My name is Jiya Bedi, and I am a Year 12 student. I take 3 A-levels: Business, Media and Drama. As you have gathered from my choice of A-levels, I am both an analytical and a creative person. That’s why I wanted to do work experience somewhere that would allow me to showcase both sides of myself – which is why I applied to Sampad.
Throughout my week at Sampad I learnt about what the organisation is about and how much work is done by the staff who make all the events and exhibitions happen.
On my first day, I didn’t know what to expect or what I would be doing, however everyone on the Sampad team was kind and caring and helped me pick up important work skills. I was given a tour of the MAC (Midlands Art Centre), including the gallery and the Sari exhibition, which had photos of different people from different age groups talking about their sarees and what they mean to them.
During my week of work experience, I had the privilege of attending 2 events. The first was on a Tuesday at the Dolphin Centre, which consisted of a diverse group of women, bonding over crafts. This experience helped me understand how Sampad prioritises people and their wellbeing by creating spaces where they can socialise and build friendships. I felt comfortable and really enjoyed taking part- even discovering a new interest in yarning, something I’d never done before.
On Wednesday I went to Grounded. It is a wellbeing space with community at its heart, which aims to improve mental wellbeing through therapeutic and fun activities. This included Sampad’s Let’s Dance session, where we danced with scarves- something that turned out surprisingly calming and therapeutic, even though I was sweating by the end! Kali, who led the session, made me feel welcome right away along with the group of women who attended his classes. At the end, the women spoke about how they found their classes fun and later led us to speak to Kali about what it means to him being a therapeutic mentor.
Furthermore, in the office, I also had an enjoyable experience. I got to learn about the different types of jobs each staff member of Sampad has, through them telling me about their projects and also being able to do different jobs during my week of work experience.
Throughout the week I learnt how to make my own spreadsheet, through updating information for Sampad, and organising different cultural workshops such as ‘My Journey My Birmingham’ which was shown at three different schools across Birmingham, where children enjoyed watching an educational theatre piece about migration.
I also helped with the Sari exhibition on Wednesday and Thursday, organising the images and preparing them for display. As someone who enjoys South Asian art exhibitions, I was happy to have the chance to help out behind the scenes. As an A-level Media student, I found it interesting to learn how Sampad’s newsletters are designed and produced. I now understand why newsletters are so important for arts organisations- they help promote events, reach audiences and encourage engagement through the design.
My favourite part of the week was having the opportunity to really learn what Sampad is all about. Particularly through the different events I got to attend as it allowed me to meet people from different communities and do creative skills whether it is in crafting or dancing.
My second favourite part was being asked to be in a video for Sampad. This was fun as I have always dreamt of being a part of a video on social media particularly for a good cause, which in this case helps to target people on social media to reach and engage with audiences. This resulted in me recording clips of myself during work experience to help persuade audiences to be interested in Sampad.
As my week at Sampad comes to an end, I feel really happy- but also a little sad. I’ve learned so many valuable skills and had a truly fun and meaningful experience. Yet unfortunately I have to go back to school and not be surrounded by the gorgeous view of Cannon Hill Park and, of course, the freedom of not wearing a school uniform!
However, if someone wanted to get involved in Sampad I would say that it is an absolute treat to be working there, as you get to do different types of jobs rather than just being in the office 24/7, as you get to meet people from different communities and help out and organise cultural events.
This week helped me learn about different jobs in the art field as well as what each job demands you to do. It’s been a great experience that’s helped me understand what working in the arts involves, and what different roles I need to pursue in the future.
A big thank you to Jiya for joining Team Sampad last week. If you or your students would like to work with us, get in touch on learning@sampad.org.uk.
