Odin’s Art Award Journey

I feel I developed in confidence and became a good team member. I listened to others and took on board their ideas too before making a decision. I was empathic to other team members not feeling confident or wanting to present, so I took the lead whilst also trying to make sure I included their ideas and validated them. I felt I generated great ideas and worked closely with everyone to make sure they felt comfortable and safe.

I learned that it’s not something you do overnight. It’s a process and as much as the team is learning, even a leader learns too. There has to be that within the team. I think admitting when you have done something wrong or that you have failed for example within consistent communication like I did, makes you a good leader. Failure is first attempt in learning. It’s how you then grow from that. I think being open to yourself and others is key.

I nearly missed the Facebook live this was quite stressful as we were stuck in traffic so not a great start but thankfully, I got there and it was successful.

I would communicate better, have a clearer outline of what I am trying to say and why. I may know what I mean but others may not. I also need to be consistent and not lose focus or become distracted. I would also set better time boundaries so more could have been achieved , not just for me but for other team members.  I also had to work really hard on reminding myself there was an Action Plan. At times I got lost in the moment and time would just disappear. I think this would have certainly impacted the team.

I would in future set reminders on my phone and actively look on What’s App to see the other members text messages. Again, I don’t usually have my phone but if that’s the only point of contact outside the sessions its important to remain in touch with people.

I feel I came up with great ideas and achieved my tasks. I really loved creating the posters, invitations and ideas for social media to be involved. I think my work was eye catching, engaging and achieved what I needed it to do which was getting an audience and getting engagement. I also made sure we worked together as a team. I never said “ this is what I am doing “ I always shared and suggested a vote so we all had a say in the final pieces.

The virtual tour could have been even bigger . I think maybe with more time we could have got more views and feedback; however, I still think it was a good outcome. It was a lot more than expected.

I loved marketing and creating ideas for the posters, the virtual tour and advertising. It allowed me to find and research what attracts an audience like social media and certain colours/fonts. I learned a lot about marketing and that there is a lot to it. I enjoyed having a part within the team. It felt good to have a role and to also work with others. It was nice working with such a diverse group. We all had our strengths and weaknesses but came together to help one another.

I found it hard at times to let go of my control, Its hard to give over your work and trust team members at times  as I had a sense of ownership. I also found it tough at times to delegate. When it came to advertising the team were quite shy so it took some encouragement.

It’s hard but rewarding work. I learnt that we all have our strengths and weaknesses and to be compassionate to those when working in a team. I feel you can learn a lot from others and that it takes patience and real listening to one another to get great results. It can be hard if someone has different views to you or ways of doing things but once you overcome the need to do it only your way, I feel it can work out for the best and that perhaps maybe my way wasn’t the only right way of doing something.

I will take everything I have learned forward with me. I feel I can lead, am more confident and I challenged myself in more ways than one which is where I grew.

Feedback

After the event we gave the guests feedback forms to fill out and this is what a few of them said:

*The pottery pieces were great, so were the hanging timelines! The overall presentation created a great atmosphere. Really well done, I thoroughly enjoyed it. Great stuff! It might be helpful to understand a little more about the artists and why they chose their pieces.

*I was really impressed by the quality of the pieces, all the artists created beautiful things and presented them in such a way that they each created their own mood. It was a lovely experience and I am very impressed.

*The pottery and atmosphere were beautiful and really created a peaceful space. The art work, pottery and hanging photos were great. Really well done, great teachings, great work, great team!

*The standard of all the pieces were very high, and I thought the method of displaying them was really effective. Well done!

The gallery manager Genevieve also attended and this was her feedback,

*Congratulations. I am so impressed with the exhibition the Arts Award students put on. The plinth was perfect as they created a complementary background for each piece. The lighting created the right atmosphere and made for a cohesive show. Great job.

I am very pleased with this feedback; it is nice to see that all of hard work has been successful and people have enjoyed it. I was glad that there was some constructive criticism because that will help us if we decide to host an art exhibition again. I will take so much forward with me and I feel I did achieve better communication and listening skills. I really value all feedback given.