New Blog

Please note that this blog site is no longer in use.

You can find all this content and more at the updated Youth Advisory Group blog here:

http://blogs.rmg.co.uk/youthadvisorygroup/

Many Thanks,

Shauna and the Youth Advisors

YAG Recruitment Day, Saturday 19 October 2013

In our last meeting, the Youth Advisors welcomed new people to join the Group. We started the day by decorating the Briefing Space to make it more welcoming, and set up the Group Space for games.

Youth Advisors

Isobel with the amazingly decorated background in the Briefing Space

Join the Youth Advisory Group!

Youth Advisors Needed!
National Maritime Museum Youth Advisory Group Recruitment Day
Saturday 19 October, 12-14:30
National Maritime Museum, Greenwich

Would you like to add a new opportunity to your CV? Do you want to make a difference to your community and the way young people access museums? Want to make new friends, help others and gain new skills? Join the National Maritime Museum's Youth Advisory Group!

Youth Advisors meeting the Learning team in their offices at National Maritime Museum

What is YAG?
The YAG is open for 14-21 year olds who want to make the Museum relevant to young people through organising events and workshops, acting as Museum consultants, going behind the scenes to explore the Museum and sharing their ideas with others. The YAG is a great opportunity for young people to get involved in their local community, learn new skills in a professional setting, build their confidence by taking part and having a voice and be creative.

Youth Advisors taking part in a creative workshop for an exhibition

Who are the Youth Advisors?
At present, our Youth Advisors are from all different backgrounds and with interests in history, politics, science, finance, sports and art. We welcome any young people that want to add something new and different to their record of achievement and CV.

 



Youth Advisors meeting Museum patron HRH Duke of Edinburgh this year

What opportunities are available?
Now is an exciting time to get involved here at the Royal Museums Greenwich (which encompasses Royal Observatory Greenwich, Cutty Sark and the Queen’s House in addition to National Maritime Museum). There is a new learning space being made in the Museum and we are the first group to be invited to learn and generarate new conversations about how to use the Museum, how links are made between Yinka Shonibare’s Nelson’s Ship in a Bottle and the Museum’s collection. We’ll be working with an artist and it will lead up to us taking over this new space for Takeover Day in November.  The YAG is making a difference to the Museum today and also the way it will be experienced in the future.

 

Youth Advisors with certificates after last year's Takeover Day

How much commitment is required?
The YAG meets informally once a month outside of school hours, with opportunities to take on more responsibilities during school holidays to gain extra experiences. We usually meet on a Saturday or Sunday, but in holidays we may meet on weekdays. You do your best to come but studies come first so not to worry if you can’t make it.

 

Youth Advisors leading a workshop in August 2013

Youth Advisors sharing their ideas

 

What is the Recruitment Day?
This is a chance to come along, meet some of the Youth Advisors and find out more about upcoming opportunities and see if YAG is for you. You don't need to have any qualifications or experience in museums, you just need to be a team worker, be willing to share your ideas and willing to take part and learn!



One of the Youth Advisors in a self portrait from our Traders Remixed exhibition, February 2012

 

Youth Advisors exploring Museum objects 

How do I join?!
To join in for Recruitment Day, just email Shauna, the Museum's Youth Participation Officer, at sao'brien@rmg.co.uk to reserve a FREE space.

 

 Join the Youth Advisory Group!

 

YAG Workshop, Saturday 28 September 2013

Today we tried out some new games to see what could work for the Recruitment Day we are having in October. We started with Fast Friends, where we each wrote a question on a piece of paper and then all got in pairs and Shauna read out a question for us to discuss for a minute, such as what are you hoping to get for Christmas, or what kind of animal would you like to be?

YAG Workshop, Saturday 07 September 2013

Today we welcomed new members to Youth Advisory Group from Threads Summer School. Summer School student, Posola shares what happened...

At the end of the Threads Summer School, all the participants were invited to join the Youth Advisory Group held at the National Maritime Museum. I went to my first YAG session today and learnt a bit of what being a Youth Advisor is all about. Shortly after, we devoured some pizzas then headed off to the Visions of the Universe exhibition (we got to go in for free!) where I spent the next couple of hours marvelling at the beautiful photographs of our Universe. I'll be coming back for the next session ready to plan some activities for Recruitment Day :)

Youth Advisors with certificates for designing and leading workshops in August

Youth Advisors with their tickets for Visions of the Universe

International Slavery Remembrance Day, Friday 23 August 2013

After so much practice and preparation, International Slavery Remembrance Day had arrived. The Youth Advisors had practiced, prepped and prepared and welcomed 40 young people to the Museum to take part in two creative workshops, teaching wax resist and block printing skills inspired by Ghanaian fabrics.

Threads Summer School

During August, National Maritime Museum hosted a seven day programme for young people to gain a Bronze Arts Award. Threads Summer School welcomed 17 young people to take part in creative and historical workshops. Here are some highlights...

Threads Summer School students with Youth Advisors

Youth Advisors and Summer School Students

During August summer holidays, National Maritime Museum welcomed 17 young people to take part in Threads Summer School, a seven day programme inspired by African textiles and Yinka Shonibare's Nelson's Ship in a Bottle. They signed up through Futureversity and took part in creative and skills based workshops, from bookmaking to object handling, meeting curators and visiting exhibitions, researching artists, writers and musicians they love and leading a workshop to share skills they had learnt.

 

YAG Workshop, Sunday 11 August 2013

Today was the final practice before the Youth Advisors' first workshop for summer school students on Tuesday! They will teach half the students how to make Adinkra fabric using the block printing technique they have developed, and the other half how to make Dutch Wax inspired fabric using the wax resist technique they've have been practicing, using melted crayons and paint.

The Youth Advisors practiced the Dutch Wax as there are lots of steps to remember.

 

YAG Workshop,Monday 05 and Tuesday 06 August 2013

In these workshops, the Youth Advisors practiced their Dutch Wax workshop for their summer programmes. They ran through the whole thing start to finish. They taught Formal Learning officer Lucie Trottman what to do and were amazing! They also planned out all their workshops, including the roles, the timings and thinking about health & safety with the Museum's Health & Safety Advisor Karen Haden. We then met with Steve Martin, who is curating this year's International Slavery Remembrance Day commemoration at National Maritime Museum. The Youth Advisors are running a workshop for young people, so it is important they understand the history and what else is happening on the day.

We learnt a new game today - Fishes!



Planning with Anisa

Setting up the room for the workshop

YAG Workshop, Thursday 25 July 2013

Today the Youth Advisors worked with artist Seiwa Cunningham to plan for their own workshops. They will be running a workshop for summer school students in August and also a public workshop for International Slavery Remembrance Day on Friday 23 August. They will share two of the creative techniques they have learnt and the history of the textiles they are inspired by.

We began the day by thinking about how the workshops would happen - where will they be? Why are we doing it? Who is our audience? What do we need to do to prepare? We had a group discussion

YAG Workshop, Saturday 20 July 2013

Today the Youth Advisors worked with Seiwa Cunningham again to produce their own batik artwork. These pieces were inspired by Dutch Wax, the type of fabric used by Yinka Shonibare in his artwork, including Nelson's Ship in a Bottle.

The Youth Advisors with Nelson's Ship in a Bottle earlier this year

YAG Workshop, Sunday 07 July 2013

In today's workshop, the Youth Advisors worked with artist Seiwa Cunningham to learn more about Adinkra fabrics. Adinkra is traditionally worn at funerals and commemorations in Ghana. There are hundreds of symbols all with different meanings referring to stories. The Youth Advisors learnt about the history of the fabric as well as how to make their own.

Seiwa showed us some fabric and some of the stamps, which are carved from gourd (a bit like a butternut squash!). The Youth Advisors made their own non-vegetable stamps from foam!

Seiwa showing the Youth Advisors the fabric we would be recreating

The Youth Advisors then introduced themselves and their names, as we would see if there was an Adinkra symbol that related to our names.

Isobel, Jennifer, Nicole and Adrian sharing the meaning of their names

Adinkra fabric and some of Seiwa's artwork

YAG Workshop, Saturday 08 June 2013

Today the Youth Advisors worked with artist Rose Sinclair to learn about Ndebele art, originating in South Africa and Zimbabwe and often used for painting houses. The Youth Advisors will be learning about different types of African textile art over the next few weeks to run their own workshops in the summer holidays.

Firstly the Youth Advisors made their own sketchbooks...

Isobel and Rachel making books

Rose teaching the Youth Advisors how to fold the book

Rose introduced the Youth Advisors to visual language and colour theory.

Jennifer decorating her book

Thu decorating her book

YAG Workshop, Thursday 30 May 2013

In this YAG workshop, the Youth Advisors spent the morning making flowers for the Garden of England exhibition by Alice Kettle in the Queen's House. They worked with Louise Simkiss, Adult Programmes Manager at National Maritime Museum, to make their own pieces from fabrics. In the afternoon, we visited one of the Museum's stores to learn about naval uniforms with Amy Miller, Curator of Decorative Arts & Material Culture.

Louise talking about The Garden of England

Youth Advisors making their own flowers

Learning about uniforms with Amy, including Nelson's uniform

Afternoon Tea with HRH The Duke of Edinburgh, 28 May 2013

The Youth Advisors were invited to afternoon tea on board the Cutty Sark to celebrate HRH The Duke of Edinburgh as patron for 60 years. Terri shares her experience...

At the party we met a few wonderful people; we were honoured to be invited to the party. It was an honour to also get to meet prince Philip he did in fact talk to some of the Youth Advisory Group, such as myself in the prince's very own words he said "Who do we advise" and in return I said "We Advise young people for the Museum"

It was a great honour to be invited to the party and to get to meet Prince Phillip we would like to thank the Prince for visiting the Cutty Sark, and also thanks to Christopher Gray for  being invited to the party.

The Duke with Youth Advisors

Shauna with the Youth Advisors