At the beginning of 2011, the Bursary Blog started following a group of arts graduates taking their first steps in the creative industries thanks to the DCMS Jerwood Creative Bursaries Scheme. They took us behind the scenes with blogs and vlogs showing us what their organisations do, what their jobs involved and what it meant to them to get the opportunity to start work in the arts industry. As the year draws to a close, scheme director Kate Danielson from the Jerwood Foundation looks back at what has been achieved.

Continue reading "A year in the making: reflecting on 12 months of fascinating Creative Bursary placements" »

Posted by Kate Danielson at 03:24 PM | Permalink

From naked bike rides to an unusual version of dominos via the mysteries of gaffa tape, arts graduate Michelle Thomas fills us in on what she's learnt from her placement at an opera company through the DCMS Jerwood Creative Bursaries Scheme.

Continue reading "How to make domino spirals out of 1,000 hardback books" »

Posted by Michelle Thomas at 12:20 PM | Permalink

What does a theatre producer actually do? After 12 months working for The Empty Space, which produces and supports theatre in the north of England, Hannah Clarke-Stamp has the answer. She reflects on her twelve-month placement at the company through the DCMS Jerwood Creative Bursaries Scheme and what the future holds for her.

Continue reading "The producers" »

Posted by Hannah Clarke-Stamp at 12:56 PM | Permalink

After several months working as a Project Assistant at Cornwall-based theatre company Kneehigh, Shakera Ahad tells us how her employers have encouraged her to give her all and how a mentor on the DCMS Jerwood Creative Bursaries Scheme helped her find her direction.

Continue reading "Options, options, options" »

Posted by Shakera Ahad at 10:02 AM | Permalink

At the beginning of the year, Gemma Connell, a Trainee Producer (MIF Creative) at Manchester International Festival, kicked off the Bursary Blog with an account of how she had become part of the DCMS Jerwood Creative Bursaries Scheme. Now at the end of her placement, she reflects on the lessons her first graduate job in the arts has taught her.

Continue reading "We’re all in this together" »

Posted by Gemma Connell at 04:19 PM | Permalink

In this video, Ryan Murray, Interaction Associate at Artangel, takes us behind the scenes of a special event he organised for his fellow graduates on the DCMS Jerwood Creative Bursaries scheme.

Continue reading "Always Be Closing – Artangel networking event" »

Posted by Ryan Murray at 11:15 AM | Permalink

In the latest update from the DCMS Jerwood Creative Bursaries Scheme, Anna Bergström gets a taste of what her fellow graduates have experienced at a special event at the Manchester International Festival.

Continue reading "Starting out somewhere new" »

Posted by Anna Bergström at 10:33 AM | Permalink

Meeting famous artists, installing seven-tonne spheres and producing collaborations between opera companies and prisons - it's been all in a day's work for Andrea Rowbotham since joining the DCMS Jerwood Creative Bursaries Scheme. Here, she gives us the lowdown on her first six months on a placement with the Dartington Hall Trust.

Continue reading "Six months in my dream job" »

Posted by Andrea Rowbotham at 02:21 PM | Permalink

Back in January, Grace Denton, iShed Coordinator at Watershed, blogged about how she became part of the DCMS Jerwood Creative Bursaries Scheme. Now two-thirds of the way through her placement, she tells us what she's experienced and learnt so far and how it is preparing her for the future.

Continue reading "Eight months in - how my placement is preparing me for the job market" »

Posted by Grace Denton at 11:30 AM | Permalink

In the latest of our behind-the-scenes accounts from those taking their first steps in the arts world, Daniel Pitt, a graduate working for London-based organisation Crying Out Loud, tells us about some things that only a year ago he never would have expected to be doing.

Continue reading "Tales of the unexpected" »

Posted by Daniel Pitt at 12:39 PM | Permalink

It has been an unpredictable time for arts organisations. Recent graduate Tarnia Gracie describes what it was like starting out in the industry through the DCMS Jerwood Creative Bursaries Scheme and how her organisation has continued to flourish.

Continue reading "Exhibitions, festivals and funding decisions: six months in the arts" »

Posted by Tarnia Gracie at 03:01 PM | Permalink

Earlier this year, Oliver Sykes went being a temp to producing events for Manchester arts charity Contact thanks to the DCMS Jerwood Creative Bursaries Scheme. Here he tells us about organising tours, dealing with budgets and creating (and performing in) his own monthly showcase for young aspiring comics in the north west.

Continue reading "From factory floor to comedy showcase" »

Posted by Oliver Sykes at 01:53 PM | Permalink

What do you get when you combine Papier-mâché, TOP SECRET projects and copious amounts of caffeine? Iván González, an arts graduate on the DCMS Jerwood Creative Bursaries Scheme, takes us inside the world of Hide&Seek, a game design studio dedicated to inventing new kinds of play.

Continue reading "100 days of work and play" »

Posted by Iván González at 10:46 AM | Permalink

Ed Cottrell of Writers’ Centre Norwich guides us through his experiences of attending book launches, preparing for summer festivals and promoting poetry as he gets his first taste of working in the arts.

Continue reading "Festivals, book launches and tables full of wine" »

Posted by Ed Cottrell at 05:16 PM | Permalink

Fundraising Trainee Helen Barthorpe explains how she landed her dream role at iconic music venue The Sage Gateshead thanks to the DCMS Jerwood Creative Bursaries Scheme.

Continue reading "Getting that foot in the door" »

Posted by Helen Barthorpe at 10:54 AM | Permalink

What is it really like to work in an arts organisation? What do graduates on the DCMS Jerwood Creative Bursaries Scheme work on during their year-long placements? Patience Ofosu-Asaa, one of the graduates on the scheme, takes us behind the scenes in a video blog about her role as projects assistant at Streetwise Opera - an organisation that uses music as a tool to help people who have experienced homelessness move forward in their lives.

Continue reading "Behind the scenes at Streetwise Opera" »

Posted by Patience Ofosu-Asaa at 04:58 PM | Permalink

Watching some of UK theatre's top talent preparing for a major production of Macbeth, helping young people to fuse hip hop with Shakespeare and meeting The Queen - it's all in a day's work for Alix Manning since joining the Royal Shakespeare Company through the DCMS Jerwood Creative Bursaries scheme. Here, Alix tells us more about her role as an Education Associate Practitioner.

Continue reading "Macbeth, hip hop and meeting The Queen" »

Posted by Alix Manning at 12:35 PM | Permalink

If you think forests are only for hikers and picnic-loving bears, it's time to think again. Bursary recipient Antony Mottershead explains how the Forestry Commission at Grizedale, in the heart of the world famous Lake District National Park, is using the forest as a very unique setting for innovative art projects to engage the public.

Continue reading "Life in the trees" »

Posted by Antony Mottershead at 01:24 PM | Permalink

Leah Bartczak, who won a placement at Brighton Photo Biennial as a Projects Coordinator, ponders the difficulty of mapping out your future when you work in an industry like the arts but explains how thinking about the long-term helped her land a big promotion just a few months into her first arts job.

Continue reading "Facing the future" »

Posted by Leah Bartczak at 10:26 AM | Permalink

Arts graduates are working in a variety of organisations across the sector on placements funded by the DCMS Jerwood Creative Bursaries Scheme and many have been tracking their progress on their employers' blogs. Here is a round up of some of the best, offering a further insight into careers in the arts.

Continue reading "Creative Bursaries blog round-up" »

Posted by Bursary Blog at 12:29 PM | Permalink

In the latest instalment of the Bursary Blog, Lucie Sheppard fills us in on her placement at Siobhan Davies Dance and how it is giving her vital experience of working in an arts organisation and the chance to re-establish herself as a dancer.

Continue reading "Exploration and artistic development: life on the DCMS/Jerwood Bursary scheme" »

Posted by Lucie Sheppard at 11:23 AM | Permalink

Grace Denton, iShed Coordinator at Watershed in Bristol, explains how the DCMS Jerwood Creative Bursaries scheme enabled her to take part in an internship and kick start her career in the arts.

Continue reading "Bursary opens path to arts career" »

Posted by Grace Denton at 10:49 AM | Permalink

Not-for-profit theatre company HighTide is one of the organisations taking part in the DCMS Jerwood Creative Bursaries scheme. In this video, artistic director Steven Atkinson explains how the scheme is benefiting the organisation while new recruit Philippa Wilkinson, tells us why a funded placement was the perfect option for her.

Continue reading "Graduate placements "will improve our theatre"" »

Posted by Bursary Blog at 03:18 PM | Permalink

In the first of our new series of guest blogposts from graduates on the DCMS Jerwood Creative Bursary scheme, Gemma Connell, Trainee Producer (MIF Creative) at Manchester International Festival reflects on her blossoming arts career.

Continue reading "From bedroom to performance space – an artistic journey" »

Posted by Gemma Connell at 04:36 PM | Permalink