Resilience and coming out the other side - The Heritage Assistant Perspective

Written by Ruth Gray Heritage Admin Assistant

 This post is a reflection on a year that has for many in the heritage industry been challenging, but I wanted to convey a glimmer of hope a small shaft of possibility!

I have been a heritage assistant with Culture Syndicates for just over two years, my route to the role has been a lot longer than some! For a start I am much more advanced in age than most of the usual heritage assistants let’s say I can remember history the others cannot! But that it what is so great about Culture Syndicates they are extremely inclusive and non-judgemental, and it was such a joy for me to be given a chance.

My career path has been an artistic one, I was a designer in the lace market in Nottingham for twelve years then a wonderful move to Australia saw me develop an artistic practice selling paintings alongside a career in retail that I eventually became a training consultant teaching retail and business to apprentices. A move back to the UK with two children in tow meant that I was at another career crossroads, so I went back to NTU to complete my degree and then carried on my artistic practice which evolved into an arts and heritage one where I developed heritage-related arts workshops.  I decided that I needed to understand exactly what it was I undertaking, and an MA in Public History and Heritage at Derby University perfectly fitted the bill.

During my masters I was told that hands-on experience is the best thing you can do to enter the industry and given my experience already there were still many gaps that needed filling. I noticed Culture Syndicates were advertising for heritage assistants, and I applied. I spent a year traveling around the UK on various projects and I really loved it, as I am a people person doing surveys, working with collections, and attending meetings in wonderful locations is like a dream job even in the rain. It was fun with a capital F! But then Covid-19 hit us all and what a year it has been!

I finalised some admin work for Culture Syndicates in March and then lockdown ………. Myself I was still completing my masters, so I had my dissertation to complete and the time that the pandemic afforded me was much needed as I had been wondering how I was going to fit that in! After I had completed my masters, I really did wonder what I was going to do everywhere was shut! I had been planning a new start.

But never one to shy away from adversity I looked at my options who was hiring, how are we now working and do people still want to buy artwork. I spent time volunteering for North Mill in Belper and through that managed to get paid work with Derwent Valley Mills to create offline creativity packs, then I gained an internship creating educational materials and developed a mapping project online with Derby University/Being Human Festival and further work with Derwent Valley Mills. Meanwhile, I got myself a key worker job at the local shop, completed online training in equality and diversity/safeguarding and visitor experience gaining new qualifications.

Looking back my year has been full on! Since also when restrictions allowed, I was out with my stall selling artwork and doing commissions. An email in January from Culture Syndicates really brought joy to me as again we were in Lockdown but due to the governments' Culture Recovery Funding there was an option to apply to be a temporary Heritage Admin Assistant working with the Acting Project Manager.

The Culture Recovery Fund has not only brought me joy it has also enabled many heritage businesses fight back and restructure and really put in place robust measures to ensure they are resilient to any future setbacks. I have as part of the project been helping Culture Syndicates to create a digital tool kit that means we can work more flexibly in the future alongside helping to redesign the website and much more. The funding means that there is now many arts and heritage places that will be able to employ others and provide the culture that we all very much need after the year we have had!

Consequently, my reflections on the year are mainly that resilience comes in many forms and if it means doing new things adapting then that is what I will do. As I’ve adapted over the year so has Culture Syndicates and I’m very positive for the future as we move cautiously and safely back into the light!