From Productions to Exhibitions: A Busy Month for Our Generation Hull Apprentices

Another month has brought new experiences, new challenges and plenty of opportunities for our Generation Hull apprentices to develop their skills across the city's cultural sector.

At Middle Child, Molly has been involved in a wide range of activities, helping support both productions and the opening of a new venue.

Reflecting on the month, Molly said:

"I made lots of phone calls to order stock to arrive in time for our new venue opening. I made a welcome pack, collated production team headshots, printed scripts and script adjustments, and made mic belts as some of our old ones weren't the right sizes for the cast."

Alongside production support, Molly has also been helping with set and costume sourcing, creating social media content and distributing marketing materials.

The experience is helping her build confidence in ways she hadn't expected.

"I feel as though I have become more confident working on productions, as this is my second one now and is very different to working on panto. I have become more confident with phone calls and Zoom calls, and generally speaking to new people I haven't worked with before."

(L-R: Molly, Emily and Dylan)

At Artlink, Emily has been helping to close one exhibition while preparing another, gaining valuable hands-on experience behind the scenes of gallery operations.

Her month included supporting the final day of Maria Donnais' exhibition, helping to deliver a porcelain workshop and Artlink's first-ever live deinstall event, as well as organising volunteer and community activities.

Much of her time was spent preparing for Isaac Yeboah's exhibition.

"The preparation for Isaac's exhibition was great. Both Quinny and I worked on that for two days, and then for an extra two days I continued painting the gallery by myself whilst he was away on another job."

For Emily, one moment stood out above the rest.

"Talking with Isaac whenever he came into the gallery to work on his drawing and seeing his exhibition slowly come together."

Meanwhile, at Freedom Festival, Dylan has been gaining a deeper understanding of the planning and logistics involved in delivering a major cultural event.

His recent work has included researching accommodation options for visiting artists, creating detailed spreadsheets, producing technical sheets for shows and helping manage rehearsal spaces.

He has also taken on more responsibility within the organisation.

"I have been leading more team meetings, and I feel that since my first time a month or two ago, I have built a lot more confidence speaking in front of my colleagues and leading."

As preparations continue for this year's festival, Dylan is beginning to see how all the different pieces fit together.

"I am getting a better picture in my head of how the festival will work on the day, and I am starting to see all the work that I did earlier in the year start to be used for organising the festival."

Across all three placements, our apprentices are gaining practical experience that is helping them build confidence, develop new skills, and better understand the many different careers within the cultural sector.

Every month brings new opportunities to learn, and we're excited to continue following their journeys as they grow, develop and make their mark on Hull's creative future.