Experiencing an Artistic Community Part 2

Qualitative Research on The Longitudinal Impact of Community Based Experiential Learning

Evaluation Report – Stage 2 of 2
PROJECT REPORT 2016

Prepared by
CENTRE FOR COMMUNITY ENGAGED LEARNING
The University of British Columbia

Follow-up Report from Year 1

The first and second year that I introduced experiential learning in upper-level Visual Art, I conducted an assessment of the learning experience in the form of a student-volunteer focus group. The following is the second of the two assessments, which invited the former year students to participate, and studied the longitudinal effects of experiential learning for emerging artists. This helped me to find coherent strategies of experiential teaching and learning in Visual Art, informing methods and facilitation.

1. Purpose of the Evaluation

This project report comprises of the findings of a longitudinal evaluation of VISA 481, Readings in Art Theory and Criticism, a visual arts course that was offered during Spring 2015 at the University of British Columbia (UBC). This report will help in understanding the impact of VISA 481 course and its community based experiential learning (CBEL) experiences on students’ students’ professional identity as an artist and their perceptions of the role of an artist in the society one year after their graduation from VISA 481 course. Unpacking the longitudinal outcomes of VISA 481 CBEL experiences and comparing the findings of this report with the previous evaluation will help in analyzing the strength and longitudinal impact of the VISA 481 CBEL experiences, and will help the course instructor in continuing and making CBEL experiences more robust and meaningful in future iterations of the course.

2. Background and Context of VISA 481

VISA 481 Readings in Art Theory and Criticism, is an advanced Seminar course, offered to fourth year Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) students at the University of British Columbia (UBC). During Winter Term 2, January-April 2015, thirty students were enrolled in this course that was taught by Christine D’Onofrio. The course involved a Community Based Experiential Learning (CBEL) component where students, mostly placed in pairs, worked with partnership institutions that take many different forms in the Vancouver Art Community (VAC) and include the local art galleries and diverse art centers such as Artspeak, Anvil Centre New Media Gallery, Equinox Gallery, Contemporary Art Gallery, Grunt Gallery, Western Front and many more. During their CBEL engagements, students were asked to write four individual reflections sharing their understandings regarding the role of the artist in the society, and the impact of culture and artistic practices on society and vice versa.

The main focus of this CBEL experience was to extend and strengthen students’ learning of visual art practices by providing them opportunities to apply and relate the theoretical knowledge gained in the classroom with practical, real world, outdoor, hands-on learning experiences in the VAC. Prior to, during and after the CBEL experience, the students were asked to submit their perspectives regarding role of artist in society and reflect on their experiences as they engage with the community partners through this CBEL engagement.

These pre, mid and post written assignments were designed to gather students’ insights regarding their expectations of the CBEL experience, any change in their learning with regards to their perceptions of artists and artist’s role in society, impact of societal contexts on artistic practices and any other additional personal, academic and professional skills and attributes which the students might have developed because of their engagement in the CBEL activity. Please refer to Appendices A, B, and C for complete assignments.

The first evaluation report that was generated through qualitative analysis of pre, mid and post CBEL responses of 29 students (total 104 responses) of VISA 481 course indicated positive impact of VISA 481 CBEL activities that were conducted at various art galleries and studios of VAC, British Columbia, Canada in the spring of 2015.

3. Curriculum Connections

The guiding evaluation questions were designed in light of following CBEL oriented Student Learning Outcomes of the VISA 481 course:

Apply and contextualize theoretical knowledge base of VISA 481 and the BFA program into practical experiences.
Develop a transformative understanding of the relationship of the artists to both a local community as well as the society at large.
Envision themselves as active members of the cultural industry, and be prepared to enter the professional world of contemporary art practice in a variety of capacities.
Resolve the aim and purpose of artist run culture in a wider societal context, and illustrate those contributions and their effects to a peer audience.

4. Methodology

To study the impact of community based experiential learning one year after the completion of the course, all VISA 481 students (total 30 students) were invited to participate in this longitudinal evaluation. Responses of interested volunteering students were gathered through Focus Group interviews and individual written questionnaires by email. Collected student responses (total eight students’ responses) were analyzed using qualitative data analysis software (NVivo). To analyze students’ responses, the guiding evaluation questions were developed by the Centre for Community Engaged Learning (CCEL) team in consultation with the course instructor. The underlying criterion for developing these questions was based on the expected course learning outcomes as well as the specific learning outcomes of the CBEL activity.

Guiding Evaluation Questions

The guiding questions for this evaluation were:

How do CBEL experiences during VISA 481 inform students’ perceptions of the role of the artist in society one year after graduation?
How do students draw on their CBEL experiences gained during their learnings in VISA 481 to continue constructing their professional identity as an artist after graduating from the course?

6. Overview of Findings

The responses of eight students were coded across themes that emerged from the data. The findings of the eight students’ responses reveal an overall positive impact of the VISA 481 CBEL experience on their own professional identity and role as an artist. Opportunities to engage within the real art world provided through this CBEL experience resulted in more nuanced understandings of present realities of the art world among students, which in turn helped these students in making informed choices about their own future career as an artist as well as prepare themselves as a professional artist. In addition, this CBEL experience also promoted enhanced learning of many other additional positive attributes such as enhanced collaboration, networking and communication skills, and knowledge of workplace skills. To improve the CBEL experiences further in future iterations of VISA 481, most of the students provided suggestions to the community partners, faculty, and future students. The key findings are as follows:

All students (100%) reported VISA 481 CBEL experience as a valuable experience as it made them more aware about practicing art in real-world settings. It also helped them in engaging in professional artist networks, and making choices about their own art practices and professional career.
All students (100%) acknowledged that reflective practices of engaging in art developed through this CBEL experience helped them in thinking more critically about their art practices as well as in informing their career choices of pursuing art further in their lives. This CBEL experience helped them in reflecting and developing their own identity as a professional artist as well as prepared them to engage in art practices within the real-world communal contexts of the art world.
The practical realities of the art world gained through this CBEL experience helped all students (100%) in gaining a more nuanced understandings of the relationship between various types of art work, their impact on society and vice versa.
All students (100%) indicated that the CBEL experiences helped them in seeing the connections between the theoretical concepts involved in the VISA 481 course and the role of artist in real-world contexts, and thus helped in developing a more nuanced or completely new understanding of artists’ role in the society.
In addition to developing deeper understandings about the art world and role of artist, this CBEL experience also helped all students (100%) in developing their personal and professional skills such as collaboration, communication and networking skills, which have helped them in their professional career as artists as well as in many other life contexts.
Most of the students (90%) reported that even though this CBEL experience was helpful and engaging, the duration of this CBEL experience (only 15 hours) is very short. Some of the students also expressed the need for developing more in-depth understandings of ethical and respectful community engagement prior to initiating CBEL placements. They also wished for more relevant, organized CBEL experiences that could help them in maintain continued connections with the community as well as help in their future career as artists. Reflecting on their CBEL experiences now, one year after completing VISA 481, the students gave specific suggestions to the faculty, community partner and future students which might help improve CBEL experiences in future VISA 481 course (please see Appendix B for specific suggestions given to each).

7. Findings in relation to relevant CBEL literature

By critically reflecting on their CBEL experiences one year after graduating from VISA 481 course, students reported that during the past year, they continually reflected and refined the knowledge and skills gained during the course, utilized these to pose and examine new questions, and learnt about themselves as learners and practicing artists in the real-world settings. The above findings are consistent with the literature on community based learning, which suggests that CBEL experiences are an essential part of reflective inquiry and can serve as a catalyst for enhancing students’ learning and sense of social responsibility and civic engagement (Butin, 2007; Buffington, 2007; Fusco, 2001; Harrison, Clayton, & Tilley-Lubbs, 2014; Myers-Lipton, 1998).

The present analysis of students’ engagement in CBEL, one year after their involvement in VISA 481 resonates with the CBEL literature which posits that CBEL experiences have multiple positive impacts on students (Eyler, Giles, Stenson, & Gray, 2001; Gemmel & Clayton, 2009; Kassabgy & El‐Din, 2013). For example, in this case, the students’ reported that VISA 481 CBEL experiences made them more aware of social contexts of the art world and created opportunity for them to connect theory with practice. The students demonstrated enhanced and deepened understandings of the art world and role of artist in the society. Most of all, this CBEL experience helped VISA 481students in developing personal and professional skills that will continue to help them in growing as an artist as well as a person (Bringle &Hatcher, 1995; Furco, 2001). Indeed, positive impacts of CBEL experiences extend beyond the academic learning and induce deepened understandings of civic, social, moral responsibilities among students (Billig, Jesse, & Grimley, 2008; Wyss & Tai, 2012).

8. Significance and Future Recommendations

The data emerged from this analysis unpack the longitudinal outcomes of VISA 481 CBEL experiences on students’ perceptions of their own professional identity as an artist as well as any shifts caused in their understandings regarding the role of artist in the society. As evident from the above findings, this CBEL experience continued to inform students’ understandings of art-based practices, art world and their own role as an artist in the society as well as their career choices even after one year of graduation. However, as indicated by in students’ responses, the duration of this CBEL experience was short and we suggest look for the ways that could help in making it longer (in terms of duration with the community) and much more robust (in terms of community engagement). Overall, this CBEL experience proved to be a worthwhile component of VISA 481 course and we recommend it to be included in the future iterations of the course.

References

Billig, S. H., Jesse, D., & Grimley, M. (2008). Using service-learning to promote character education in a large urban district. Journal of Research in Character Education, 6(1), 21.

Bringle, R. G., & Hatcher, J. A. (2009). Innovative practices in service-learning and curricular engagement. New Directions for Higher Education, 2009(147), 37-46. doi:10.1002/he.356

Buffington, M. (2007). The big idea: Service-learning and art education. Art Education, 60(6), 40-45.

Butin, W. D. (2007). Justice-Learning: Service-Learning as Justice-Oriented Education. Equity & Excellence in Education, 40(2), 177-183.

Eyler, J. S., Giles, D. E., Jr., Stenson, C. M., and Gray, C. J. (2001). At a glance: What we know about the effects of service-learning on college students, faculty, institutions and communities, 1993–2000 (3rd ed.). Retrieved from http://www.compact.org/resources/at-a-glance/928/

Furco, A. (2001). Advancing service-learning at research universities. New Directions for Higher Education, 114(Summer), 67–78. doi:10.1002/he.15.abs

Fusco, D. (2001). Creating Relevant Science through Urban Planning and Gardening. Journal of Research in Science Teaching 38(8), 860-877.

Gemmel, L. J., & Clayton, P. H. (2009). A Comprehensive Framework for Community Service-Learning in Canada. Canadian Alliance for Community Service-Learning.

Harrison, B., Clayton, P. H., & Tilley-Lubbs, G. A. (2014). Troublesome knowledge, troubling experience: An inquiry into faculty learning in service-learning. Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning, 20(2), 5.

Kassabgy, N., & El‐Din, Y. S. (2013). Investigating the impacts of an experiential Service‐Learning course. TESOL Journal, 4(3), 571-586. doi:10.1002/tesj.92

Myers-Lipton, Scott J. (1998). Effect of a Comprehensive Service-Learning Program on College Students’ Civic Responsibility. Teaching Sociology, 26.

Wyss, V. L., & Tai, R. U. (2012). Service learning in high school biology and college major choice. College Student Journal, 46(2), 459.

Session

Appendix A: Focus Group Guiding Questions

How do you see the value of CBEL experiences for students in VISA 481?
Looking back at your VISA 481 CBEL experiences now, can you share what are the key things that you learned through this engagement?
Can you describe any learning or any reflections from your VISA CBEL experience that still resonate in your professional life today?
Can you provide an example when have you might have drawn on your VISA CBEL experience to help navigate a situation, or to help make sense of an experience?
How do you perceive the role of an artist in society today? How does that role differ or compare to the way in which you enacted the role of artist during VISA 481 CBEL project?
In what ways do you think your VISA 481 CBEL experience has informed your perceptions about the role of an artist in the society?
In what ways do you think your VISA 481 CBEL experience has informed your current involvement in the “art community”?
Can you please reflect on your VISA 481 CBEL experiences and tell me:

What aspects of this experience was most rewarding for you?
What aspects of this experience were not helpful or least rewarding for you?

Are there specific suggestions that you would like to give to the faculty, community partners and future students that could help improve CBEL experiences for students in the VISA 481 informed by your mindset a year later?
As we seek to understand the value of CBEL experiences for students in the VISA 481, is there anything else that you think is important to mention?

Appendix B: Table 1 Key findings with examples of student responses

S. No.	Theme	Examples of Student Responses
1.	Value of CBEL experience	The most rewarding part of the CBEL project were the human connections I made. I am grateful to have had the ‘in’ with my project partner. I met some great people who I am still connected with and am confident that as long as I remain connected, those people will be helpful in the future. (VISA 481_05) As mentioned before, I used to make art for myself. I approached art as therapy for myself. While making art, I was interested in the process of it and how it made me feel. The CEBL project made me to be more aware of my social settings. (VISA 481_06) Being accepted by a group of experienced artist that trusted us enough to do research for the project. And of course, seeing the final project up as a part of CAPTURE photography festival. (VISA 481_07) Not significant but, my work while at the gallery was simplistic and did not feel too valuable. I have avoided Malsaspina and Print making, which I view as a positive learning experience. I no longer do prints but used my prints in collage. Understood better what direction I want to go in art/art world. Decided I did not want to be an artist or a curator. (VISA 481_01) In summer 2015, I was involved in a teen-summer intensive program, which was a collaboration between CAG, SFU, and Arts Umbrella (my familiarity with CAG helped me get that). (VISA 481_02)
2.	Impact on students’ own professional identity and role as an artist	The course gave the foundation to become an artist! Whoopee I have taken the role of artist very seriously. Take an activist role, a social responsibility role. I am speaking to that role at Art Vancouver in May. It consequently informs my work. (VISA 481_03) I enacted the role of “assistant” during the CBEL project, where my project partner made use of my skills as a carpenter and bartender. It informed my perceptions about the importance of grant writing as an artist in Vancouver though. Also, it clarified the boundaries of commercial art and academic art and the grey area between. (VISA 481_05) During my placement at VIVO, I contributed to the Leonore Herb archive. The responsibilities included were scanning posters from the punk movement in Vancouver during the 1960s. I also had to key in the information on the posters such as the dates and name which these events were held. Since archiving is such a specific job to do, I have not used this skill in the internships I’ve had after the CEBL experience. However, I have learnt to be resourceful and to make use of the knowledge I have to complete a task given to me. I have learnt how to present myself and work in a working environment professionally. I have also learnt how a non-profit works such as the need to apply for grants. I have learnt that as a non-profit that is relatively small, members have to take up multiple responsibilities. (VISA 481_06) An artist takes on an active role in society today. Working at VIVO made me realize how a small task can benefit the community. Similarly, I hope that my artist practice would start a discourse and to subsequently have an impact on the community. Prior to the CEBL project, I made art for myself. Although I am still finding a balance between a selfish artist and an activist, I hope that I would continue making art that can change perspectives and the negative stereotypes attached to mental health. Making art within the University institution can get quite myopic. However, knowing about current exhibitions, talks and openings from the other friends who were working at other art institutions really connected me to the current art scene in Vancouver. Going for these art events allowed me to gain more inspiration when making art. I began making art that was in conversation with the current art scene. (VISA 481_06)
3.	More nuanced understandings of the practical realities of the art world	I’ve also appreciated that there wasn’t a work hierarchy and that every member working at VIVO had equal power. Currently, I’m interning at Singapore Art Museum, a government run contemporary art museum. I get to compare my personal experiences working with different institutions and this gives me a broader perspective of how art functions differently. (VISA 481_06) I’m currently working at a commercial art gallery (this is my second) and the dynamics couldn’t be more different. How the artist perceives the different kinds of structural organization between i.e. profit and non-profit has become quite magnified. The attitudes and the biasses of either sides have led me to think much more about the needed connection and a more well rounded understanding of what each side does. (VISA 481_07) I think it’s quite frustrating as someone that has come out of an art program working in a commercial environment and having peers around you disregard the art market – especially having graduated from a program that heavily emphasizes academics. Sometimes I am perceived almost with some disdain by peers because of where I am working. I am not saying that the market is what I want to work in, but having gone through over a year now of being on this side, I do find that disregarding the market of art is somewhat naive. And the market is definitely not talked about enough it seems in the Vancouver community and I understand that this is a big claim. I do strongly believe there needs to be more discussion and openness to how Vancouver’s art scene is going to grow, creatively AND financially (disregarding the occasional ‘how to write grants’ talk). It seems to be a fairly taboo subject right now. For the city’s financial reputation, there is hardly enough patrons of art for the number of growing artists. How can we encourage more dialogue with as little biases as possible so that students are not shy about being ambitious with their art or so that students may learn more about the practical handling of their works! It’s unfortunate that without wielding them with any of this knowledge, they are then often taken advantage of once they are out in the community. It was great for us to learn how a commercial gallery works versus how an artist run centre works. The mission and strategy taken by various institutions varies and I have learnt a lot during our group discussions of how my other friends’ experiences differed from mine. (VISA 481_06) Studio visits were a great learning tool. [I] realized, I enjoyed writing about art. Began to understand the amount of work involved in being an artist (VISA 481_03) I have become more interested in how art can invite more participation or can be a form of social co-operation itself. How an artist relates to the institution or gallery they are exhibiting in: what is expected of them, [and] how they are treated? Artists who exhibit regularly are devoted to their practice. [It is] difficult to have multi-faceted practice which includes public programming, curating etc. (VISA 481_02) Print makers receive little pay off for the amount of work they put it. You have to be committed to your practice completely. Grant Proposals, Applications, Work submissions, Rental of studio space, Artist often need a job to support their practice. (VISA 481_04) I had a lot of work experience prior to the CBEL experience. Mostly, I learned that being successful in the art world in Vancouver has more to do with actually being part of the community, rather than having any skill as an artist. (VISA 481_05) [It is] difficult to turn relationships into a tangible opportunity if placed with more reputable partner. (VISA 481_02) Ageism and gender (♀) is a limited factor –unbelievable (VISA 481_03) Marketing and selling are not the “dirty words”. It pays the bills(VISA 481_03)
4.	More nuanced or completely new understandings of artists’ role in the society	I’m now more interested in the community itself than in the work that hangs on the walls around it. I think that as a community we ought to embrace the idea that being in community can itself be an artistic action. We ought to work hard to be more open and creative in our interaction with each other. We need to accept that we are all here to find new meaning and understanding, and implicit in that is the fact that we all know less than we think we do. We should work together to eschew pretension and jargon and instead reach out to the people who are put off by the artificial barriers we put up around our community and our conversations. (VISA 481_08) It definitely has made me much more aware about the responsibility one takes on as an artist. By understanding that works may have consequences with people quite directly connected to us. The idea of what art can be or what type of research may go behind a project – I’ve come to the point where I think I’m beginning to understand what ‘research’ involves. It’s not just spending time in the studio ‘making something,’ it’s about looking at the context and surroundings of a piece. For an artist, let alone a group of artist, to show something is more than just what we see. Often times the artist has to have gone through a long process to finally come to the point you’re seeing. I think the main thing for me was watching how artists interact in a non-profit organization where the structure of the group was very democratic. Seeing people from different professions coming together and trying to create art for the community. I think the group was one of the first interactions I had that really led me to think more about how/where art could exist as well as the responsibility of the artist in their communities. (VISA 481_07) For this project I researched the way in which ‘alternative’ art spaces are created, what external influences shape them, and how they serve the broader community. I came away from this with a greater interest in the artist’s role in serving and shaping community. Due in part to this, when I think about ‘artwork’ now I imagine something much bigger in scope, and I feel that many things which don’t fit a traditional definition of art—for example, hosting community dinners—can be significant as artwork. After all, we often make art with the hope that it will influence the lives of the people who see it. What better way is there to do that than with a direct, personal connection? (VISA 481_08) I definitely think I effectively reflected on the role of commercial artist. This is something I had not really thought about before this class. (VISA 481_01)
5.	Collaboration, networking and communication skills, and work-place knowledge	[Learned] how to make artwork/exhibitions [and] engage more directly with an audience. (VISA 481_02) I learned that I got the Eqinox placement because Sophie could tell that I was interested in the gallery operations, [and] not [in] showing at the gallery. This informs how I approach work opportunities today. What can I do for them, not what they can do for me. (VISA 481_01) Develop professionalism skills and networking practice. (VISA 481_04) I think my CBEL experience was an eye-opener to this. Learning that the responsibility as an artist within the group, it was my duty to best make it out to the meetings and to do our part of the research. The group of people trusted us to do our research and to look up images so that the final project could be completed – trusting your fellow artist and having that environment and relationship becomes quite important. (VISA 481_07) The CEBL experience kept me active within the art community. Networking with people of the art work through openings, exhibitions and artist talks is crucial to understand what is happening within the art community today. This “technique” of immersing myself into the art community in different cities is a useful tool for me as I will be relocating to New York in September. (VISA 481_06)
6.	Suggestions to community partners (to improve CBEL experiences)	Create a project that the students will feel adds real value to the gallery. (VISA 481_01) Give the students a tangible project to see through and take responsibility for. (VISA 481_02) [Recognize that it is ] hard to make lasting connection in such a short time (15 hr placement) (VISA 481_03) This is hard to answer because ours was one of the less ‘successful’ CBEL projects. We were to contribute to the design and writing of a book about ‘alternative’ galleries in the city. Due in part to the CBEL partner’s busy schedule, and in part to the time it took to get responses from people we would be working with to make the book, all we accomplished was a few bits of research and some design sketches. Since the end of the partnership the project has been pushed to the backburner, and I haven’t heard anything about it in quite a while. What I gained from this, I suppose, was a reminder that it can be tough to commit to side projects, and that it’s best to avoid making too many commitments. (VISA 481_08) The least helpful part was the short amount of time for the work placement. 15 hours is pretty ineffectual as a real learning experience. (VISA 481_05) The lack of communication after the project. Even though people were very warm and welcoming, it almost felt as if the moment we were done there ceased contact and any other interaction. I’m not sure I could say hello if I were to run into the same members again. (VISA 481_07)
7.	Suggestions to faculty (to improve CBEL experiences)	The least helpful part was the short amount of time for the work placement. The hours are pretty ineffectual as a real learning experience. The work placements should run for at least an 8 month term / 100- 150 hours. (VISA 481_05) It may be useful to do some anti-oppression training with the class before students are set loose in the downtown east side with preconceived classist notions and fears of poor people. (VISA 481_05) I felt that the hours of volunteer experience is not enough to understand the ropes of the institution we were assigned to. Because of the short amount of hours, I was assigned to one task, which was archiving. Karen at VIVO was really sweet and was afraid that I wouldn’t be able to finish a certain project during the short 15 hours we had. If we were assigned to more hours, I feel that I could be more involved and VIVO would be more willing to assign me more tasks. Maybe for future CEBL initiatives, students could spend less time doing in-class reflections and spend more time working with the institutions during class time. The class could meet on alternate weeks for the in class reflections and spend every other week volunteering at the allocated institution. (VISA 481_06) To give in-depth insight, I think it may be a good idea to bring in students from previous CBEL projects to talk about their experience with the new batch of students. To be the least offensive possible, a lot of students don’t always consider the words of their faculty or register it until it’s too late. By bringing in someone that has gone through the same experience may help the students to realize the significance of the opportunity they’re being given. I think (not just at the CBEL program) but the overall VISA program, there needs to be a much more practical application. I understand that we are at an academic institution but even to this day, there are situations which I find myself in that I feel like I could’ve been better prepared for. Of course, it is up to me to prepare myself for such encounters however, but things like proper art etiquette or socializing at openings is something I’ve noticed and heard a lot of my past classmates struggle with. As a result, people form clusters and cliques within the community – when they do have this backing, they’re more likely to socialize and go to various events. Another important aspect may be to get to know other peers from other institutions from our year. Maybe CBEL could potentially become a program that facilitates relationships between different art programs – and to even see how other people receive their education. (VISA 481_07) Foster a discussion about how to be involved in art world throughout degree! EVERY CLASS! (VISA 481_01) It is not fair to students to not discuss practical aspects & art. Theory is great but, but theory will not put food on the table. Most BFA grad will never be artists. Why is that? It’s a shame. The 481 should also discuss websites, marketing, social media [related with the art world and how to utilize these for art-based practices] (VISA 481_03) More time one-on-one time with partner. [Recognize that it is] hard to make lasting connection in such a short time (VISA 481_04)
8.	Suggestions to future students (to improve CBEL experiences)	Talk to partner to articulate how your role would appear on a resume (make sure you debrief) (VISA 481_02) My advice is: You get out what you put in and it’s much more important to have a positive working attitude from the outset rather than thinking only about what the program can do for your resume. (VISA 481_05) If there is a placement you want, go ask for it! If they know you, they’ll think of you. (VISA 481_01) Be open to any opportunities you have with the institution you were allocated to. Everybody would be eyeing on the ‘better’ place to volunteer at. Your classmates will become a larger ‘network’ to the art scene so keep an open mind and learn from the experiences they have. (VISA 481_06) Don’t be shy!! Many of the experience individuals that we get to work with are actually quite lovely and many of whom you may run into again – so be on your best behaviour! (VISA 481_07) Get out, make connections + follow up Take any experiences you can get. Good or bad you will still learn something (VISA 481_04)