(1) Identify your key responsibilities and list the main areas of work you have been involved in. Briefly highlight the skills and competencies that are relevant to this project/work area.

Key responsibilities in the project so far (October 2019):

• Brainstorming ideas/creative responses for project brief (interpretation and execution)
• Research across different areas into both theme and digital display of exhibition
• Constructive discussion weighing up and comparing proposal ideas, citing potential problems, highlighting ideas to develop further with continuous critical reflection of potential audience response/engagement
• Planning week on week for next stages of project, highlighting relevant event and exhibitions that will inform project and consideration of practicalities of adapting into our project

Key responsibilities in the project overall:

• Budgeting – Creating a budget plan from scratch and adapting it as the project progressed to bring all costs within the budget limit, tracking costs and retaining receipts, emailing vendors for quotes and attaining in-kind donations where possible, raising any necessary new supplier, purchase order, invoice and expense form requests to finance, communicating clearly budget limits to team, ensuring payments are processed on time and gathering cost estimations for internal recharge to provide a clear idea of overall actual project costs
• Event planning – Taking the lead in organising furniture/equipment rental from various locations, including arranging separate van and driver hire for certain items, adapting and rescheduling dates/times when needed and contributing to event management tools such as risk assessments, task sheets and event overviews in order to provide smooth running of exhibition inclusive of set up and take down
• Supporting where needed – Accommodating to needs of group and being available to give additional support to various jobs when required such as writing object labels, writing/responding to emails and sharing feedback on artistic, theoretical and functional decisions

Skills and competencies relevant to this project/work area:

• Effective project management and organisation including planning and adhering to deadlines
• Excellent ability to research, think imaginatively and make comparisons and connections across different platforms
• High level of verbal and written communication including presenting proposals, feedback and outcomes in a range of media
• Self-awareness and the ability to collaborate and work well as part of a team fostering a healthy working dynamic
• Ability to anticipate obstacles and intervene to prevent or minimise impact, also the flexibility to change track when necessary

(2)  Looking ahead, list your key objectives for the GRP. 3-7 SMART  (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Timed) objectives should be noted with realistic timescales and focused outcomes. (October 2019)

1. Produce a draft “mission statement” (300-500 words) outlining the theme of our exhibition within the next 2 weeks – Will be used in communications with both the hosting institution (NLS) as well as potential collaborators/promotional opportunities going forward. This will also help to set clear defined goals for the remainder of the project
2. Itemise list of specific collections from NLS to include in exhibition within 4 weeks through research, trial and error in questioning how each specific item will ‘fit’ within the theme of the exhibition and as part of a collection in the space/impact on audience. Narrow collection down to 3-6 items using this method to refine project
3. Book induction (as a group or individual from group takes on role) at Ucreate studio to support extra research into potential digital display. Experiment with display options for each item (could include simple prototypes) and decide on any digital tools we will use to display objects within 6-8 weeks
4. Present final exhibition proposal to GRP in January (with physical plans and timelines) and adjust based on feedback
5. Enhance visitor experience and engagement through trial run through of potential space with contacts from NLS and volunteer visitors etc in February (giving the rest of the month to iron out kinks and organise installation/promotion)
6. Gain experience beneficial to creative project management/production by taking on a relevant role in the group that can be developed with support from the institution
7. Use the benefit of meeting many staff members from various departments throughout the project to better understand specific career paths I could work toward after graduating

(3) Discursive self-reflection 

Use this section to, 1) Reflect upon the outcome of the project (both as a whole and with regards to your own specific area/role). 2) Critically reflect upon your experience working with the group.  Here you may consider your contribution, the value of your specific strengths and expertise, the effectiveness of group communications and your performance in group meetings.  Looking back, how might the group enhance its performance?

1. The project overall was successful in the curation of an immersive exhibition that experimented with audience engagement to answer a multilayered, time based brief. Over 350 visitors came to the exhibition and 20% completed a survey, in addition to recorded discussion and interaction, which will provide a wealth of quantitative and qualitative data to report to NLS outlining recommendations for future approaches and work in this area. Some areas of improvement, that can be applied to future projects, include awareness of the necessity of communication between exhibition design and production if individually subcontracted, recognising the limits of ambition in a project that has restricted implementation time and reconsidering the length of an exhibition when it interferes with set up and take down time, as all put a heavy amount of pressure on the group. Additionally, having a dedicated plan implemented in advance on how to analyse the information gathered post-exhibition. In terms of my specific role, in charge of budgeting I helped to keep the exhibition’s finances on track, bringing in a budget of £4,500 with a surplus of £127. This included adapting to a crisis of missing exhibition construction components 1.5 weeks before exhibition set up which provided printed fabric costing £804 would not go to waste. If dealing with budgeting on future projects, I would be mindful to attain quotes from the outset and get major contracts scheduled as early as possible to avoid unnecessary shipping and payment charges.

2. Early on in our project we determined as a group our individual ream roles based on Belbin summary descriptions. We found that our chosen roles balanced each other out and agreed on me being the ‘Teamworker’. Throughout the project having this balance of varying attributes in the group has proved productive when working together and I feel I have definitely embodied both the strengths and weaknesses of the ‘Teamworker’ role. In terms of my contribution, I think I have promoted a good team atmosphere through being co operative, perceptive and reacting to the needs of others. Despite this, having been used to a hierarchical system from a career in hospitality, I have found it hard to adapt to a new working dynamic and as a result have sometimes been indecisive/unconfident in my own voice and skills, having hesitancy in bringing certain ideas to the table and tending to side with the most popular route of action. However, I did find that as the project progressed and I took more ownership over certain tasks/jobs my confidence and assertiveness grew. We could have enhanced our group performance through recognising and applying secondary roles with clear definitions and making use of an agenda (and agenda organiser) so that in our weekly meeting’s key objectives could be identified, documented and delegated in equal measure. Although the group communicated very well, I think it would have also helped to set clear boundaries regarding potential over-communication, anti social hours and appropriate communication methods for different tasks, to avoid burnout.

Component 1.1 Self-Appraisal / Collections and Curating Practices by blogadmin is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution CC BY 3.0