Routes into Heritage: Five minutes with Heritage Assistant Mary Strickson.
1. Tell us a little about yourself and your background.
I studied a full-time History BA at the University of Sheffield and a part-time History of Art MA at the University of Nottingham. I did everything a little later than most of my peers and was lucky that when I went to university there were bursaries to support my undergraduate degree and grants to pay for my MA. After my undergraduate ended, I felt completely lost whilst searching for heritage employment and did not seem to know where to begin. I knew nobody in the arts or heritage sector at this point and was the first in my family to go to university. I reached out to my nearest gallery, and I began volunteering in museums and art spaces between 2013 and 2018. I sent out an inquisitive email and got involved with young people’s programmes with interests in Art and Heritage at Nottingham Contemporary, followed by Nottingham Castle and Derby Museum and Art Gallery. I started paid work by regularly blogging for the university’s career service during my postgraduate degree in 2014 as well as writing and reviewing for Voice magazine. After graduating, I was introduced to the idea of freelancing by the facilitator of one of the young people’s programmes I had been involved in and started working as an artist in various short-term art projects for various companies, then as a researcher and evaluator where I wrote reports on co-produced projects. I started work as a freelance photographer in 2016 and running creative workshops. I then decided that being self-employed was the way forward and enrolled on The Mighty Creatives Creative Enterprise programme in 2017, gained support from The Big House in 2018 and The Prince’s Trust in 2019 to develop a business idea in the arts. I began working at Culture Syndicates in April 2018 where I finally managed to get a foot in the door of the heritage world. April 2018 also saw the launch of my small business, The Picture Whole, (www.thepicturewhole.co.uk) where (when I am not working at Culture Syndicates, writing for online magazines about art, activism and film, or being part of the young producers collective at City Arts) I currently work as a documentary event photographer, exhibiting disabled artist, Illustrator of animals, nature and botanicals as well as a workshop facilitator for young people and disabled people in schools and the community. I photograph arts events, sell environmentally friendly stationery and commissions but also, I love to run workshops in theatre, movement, photography, and visual arts. I also exhibit my work regularly, organise events and love to collaborate and co-produce on various projects.
2. Before working at Culture Syndicates what was the most unusual or interesting job you have ever had?
I’ve had some really fun jobs! Lantern making assistant at Junction Arts was great, I was assisting families to make lanterns for their community lantern parade which meant weaving willow, tissue paper and glue to make imaginative designs! I have been both press and crew at various Comic Cons and Film events, Edinburgh Fringe, Brighton Fringe, Latitude Festival, West End Live, lots of film, arts, and theatre reviews…which all made for fantastic experiences and memorable encounters with artists!
3. What is your role at Culture Syndicates? – and what aspect of your role do you enjoy the most?
I have worked as a Heritage Assistant at Culture Syndicates since 2018. My favourite aspect of the role is that it is so diverse and allows us to build skills and experiences in so many different areas of heritage! I have worked with collections, workshops with the public, created artwork and flyers for marketing, planned social media, worked on their website, collected evaluation, worked on exhibitions, conducted research, worked on databases and analysis, planned PR, and even contributed my photographs to a printed book! I love that the role lets sector entrants with skills or interests in history really engage with a variety of types of heritage work and jobs within the role. I have also found Culture Syndicates as an organisation to be extremely inclusive, inherently accessible, welcoming, and supportive. A lot of employers advertise such traits to tick boxes or gain funding and can fall short in practice, but Culture Syndicates does none of the former and instead has these important qualities ingrained within their processes and internal operations, making it an absolutely fabulous and empowering place to work! I’ve grown so much over the short time I’ve been freelancing for Culture Syndicates, they take the time to help you reach potential as an individual, to develop the skills and interests you already have in the arts and heritage but also to introduce you to new ones (and meet lovely like-minded people along the way!)
4. What does a typical day look like for you?
Assuming this is a day when I am not working at Culture Syndicates on heritage projects, then a typical workday usually finds me working on my small business. Often this will involve me working from my house, accompanied by my cactus collection and growing number of pot plants. Some days I will spend researching, developing ideas, drawing illustrations with graphite and inks, or painting them at my desk with watercolours, others I will be post-processing photographs on my computer. Some days I will be doing all the jobs you don’t see, like admin, finances, funding applications, marketing, social media, PR, organisational, project planning, product photography, insurance, safeguarding…. the many different hats of a little business owner! Other days I will be on location, shooting a photography event, running a workshop, meeting clients etc. I also love to be constantly learning in my field so I will attend webinars, receive business mentoring, take part in short courses to up-skill and join artistic groups. I may also be writing an article or a review for a magazine that day or attending a meeting with the Young Producers at City Arts. As such I don’t tend to have a ‘typical’ workday as such because I have my fingers in so many pies!
When I am not working, I have various interests and hobbies I love! I enjoy attending comic cons and meeting like-minded people there, I love superheroes and enjoy reading comic books and graphic novels. I also love to crochet in my spare time and love to sew garments using my sewing machine. I enjoy scrapbooking, embroidery, writing, calligraphy, various crafts. I love to read, watch tv and films and enjoy watching theatre and performance. I really enjoy baking, chocolate-making, and growing my own vegetables. In non-pandemic times I usually attend exhibitions and visit museums and art galleries regularly. I love music and attend live music events and festivals regularly. I have been involved in choirs and singing groups since 2010 and I also love to play piano (but I am a bit rusty on guitar now!) And of course, I am always drawing and photographing even when I am not working!
5. What projects are you currently working on for Culture Syndicates?
The only project I am currently working on (thanks to the pandemic) is the working group for Culture Syndicates. I am really passionate about this project as it is exploring ideas to help emerging professionals and sector entrants going forward. This project is enjoyable as it is very collaborative, involves sharing ideas and experiences to pave a brighter future for those wanting to enter the heritage sector. I am really passionate about creating change in society generally and hope these discussions will help work towards a more inclusive, accessible, and enterable heritage sector.
6. What is on your wish list for the next few years with Culture Syndicates?
For the next few years with Culture Syndicates, I cannot wait to be able to return to in-person roles! For the working group project, it has been great that we are meeting digitally and virtually, as has meant we can meet weekly and regularly, from all different locations, with the CS staff tuning in from around the globe! For a long period during and after lockdown I found it challenging to leave the house and so these long-distance communication techniques with work meetings, friends and family were a lifesaver! However, after over a year and a half of screens, working at home at my desk and shielding from the pandemic I cannot wait until I am able to return to take on jobs on location away from my house! I find face-to-face communication and in-person work much more accessible for me, zoom and phone calls are a complete nightmare, and I am very much looking forward to meeting people in real life, getting back into the real world by working at museums, heritage locations and travelling to locations and of course working at the CS office once more!
I am very much looking forward to continuing with our working group and discussions about the heritage sector over zoom, but equally I cannot wait to get back out there and be on location! If I could return to the home/life balance we all once had, a mixture of time spent at home and time spent working on location that would be the dream and work would become much more accessible and more enjoyable!
7. What are your hopes for our industry?
A lot of our paths to enter the heritage world faced barriers and lack of clarity in how to enter our career choice before we became involved with Culture Syndicates, it is important to help sector entrants like ourselves be enabled to navigate the systems and sector more easily. I wish the path into a heritage career could become clearer and job routes after education whether that be after school, college or university, become available to all who have a passion for history and heritage, regardless of background, education, wealth, or identity. I also hope that the industry becomes more accessible, in making heritage a viable career option for disabled practitioners, both in its working environments and operational systems and I hope that the sector becomes more diverse and inclusive, not just on the face of it but through its practices, internal systems, values and opportunities. I also hope for more flexible working accommodations, new ideas and innovative practices to inform the sector.
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