My work placement with the GAP Arts Project by Ellie Winter, final year BA History of Art student

In my final year of studying History of Art, as part of a CAL work placement module called Professional Skills, I undertook a role as Creative Publication Developer at a youth arts charity in Balsall Heath called The GAP Arts Project. The role entailed working collaboratively with another student who was also on placement to design and develop a publication for a past project which they had finished in July 2022, called Cultural Resistance & Creative Protest. The project was intended to invite people to consider how the creative arts have been used to challenge historical oppression and injustice across the globe, and how we could use the arts to protest some of the problems that communities are facing today.

We worked through the archives of research, photographs, videos etc from the project to create a text which we are really excited to see published in the near future. The text maps the six phases of the project, with information of the historical inspirations, artists involved, and the workshops and creative outcomes. The aim is to provide a visual legacy, with hope to continue to inspire and inform people of the political, community, and the personal power of the arts.

I would highly recommend a visit to their space; whether it’s to grab a coffee in their affordable MIX Café, which is a great working and social space,

to have a look around their exhibition room, or to get involved in one of their fun and insightful workshops!

The GAP is an amazing, inclusive space that values creativity and justice, and is centred on creating a sense of belonging, community, and opportunity for the people around them, particularly for those that are marginalised in society.

To find out more about The GAP, what they do, and what’s coming up, check out their website https://www.thegapartsproject.co.uk or their Instagram page @the___gap.