Freya Jewitt: Exhibitions and Events Assistant

Freya Jewitt is the Communications and Events Assistant at Kettle’s Yard, Cambridge, but her love of museums and galleries developed late in her university life. Not really knowing what she wanted to do, Freya chose to study a subject that she enjoyed and found interesting, Cinema and Photography.

“I knew I wanted to do something creative and the course seemed cool because it was film and photography so a good mix, but I was not sure what I really wanted to do”

Although she enjoyed the course, it also helped her to decide what she was really interested in, “the course was good but I realised I didn’t really like making films but I liked doing the research”.

“I don’t regret that course because it helped me work out where I want to be, even though I’m not working in the film industry”

Freya also credits various work placements that she was able to undertake while at university for helping her to decide what she wanted to do.

“When you’re younger you get bogged down in thinking about what your degree is going to be. You worry about it a lot thinking ‘if I do this then this is the job that I have to have and I won’t be able to find anything else’, whereas you realise once you are at university that there are so many opportunities to get experience in different areas and different paths.”

While at university, Freya got a placement working with the Picture Desk at The Times Newspaper where she worked with photographers, learning how they got photographs for supplements, how they chose which images to use, and sitting in on editor meetings. Although she found the roles that she experiences interesting, she worried about its stability as a career. Nearing the end of university, Freya sought advice from her lecturers who encouraged her new found interest in archival research and advised her to look into Museum and Gallery Studies.

“I think it is important to use the people around you at university, like your tutors or lecturers, because they are there to help you and give you advice… that was really helpful just to be able to talk it through.”

To find out more about museum studies and to decide her next steps, Freya tried to contact as many people as possible who worked in museums and galleries, asking their advice whether she should do a Masters or just look for experience. As everybody had very different experiences and opinions, Freya decided to stay at university for another year to complete a Masters in Museum and Gallery Studies.

The course that she chose, at the University of Leeds, meant she needed to get some experience of working in museums and galleries and gave her a fantastic opportunity to get the best of both pathways; she could get her degree but also have some practical skills and experience to back it up.

“A lot of it is learning about the different options within the industry… It’s a foot in the door if you are part of a course that has a programme of setting up placements”

Before beginning the Masters course, Freya gained a placement at the Royal Albert Memorial Museum and Art Gallery in Exeter, giving her an excellent starting point to continue her degree and get more varied experience with museums and galleries. Other placements during her course involved volunteering at the White Cloth Photography Gallery in Leeds and with Pavilion, a Leeds-based organisation that programmes art within heritage spaces. Freya was also presented with the unique opportunity of seeing the Mental Health Museum in Wakefield develop from a collection into a museum;

“At that point they were just going through what they had and having a complete overhaul because they had just gotten some funding to become a newly accredited museum. So it was really good to see something from the very beginning”

After graduating, Freya spent a few months doing temp work in an office, but continued to apply for jobs in museums and galleries. Having had a few interviews but being unsuccessful, Freya was offered the role of Communications and Events Assistant at Kettle’s Yard. Freya feels lucky to have gotten a job within months of graduating, however credits perseverance and the learning experience of going to interviews, even though she did not get offered those jobs;

“Those first interviews were scary but I don’t think I would have gotten this job if I hadn’t had those interviews and prepared”

The role of Communications and Events Assistant can be very varied, being involved with the full programme that is delivered at Kettle’s Yard. Whilst her day may start with checking emails and managing social media, Freya is also responsible for updating the gallery’s website and working on upcoming events and features. For example the gallery holds a concert series for which Freya coordinates musicians, agents and volunteers, as well as promoting the events and selling tickets.

“You’re working with a really creative bunch of people and it’s really exciting when you’ve got a new exhibition coming up and you get to research artists and think about what people find interesting, finding quotes and just trying to draw people in, making it more accessible to people”

Freya reflects how she found the skills that she learnt through her degree in Film and Photography added value in her role at Kettle’s Yard;

“Just having the skills to edit and things like that are really useful, we have done exhibition trailers and it helps to know a bit, and with a marketing role you are constantly taking pictures so if you can make them look a bit nice it definitely helps”

After reflecting on her own journey, through both studying and gaining experience, Freya offers some advice to help make the most of being a student and to make progress.

Volunteer if you can; “if you have a specific area that you want to go into, like a certain kind of museum or art form, then having experience in those areas will help. But at the same time if you want to go into marketing in museums and art galleries, working in either, or even theatres, is going to be helpful”

Talk to people “If you’re thinking of working in a museum or gallery or theatre, send them an email and ask questions. They’re a nice bunch of people who have been in the same situation”

“Don’t be deterred if you can’t get a role in the exact area that you want straight away there are a lot of different paths that you could take to achieve that”