Ilyayda’s Personal Journey

Who am I? And what do I bring to the Artswork Team? 

I joined Artswork by the government funded Kickstart scheme on March 7th, 2022. I joined as a Publicity Assistant and now I am part of the Comms team for the upcoming 6 months. 

Before I started my journey with Artswork, I had many ups and downs in my own life. The first big challenge to mention is moving to a new country, England, 4 years ago. It took some time, and adjusting to the place and going through the culture shock phase. After all that process was done, I started adjusting to the workplace and school settings. Working with my hands was always my go to method for learning and that is why I’ve decided to leave school after I got my GCSE’s and my Level 2 Art and Design diploma. 

I never was the type of student to learn while sitting down for 6 hours and then keep all that information in mind – no, not at all. Leaving college was a big thing for me, getting a taste at being independent, learning to search for jobs and how to apply and so on. You know the process, I am sure. 

From the age of 16, I started to do hands-on-work and worked at various places. It was a daunting process at first, for sure, but now I look back on those days and I know I’ve gained a lot of skills that I would’ve not learned by just going to school. 

As for my creative endeavours, I was always a keen photographer and I love to journal and keep everything in record. Every memory, every event, and even if it is just a picture of a flower from a trip we went onto, I would always keep it in safe hands. Here are some examples down here below and you can have a look on my personal website for more here: 

After working 2 years and doing photography on the side, I came across Artswork while I was on a job hunt again. When I first heard about it, I thought it was too good to be true, I remember saying to myself: 

“How is this even possible? This job is creative and for young folk?” 

I was so happy to be accepted to position because I felt my voice was heard in Artswork and I feel much more valued. It is important to include young people in the future of arts and culture, and giving them a chance to shine is what Artswork is doing – it is an action that should be admired by many.  

I’ve listened to some other young people’s opinions and experience on this topic on Amplify, and I am inviting you to give it a listen as well – so, you can understand OUR perspective, as a young person and what ideas we can offer for the future in the creative industry.

Tags:

For 15 – 25 yrs kickstart Young people's blogs Youth Blog Youth Voice