Apprenticeships at Manchester Museum

Between 2021 and 2022, Manchester Museum supported two paid apprentices over 18 months for the role of Cultural Learning & Participation Officer.
From May 2021 - October 2022, Manchester Museum hired two paid apprentices to work on the Our Shared Cultural Heritage (OSCH) Project. This was a critical part of the OSCH project to help open up the sector to those from a South Asian diaspora and ensure a younger voice was present in programming.

Over 18-month, the two apprentices led on a number of projects, including speaking at panels and events, and taking part in media appearances, which helped develop their skills. As a result of their work, they have helped establish a long-term working international collaboration with partners in Karachi as a result from the OSCH programme.

The apprentices’ main projects were:

  • South Asian Heritage Month (Postcolonial Banter Book Discussion + Author Q&A; Mixed Heritage Event; Belonging: Space & Place Poetry Workshop)

  • Radical Readers Events: Postcolonial Banter, I Refuse to Condemn, Tangled in Terror, The Suspect, Race to the Bottom: Reclaiming Antiracism

  • Social Action Project, Phase 1: Croissant Club Book Events, Made in Manchester Digital Exhibition, Representation in Media and Education Workshop, South Asian Beauty Standards Art Project etc.

  • OSCH Social Action Poetry Night

  • OSCH Social Action Poetry Workshops x3 with Nasima Bee, Amina Beg and Maya Chowdhury

  • Karachi Cultural Exchange Trip, March 2022

  • Sawda/Manachi Project: 80 page creative and collaborative anthology of art work submitted by 50+ young artists across Manchester and Karachi, entitled ‘Manachi: These Kingdoms Never Slept’

  • Representation in Media & Museums Research Workshops

And they also took part in the following presentations and talks:

  • (Fuse x Redeye x Short Supply) Grad Takeover/Careers Clinic: Creativity & Marketing

  • [Internal] Museum of Art & Photography x OSCH Presentation for British Council

  • (Creative & Cultural Skills) Changing History: Diversifying the Museum Workforce

  • Discussant on CODE (Centre on Dynamics of Ethnicity) event: Navigating Islamophobia in Denmark with Dr Amani Hassani

  • MMU Manchester Centre for Youth Studies: OSCH: Museums & Working with Young People

  • Museums Association Conference

  • Oxford University: Careers in Arts & Heritage

  • Manchester International Festival, MIF: This is Not a Drill! How do I Reskill? Event

  • University of Manchester Education Dept: MIE Anti-racist Teaching Network

  • English Heritage: Shout out Loud 'A New Heritage' Youth Summit

  • Curious Minds: Hope Evolves: A Guide to Youth-Led Change in Heritage