Northumberland Students Discover! Creative Careers at Queen’s Hall Arts Centre
In February 2025, Queen’s Hall Arts Centre ran the first Discover! Creative Careers Carousel for Northumberland, in partnership with North East Combined Authority.
Eight Schools across the county brought groups of Y9 students to take part in interactive workshops with creative professionals, to offer an insight into the range of careers available in the creative sector.
Timeline
February 2025
Project Partners
Artists
Backstage Builders CIC, Emma Tominey, Kristin Kelly Abbot, Over the Winks, Novo Theatre, Newcastle College, Northumbria University, Queen’s Hall Arts Centre
Project Coordinator
Helen Mills, Queen Hall Arts Centre,
Kathryn Henderson and Hannah Gow, North East Combined Authority
Schools Involved
- NCEA Duke’s Secondary School
- Queen Elizabeth’s High School
- Duchess’ Community High School
- King Edward VI School
- Hillcrest Cramlington
- Cramlington Learning Village
- Haydon Bridge High School
- Blyth Academy
Key Goals
- Young people to feel inspired about the possibilities of working creatively and view this as a potential career option
- Students to gain experience in working with professional artists
- Students to have a deeper understanding of different routes into creative careers
North East Combined Authority and Discover! Creative Careers organised a series of ‘Career Carousel’s’ across the North East, to inspire children to explore creative careers and show them how the things they love to do can translate into a career. In Northumberland, students were invited to Queen’s Hall Arts Centre to enjoy an engaging, hands-on day with professional creatives, gaining real insight into what a day in their career is really like.
Workshops
Northumberland schools were invited to bring groups of Year 9 pupils to participate in three hands on workshops with creative professionals. Workshops included a screen printing workshop with Creative Producer and Multimedia Participatory Artist, Emma Tominey, an introduction to scenic arts and prop-making with Backstage Builders CIC, an interactive dance workshop with dancer and choreographer, Kristin Kelly Abbott and an introduction to theatre in unusual places, with Novo Theatres.
Some groups were able to try out the light and sound equipment with Queen’s Hall technicians, as well as attending an introduction to gallery curation, and a demonstration of stage and special effects makeup by Over the Winks.
The Panel
At the end of the workshops, pupils attended a panel discussions with Creative Director of Queen’s Hall, Katy Taylor, Helen Driver, curriculum lead of Art at Newcastle College, Steve Gilroy from the School of Design, Arts and Creative Industries at Northumbria University and Trish Mayes, from Backstage Builders CIC. The panel was led by playwright Garry Lyons, and gave students the opportunity to ask questions about different pathways into the arts and creative industries, such as apprenticeships, college courses, university degrees, or more unconventional routes into the sector.
Outcomes
Inspiring Northumberland pupils with Creative Careers opportunities
Eight Northumberland schools sent pupils from across the county with a total of 209 young people taking part in the interactive workshops. Many of the young people had not realised that there were jobs in some of the disciplines they tried and left saying they would look into this in future.
Demonstrating a range of careers across creative industry
Representatives from eight different areas of creative industry held workshops for pupils. These included theatre production, visual arts, sound and lighting, stage make up, gallery curation, stage artistry, film production and choreography.
Showcasing different routes into creative careers
The panel comprised of a range of professionals, the Creative Director of Queen’s Hall Arts Centre, Katy Taylor, Managing Director of Backstage Builders CIC, Playwright and Panel Chair Garry Lyons, Art and Design Curriculum Leader for Newcastle College, Helen Driver, and Director of Public Programme from the School of Design, Arts and Creative Industries at Northumbria University, Steve Gilroy. This ensured a wide spread of insight into different routes into industry, from the traditional academic routes, through to apprenticeship and complete career change.
Impact
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