Developing our AWP Internships for the age of physical distancing and working from home, this pilot tested and refined guidance for partly remote arts internships.
In 2021 Artquest ran a pilot with 3 hosts to test and refine guidance for hybrid internships.
These internships aimed to ensure equal access to the graduate job market during the pandemic, and provide vital staff support to some of London’s most respected small-scale arts organisations.
What is a hybrid internship?
We defined a hybrid internship as:
An internship that is delivered partly in real life, and partly remotely: where an intern works, learns and is managed through a combination of digital technologies alongside physically distanced contact where possible.
Part of the internship was delivered in person where restrictions and personal circumstances – such as shielding – allowed. The internship could be delivered entirely remotely if circumstances did not allow in-person meeting.
We looked for a flexible model to work within the changing limitations of staff health and wellbeing, the necessity for shielding, and the UK Government’s tiered model of restrictions. The internship would provide equipment and digital access required for each intern.
How the model was developed
With the onset of COVID in March 2020 we were forced to rethink how we could run our AWP Internships project. We commissioned Dr Charlotte Webb of the University of the Arts London (UAL) Creative Computing Institute to research and imagine models for wholly remote or mixed-model (‘hybrid‘) internships, where interns would work partly at home and partly in the office as safety restrictions allow.
The resulting document, An Exploratory Guide for Hybrid Internships in Small Scale Arts Organisations, suggested a structure for arts organsiations to follow as they look to support new graduates emerging into the most challenging job market in living memory. The AWP Hybrid Internships pilot tested and refine this structure, with robust guidelines published on our website.
The AWP Hybrid Internships pilot built on our successful AWP Internships project, which, since 2011, delivered high-quality internships for recent UAL graduates at some of London’s most respected small-scale arts organisations.
Internship features
Each intern received:
- A paid role for 48 days over 6 months (equivalent to 2 days per week, with hours and days negotiable between the intern and host organisation) at some of London’s most respected small scale arts organisations
- Pay above the London Living Wage – set for 2021 at £11.45 per hour
- A defined job description
- Induction and orientation from their host organisation
- The support from a mentor to help guide you through the internship
- Five days of paid annual leave
- A review of progress halfway through their internship
- An exit interview and evaluation
- A reference for future job and internship opportunities.
Host organisations
The pilot support three internships at Flat Time House, Forma, and Gasworks / Triangle Network, all in London.
Eligibility
Unpaid internships block future opportunities for all but the most advantaged people in society who can afford to work for free. Our pilot aimed to level the playing field, placing UAL’s recent Outreach graduates in paid roles to ensure equality of access to further jobs in the visual arts.
The pilot is specifically aimed at supporting new graduates from lower socio-economic backgrounds who most need paid employment at the start of their career. Applications from graduates with lived experience of racism and other forms of structural discrimination were also particularly encouraged to apply.