High-quality internships for recent UAL graduates at respected small-scale arts organisations in London, 2012-2020.

AWP Internships were high-quality, paid at above the London Living Wage, in defined roles. Final year students applied for the programme before graduation, taking up their role in the September following the end of their course. The programme supported between 8 and 13 interns each year and was supported by UAL’s Outreach programme.

Artquest organised and administered the open call to UAL graduates, assisted with shortlisting, interviews and selection, and worked with hosts to create clear job descriptions based on their needs. We also paid an independent mentor to work alongside the interns, advising and providing pastoral care.

Each intern received:

  • A paid role for 48 days over 6 months (equivalent to 2 days per week) with work patterns negotiable between the intern and host organisation
  • Pay above the London Living Wage
  • Induction and orientation from their host organisation
  • Clear line management with regular check-in meetings
  • Access to an independent mentor, separate from both Artquest and the employer
  • Up to 5 days of paid annual leave
  • A mid-term review of progress against learning ambitions
  • An exit interview and evaluation
  • A guaranteed reference for future job and internship opportunities.

Eligibility

Unpaid internships block learning opportunities for all but the most advantaged sector of society, who can afford to work for free.  The AWP Internships programme aims to level the playing field, placing UAL’s recent Outreach graduates in paid roles to improve diversity and equality of access to jobs in the visual arts.

AWP Internships are specifically aimed at supporting new graduates under-represented in the arts who would be unable to begin a career without paid employment at the start of their career – those from low socio-economic backgrounds. Applicants met set eligibility criteria in order to apply.

AWP internships were for recent UAL graduates who were:

  • Graduate from a BA course from one of UAL’s colleges finishing in the year of application.
    • Those completing MA or other higher courses, and those who graduated in previous years, were not eligible
  • Interns could not be enrolled on any course of study during the period of the internship
  • Interns were from the first generation in their families to attend a higher education institution
  • They had received a full maintenance grant while studying
  • Due to work visa requirements, all interns had to qualify as a home (UK) student

Context

Evaluation in 2018 showed that:

  • Only 37% of internships in the creative industries are paid
  • 92% of arts workers in 2014 were from more advantaged backgrounds
  • One third more women than men take unpaid internships
  • Most internships are offered only to graduates from HEIs, creating a barrier to sector entry for those who do not study beyond school
  • Only five other paid arts internship programmes were found, with only one dedicated to the visual arts
  • On the AWP Internships programme:
  • 95% of interns found paid employment within 6 months, 60% part-time and 20% full-time. At UAL as a whole, 81% of graduates found paid employment within 6 months, 26% part-time and 55% full-time.
  • 75% continue to work in the arts and creative sectors. The Weston Jerwood Creative Bursaries, the UK’s largest such programme supporting people into internships across the arts, 78% of alumni continue working in the arts and creative sectors

AWP supported interns by:

  • Providing the employment experience necessary to access further entry-level jobs
  • Giving insight into different career options within the arts, wider than just their role
  • Showing how arts organisations actually work, how decisions are made and how budgets are negotiated
  • Getting further paid work – often with the host organisation

AWP supports hosts organisations by:

  • Helping them hire more diverse staff. 92% of hosts would not be able to offer internships without this funded offer
  • Providing a larger capacity for often tiny arts organisations. All hosts had fewer than 8 staff (91% of arts organisations have fewer than 4 staff)

Intern interviews

In 2012, the first year of the AWP programme, we interviewed interns and organisations who took part about their experiences as part of our pilot evaluation. The films chart the experiences of participating organisations and graduates and consider some of the wider issues around fair internships.

Artquest and UAL interview on AWP Internships
Afterall interview
Chisenhale Gallery interview
Gasworks / Triangle Network interview

Partners

Host organisations for interns on the programme included:

  • Afterall – a research and publishing organisation
  • Auto Italia – a contemporary art gallery in east London
  • Autograph – exploring identity, representation, human rights and social justice through photography and film
  • Chisenhale Gallery – a contemporary art gallery in east London
  • Cinenova – a volunteer-run charity preserving and distributing the work of feminist film and video makers
  • Electra – an arts commissioning agency
  • Flat Time House – a gallery and artist’s residency space at the former studio home of John Latham (1921-2006)
  • Forma – a visual arts commissioning agency and creative producer
  • Gasworks / Triangle Network – artist’s studios a gallery hosting an international artist’s residencies network
  • Iniva – a radical visual arts organisation reflecting on the social and political impact of globalisation
  • Intoart – an art and design studio working inclusively with people with learning disabilities practising as artists
  • Kazzum Arts – a participatory arts organisation supporting young people affected by trauma and adversity through unique, inclusive and multidisciplinary arts projects
  • LUX – an arts organisation supporting and promoting visual artists working with the moving image, and a collection of over 7,000 artist moving image works
  • Metamute – arts book publisher and projects
  • New Contemporaries – an annual exhibition and professional development programme for new graduate artists
  • Pump House Gallery – an art gallery run by Wandsworth Council in Battersea Park, London
  • Studio Voltaire – an art gallery in south London
  • The Showroom – a contemporary art space supporting artists who have not previously had significant exposure in London