Giovanni
Uche
Instagram, Behance, Email ... About Me
Shop , What’s On
Giovanni
Instagram, Behance, Email ... About Me
Shop , What’s On
Stryx Art Gallery - Professional Placement MA
During my professional placement at Stryx, an arts organization in the Jewellery Quarter, in Birmingham, I had the opportunity to develop key skills, contribute to meaningful projects, and deepen my understanding of the arts sector. My role was that of Community Outreach Intern; This role involved the development of a community outreach organisational dataset created to track, contact and invite local organisations into the space. I took on a host of other responsibilities as I proceeded into the placement.
Pre-placement
I have always been aware of the highly competitive and unfair nature of the current arts industry, with the cost of living crisis taking hold of the nation in recent years, it’s a common talking point that the majority of people in creative industries are those who can afford to be. Further evidence for this can be found in the research conducted by Creative Industries Policy and Evidence Centre (2020) that states “that less than 10% of film and TV creatives are from working-class backgrounds. “ and “whereas 60% are from middle- and upper-class backgrounds. Most of these jobs are based in London, which presents further barriers to working-class participation.“ This is a stark example of the difficulty of gaining a foothold in the arts industry. This issue is further compounded by creative labour being underappreciated and underpaid creating a high barrier of entry and an even higher barrier to survive in.
Stryx, by providing affordable studio spaces and exhibition opportunities, lowers the barriers of entry for emerging artists, redistributing cultural capital to those outside traditional institutional frameworks
What is Stryx?
Reading from the website Stryx is described as a “ female artist-led residency, with studios and exhibition spaces in Digbeth, and Jewellery Quarter, Birmingham. “ It was founded in 2012 and has in recent years become one of the more established arts organisations in the midlands art scene. It provides up-and-coming and established artist opportunities to showcase their expertise and work, offering exhibitions and residencies.
My awareness of Stryx came through its involvement in Digbeth First Fridays which is a community initiative where every first Friday of the month Arts organisations host free viewings, exhibitions and workshops, their involvement in this and similar initiatives shows their goal to frame themselves as a community-orientated organisation. More importantly and why I became involved with the company, Stryx hosts and offers social spaces for art to be experienced, made and enjoyed. This was important as over the last couple of years curating creative spaces has become a fundamental part of my practice, making art accessible, showing it is not something a chosen few are called on to do, but simply (in my belief) human expression.
As described by Claire Bishop in Artificial Hells (2012), the role of participatory and community-driven arts spaces like Stryx is vital in creating inclusive environments where art is accessible to all. Stryx's approaches art not merely as a display but as an interactive, community-centred experience that allows for shared meaning and dialogue.
- Looking back, Pierre Bourdieu’s theory of cultural capital offers a compelling framework for analysing my experience and the role of Stryx in democratizing access to the arts. -
Bourdieu (1984) argued that access to cultural capital is often determined by social structures, privileging those already embedded in artistic networks. Stryx challenges these barriers by fostering an inclusive, community-driven space for both emerging and established artists.
Stryx plays a pivotal role in expanding cultural capital—the knowledge, skills, and connections that enable participation in the arts. By offering affordable studio spaces, exhibitions, and community events.
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Weeks 1 - 2: Introduction to my Role
Stryx has 2 locations, The Stryx Café and Community Art Gallery based in the Jewellery Quarter and the Stryx Art Gallery in Digbeth, My role took place at the Jewellery Quarter location. My first weeks at Stryx were spent introducing me to what the organisation was, its goals and ethos. I was invited to get involved with community outreach, based on my work in running art workshops from my art studio. The community outreach role is aimed at increasing public awareness of the organization’s activities.
The role was unpaid and voluntary, I decided to work 2 days in the week due to personal financial restraints. My work was divided into Tuesdays and Fridays, each with distinct responsibilities, in summary:
- Tuesdays: Focused on digital outreach and database development.
- Fridays: Assisted in managing Mini Stryx, a play-based workshop for young children and parents.
One of my primary tasks was identifying and reaching out to local community organizations to invite them to Stryx, for a company that is community -orientated it is essential to its growth to build and maintain strong links, these could offer collaborative and or further business opportunities. The role was new, and as such, there were no best practices for me to draw on. Using the task as my guide, I met the goal as best as I could, drawing on my expertise from previous projects. I used Google Maps to compile a list of organizations within five miles of the café, categorized them, and initiated email outreach, An email template was written up alongside the Directors to make sure it included key information about the organisation and its current offerings. However, this outbound marketing approach yielded limited responses, highlighting the challenges of community engagement through digital outreach alone.
A positive outcome was that I needed a way to track contact details, and keep track of who I had and had yet to contact. In doing so, I inadvertently developed an organizational contact sheet for Stryx—something that could be revisited and expanded upon.
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Weeks 3 - 5: Skill Development and Hands-on Experience
As my role progressed, I engaged in various aspects of event hosting and operational support. I contributed directly to the setup and management of Mini Stryx, which is a funded event run every Friday, catered to families with young children, offering a welcome space to simply be, to enjoy art, community and snacks. This included arranging safe play areas, testing new equipment (such as a snow machine for sensory experiences), and creating an engaging environment for children and their families. Through this, I saw first-hand how independent arts organizations cater to diverse audiences, ensuring that art spaces remain inclusive and community-driven.
My initial view on setting up a play area was that all you needed were toys and pillows. I assumed it would be simple, based on the first image that popped into my head of a children's and family play area. However, Mini Stryx was much more like a living art piece. The goal was to foster creativity and exploration. To that end, each event was set up like an art exhibition, with shape, colour, and texture taking centre stage in the planning process.
Bourdieu distinguishes between three forms of cultural capital, all of which I encountered in my work:
- Embodied Capital: Developed through hands-on tasks such as set design, event hosting, and space management.
- Objectified Capital: Created through the development of marketing materials and digital databases, reinforcing the importance of tangible cultural assets.
- Institutionalized Capital: Though Stryx is not a formal academic institution, its role in artist residencies and exhibitions grants legitimacy to participating artists.
Example of my first time setting up a Mini- Stryx, it was toys, mat and pillows.
Images from Mini Stryx, examples of some of the play spaces I set up during my placement.
Weeks 6-8: Strengthening Outreach and Addressing Challenges
By mid-placement, I had developed a comprehensive database of local organizations for future outreach efforts. However, a recurring challenge was the lack of response to email invitations. I recognized that personal connections and face-to-face interactions are often more effective than digital outreach alone, My first attempt to address this was to visit the organisations in person, taking with me leaflets and booklets to introduce the organisation and what it does, due to the days I had allocated to my placement it was difficult to keep this consistency and ran into difficulties travelling to the venues, as I don’t drive, most of my travel was by foot or public transit.To further address this, I proposed an alternative strategy: hosting community networking events at Café Stryx, with specific themes (e.g., family, neighbourhood, business). By creating dedicated spaces for different audience groups, we could cultivate stronger relationships and encourage long-term engagement. It would be a way to get leaders and members of the surrounding local community to come to us instead, leveraging our social space for a dual-pronged approach.
To this end, I created a mock-up to be used on Eventbrite. Using Adobe Express (Adobe’s response to Canva) I put together a simple design promoting the new initiative I titled Stryx Community Mornings, there was no time to implement this during my time at Stryx but it is something I plan to try in my studio.
Weeks 9-11: Expanding Stryx’s Symbolic and Economic Capital
Stryx, like many independent arts organizations, faces financial constraints. It is understandable under a capitalistic system financial resources shape the sustainability of cultural institutions, and as stated earlier the arts are more and more underfunded in the UK leading to many organisations like Stryx and such to enter competition against their fellow arts organisations to secure funding, leading to individualistic behaviour in an industry that is better served through collaboration. Stryx must continue its community outreach and support alongside funding requests.
During this period, my contributions included:
- CRM Development: Organizing outreach data in Notion, a project management tool, to streamline future marketing efforts.
- Event Assistance: Supporting exhibitions and community events such as Mini Stryx, Santa’s Grotto and winter-themed workshops.
- General Operations Support: Cleaning, setting up, and maintaining exhibition spaces, ensuring smooth event execution.
Despite these efforts, I struggled with feelings of professional apathy. I found it difficult to measure the impact of my work, particularly given the slow nature of community outreach results. Comparing this to my other internship running at the same time at the Asylum Art Gallery where the tasks where more self directed and easily evidenced, I realized that structured creative projects provided more tangible fulfilment. This experience underscored the importance of visible outcomes in workplace motivation.
Below are images from more hands-on tasks I undertook during my placement. Cleaning up the storage room, designing new signage and decorating the space for the Christmas event.
Final Weeks: Reflection on Professional Growth
I identified key takeaways from my placement:- Adaptability: The unpredictable nature of community engagement required constant problem-solving. This aligns with the insights found in Artificial Hells (Bishop, 2012), where the challenge of sustaining participatory art spaces is often tied to managing evolving community dynamics.
- Strategic Thinking: My experience highlighted the necessity of diversifying outreach strategies beyond digital efforts. While digital engagement is important, Bishop (2012) emphasizes in Artificial Hells that community-based organizations should also foster face-to-face relationships to create deeper, more sustainable connections with participants.
- Community-Centred Work: Stryx’s grassroots approach reinforced the importance of fostering accessible art spaces. Stryx’s model of community participation and engagement helped me realize how art can function as a tool for social change.
Despite the challenges, I contributed time, manpower, and logistical support to Stryx, ensuring that events and spaces remained functional and welcoming. More importantly, I recognized the broader impact of cultural democratization, Stryx by lowering barriers to entry and increasing accessibility, played a key role in this redistribution.
Post-Placement: Applying Cultural Capital to My Career
As I transition into the next stage of my career, I aim to leverage my experience at Stryx to further explore arts management and community engagement. Bourdieu’s concept of capital conversion—transforming cultural, social, and symbolic capital into professional advancement—provides a useful framework for career planning. In this context, Byrnes (2009) argues that effective arts managers must navigate both the artistic and organizational aspects of their work, ensuring that cultural capital is not only produced but also converted into tangible outcomes for artists, communities, and organizations.I plan to take my work on Wolves Art Club, a project I started to deliver art based workshops to the city of Wolverhampton where I grew up. My experience at Stryx has been invaluable, providing a better understanding of the steps I need to take to develop a community-driven arts initiative. It has reinforced the importance of understanding cultural capital in the context of local engagement and how grassroots organizations can shift the landscape of arts access.
Short-Term Goals:
- Apply my skills in digital marketing, outreach, and event management to community-driven projects.
- Seek roles that emphasize audience development and cultural accessibility.
Long-Term Aspirations:
- Advocate for policies promoting equitable access to the arts.
- Work towards leadership roles in independent arts organizations, influencing programming and community outreach strategies
Further reading that helped me contextualise my experience
Bourdieu, P. (1984). Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgement of Taste. London: Routledge.
Bishop, C. (2012). Artificial Hells: Participatory Art and the Politics of Spectatorship. London: Verso.
Byrnes, W.J. (2009) Management and the Arts. 4th edn. Oxford: Focal Press.
Creative Industries Policy and Evidence Centre. (2020). Press release: Just 16% of people in creative jobs are from working class backgrounds and those from privileged backgrounds more likely to shape what goes on stage, page and screen. [online] Available at: https://pec.ac.uk/news_entries/just-16-of-people-in-creative-jobs-are-from-working-class-backgrounds-and-those-from-privileged-backgrounds-more-likely-to-land-a-job-experience-autonomy-and-progression-and-shape-what-goes-on-stage-p/.