September 2017: Youth Panel highlights
Posted on by Fay Curtis.
by Claire Simmons, Engagement Officer – Young People
The first Bristol Museums’ Youth Panel cohort have completed their time working with us for the year – and it has been an eventful one!
Bristol Young Heroes Awards
Youth Panel member Mulue and I attended the Young Heroes Awards at Wills Memorial Building with his foster mum and friends. Mulue was presented with the Arts and Culture Hero award by music producer Roni Size, and the event was attended by Marvin Rees and many other representatives from youth organisations across the city.
Mulue was nominated for his determination and enthusiasm for art and culture, through his involvement with young people’s activities at Bristol Museums.
He has been living in Bristol for the past two years, after travelling alone as a refugee from Eritrea. He first came to us with his ESOL class from City of Bristol College for tours of M Shed and Bristol Museum & Art Gallery, and then he attended lots of creative workshops for 25 Below – our young people’s programme last summer.
As a member of Bristol Museums Youth Panel he is helping to shape and promote our cultural offer to other young people across the city. We are really proud of Mulue, he is a very humble and gracious young man who makes the most of every opportunity to learn and meet new people.
M Shed Unlocked
The Youth Panel ran their first takeover at M Shed in June called M Shed Unlocked. Despite the incredible heat, we counted 60 young people attending the event.
The evening was very well attended by local youth workers and their groups of young people from learning Partnership West and Creative Youth Network. The majority of young people appeared to have come from groups located in our priority areas of Bristol, and we are so pleased that the event managed to reach young people who would not normally engage with M Shed.
So many said they’d love to come back again in the future.
Arts Awards
Zac and Kirsten returned to the museum in the summer to work on their Silver Arts Award portfolios by developing video and presenting skills to make a short poetic film about the atmosphere of the museum.
The natural history store and the art galleries gave them a lot of inspiration, and museum staff from across the organisation provided them with feedback.