ask myself:

• What went well and how do I know? 
• Were there any issues that arose? 
• What would I do differently next time? 
• How can I take what we’ve learnt above into the next meeting? 
• Are we responding and respecting the goals and values of these young people? 

So onwards and upwards. Hopefully in the next post I will have some more exciting things to share that they are working hard on.

– Selina Anderson, Senior Gallery Educator

For more information about our Youth programmes:
 http://www.aucklandartgallery.com/learning/youth