ART students from Wiltshire College & University Centre were given the chance to test their skills and learn new ones alongside traditional craftsmen and women on a work experience trip to Portugal.
A group of 20 Level 3 Creative Practice and Foundation Art and Design students from the college’s Chippenham, Trowbridge and Salisbury campuses spent two weeks on placements related to their specialisms in Porto, thanks to support from the Turing Scheme which part-funded the trip.
Jen Shutt, Deputy Head of Creative Arts, Media and Performance, said the students, having successfully applied and been interviewed for a placement, were assigned to nine different studios with artists and experts in the historic port city.
“We had placements in studios specialising in leatherwork, ceramics and architecture, among others, and we had some students working in an art school, painting a mural,” she said. “There is such a rich history of creativity and art in the area so it was an ideal place for them to go.”
Some students were given the chance to work on their own projects under the guidance of the experts, while others helped on existing projects. “The students who worked at the leather work studio were tasked with designing and creating their own bag and pencil case,” said Jen.
“They cut all the leather and did the sewing to produce their bag and then they were gifted it to take home, which was brilliant. Another student at the leather company was creating content for the company’s social media.”
She said all of the students performed well on the trip, which was co-organised by RiSE International. “Some of them had never travelled abroad before while others had no previous experience of a work placement, so it was challenging and rewarding on a lot of different levels,” she said.
“But they approached it with enthusiasm and excitement and got a lot out of it. Working with independent artists allowed them to understand what it is like to become a specialist and have your own studio.”
As well as taking on board what it means to work in a commercial environment, they also had to adapt to working abroad. “It was a cultural shift for them,” said Jen. “Although our students already have a strong understanding of their specialism, experiencing different materials, working methods and artistic influences through another culture broadened their perspective.
“Porto has a lot of history and that really influences the way people work over there. It was very beneficial for the students to be able to understand that, absorb it and replicate it within their work .”
Jen, who was accompanied by Foundation Art and Design lecturer Rob Hemmings, said they saw the students’ self-esteem increase over the course of the fortnight. “You could see from when we arrived to when we left how their confidence had grown exponentially in terms of the experience they’d had and in understanding how they could then replicate that in their own practice, she said.
“Where we were staying was not a tourist area so instead of feeling like they were visiting Porto, they felt like they lived there for two weeks. They bought and cooked the local food and started speaking little bits of the language. A lot of them will feel confident in going to a different country or going back to Porto because of this experience.”
She said she has received good feedback from the placements, with some students being invited back to work with the artists and designers in future.
“Lots of really good connections were made,” she said. “It has been an experience our students will remember and continue to draw confidence from.”
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