Curriculum Vitae

Georgie Fay

I have had experience in several types of schools, museums, galleries and other educational settings, and feel that the arts and education are of utmost significance and can be a catalyst for social change and inclusion and therefore this is the career which I am truly passionate to develop.

 

I have a History of Art degree, HE Dip and Museum and Gallery Education MA so I am well trained with up to date knowledge, skills and understanding of the context of this area. I also have experience in a range of organisational and educational roles. As my CV shows I can manage different demands effectively and flexibly, and am keen to continue developing my wide ranging interests, experience and skills in the arts and education.

georginafay@gmail.com

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Qualifications

MA MUSEUM AND GALLERY EDUCATION

The Institute of Education, University of Central London 2011-2012

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MA HISTORY OF ART (HONS)
The University of Edinburgh
2004-2008

HIGHER EDUCATION DIPLOMA IN ART AND DESIGN
The University of Creative Arts, Farnham
2010-2011

Artist Projects

 

Lost&Found: An Exploration of Immigration and Imagination - October Gallery

September 2016-November 2016

This exhibition was envisioned, developed and curated by me with the help of the October Gallery youth collective with whom I have been working with over the last two years. The exhibition was a response to the issues facing all of us in relation to the immigration crisis and rising intolerance of other cultures. I delivered a series of participatory workshops with various participants aged between 4 - 18 and we explored my own artistic practice, I was particularly interested in the theme of 'Loss of Imagination' in relation to den and shelter building. The dens the participants created together represented safe spaces in which, instead of escaping from the world, the young people could think and talk more freely about some of the major issues affecting it. We used these workshops and themes as inspiration to create our own works.

My own piece drew together my printmaking practice, combining personal experiences and familiar landscapes of home with the participatory educational work and research I have been undertaking with various groups. It recreates a safe place, den, nest or cocoon using natural materials and then incorporates the work of many children to represent flight and migration, linking back to the themes of the exhibition 'Lost and Found: An Exploration of Immigration and Imagination.' 

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Den Building: Finding One's Imagination

Ongoing

I continue to develop my participatory practice and am particularly interested in bringing together my installations work and printmaking practice by bringing the prints out of the frames and into our real world - taking our imaginations with us!

I deliver den and shelter building workshops to participants of all ages and various groups in order to further my own practice by observing and exploring how different people respond to the theme and use these temporary structures in many different ways.

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I delivered a series of these workshops with the OG youth collective including projecting images, animations and short films they set up indoor dens and spaces for them to interact in and as canvases to show their films. It was interesting and developmental for my own research and practice to observe how the young people responded to these themes and use their imagination to build and construct a series of spaces for themselves. The discussions which happened in the gallery space compared to those within the small dens created by the young people were significantly different and they were able to open up and talk about a wide range of subjects which in a larger space they would not felt comfortable to do. These workshops and experiences fed into my practice as I began to think more about the space a den creates and how important a space of one's own can become.

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Participatory Printmaking - UCH and Royal Free Hospital Schools

2016

Part of my artistic practice is about bringing people together to learn new art skills and build their confidence to make work together and be proud in what they create. I worked with various groups of young people on a number of different 6 weeks projects all of whom suffer from sever illnesses like Cancer. I introduced the participants to various different printing techniques from mono drawing, stencils, and reductive printing to lino cuts and relief based printing.

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The projects were very open ended to enable the participants to get experimental ad try as many different techniques as possible. We then chose our favourite prints to be laminated and threaded up together to go up on the hospital corridor as a collaborative sculpture. This bringing of the prints out of the wall and into sculptural form is something I would like to experiment more with and continue to blur the lines between my printmaking and installation based practice.

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Mapping Our Area - After-School Project Netley School

September 2015

I collaborated with artists Becky Snow and Lucy Warren to develop an 8 week project with year 4,5 and 6 children from Netley Primary School, Camden about mapping their local area. Many children who grow up in London next to some of the most iconic landmarks and buildings in Britain do not engage with them and this is particularly the case for the pupils at Netley Primary School. This project enabled them to visit local museums and galleries, travel outside of the small circumference of familiarity and sketch the world around them. We made sketchbooks and large interactive maps and even 3D sculptures out of wire reflecting on the routes and roads we travelled together. 

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Treasure Maps - Hackney Pirates

February 2015

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Wild Things Festival - Interactive Installations

June 2012

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Leave your Shoes at the Door - UCA Farnham

July 2011

My final piece for my degree show at UCA Farnham responded to the theme in my art practice which I continue to explore; Imagination.  The exploratory practice enhanced many issues and themes about age and whether one loses one’s imagination and sense of excitement in the everyday world as one gets older. I began by exploring the making of dens – as a child I would constantly be making these safe sanctuaries in and outdoors and create adventures and magical lands in which they existed – I then began to make my own adult dens, everywhere I went, clothes horse here and under the table there, and I asked my friends to do the same thing in an attempt to recreate these fairy tale worlds. The outcome of this project was for me a stark realisation that I did not make the time to make these dens and it became a chore rather than a spark of the imagination. My final art pieces were a series of installations made to look like children’s dens, but they had empty, worn adult shoes lying haphazardly at the entrance and a light on inside but nobody was there. I was attempting to represent the reality of growing up and losing one’s imagination.

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Professional Experience

 

OCTOBER GALLERY – EDUCATION MANAGER

January 2014 - Present

I am solely responsible for the running of the entire education programme at October Gallery in Central London. We aim to communicate some of the rich stylistic diversity of contemporary art from around the world through our schools, families and community workshops and long-term projects. I manage a team of freelance artists and volunteers and work closely with them to plan and develop a diverse and cross-curricular education programme. I am in charge of fundraising for the programme as well as managing all the budgets for the various programmes, maintaining the finances and many administration tasks. I must report to the board of trustees and gallery directors every year with a clear education report, evaluation and strategy for the forthcoming year.

 

FREELANCE CREATIVE FACILITATOR - Various ongoing projects and one-off events or workshops.

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SEEDS Art Group - Disabled Adults

Ongoing (once a month)

I work as an artist once a month with a group of disabled adults on a Saturday to share art skills and develop my own participatory practice in slightly more challenging circumstances. Finding art and making which link to my own practice and meet the participants' needs is an ongoing challenge which I strive to achieve through experimentation and exploration of different mediums and materials.

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VALENCE HOUSE MUSEUM - SEN COORDINATOR and ARTIST

September 2013 - January 2014

I worked freelance at Valence House Museum in Barking & Dagenham for over a year developing their SEN Education programme, which previously did not exist. I solely designed, developed and delivered the programme which could be adapted for students of all ages and abilities.

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HACKNEY PIRATES – ADMINISTRATOR AND FREELANCE ART EDUCATOR

January 2012 – January 2014

The Hackney Pirates is an innovative education project which supports children aged 9–12 with their homework and develops their literacy skills. I have worked with the Hackney Pirates in a variety of roles over the last year. I worked there as an administrator (Deckhand!) for two days a week and was responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of the building, keeping the filing system and general administration up to date as well as supporting the delivery of their education programme. I have also led art workshops with the Young Pirates during the summer school project in 2012 and volunteer whenever I have spare time.

 

YOUNG PEOPLE’S THEATRE – ACCESS WORKER

August 2012 – November 2014

I worked as an access and support worker for a two week drama workshop for young people with disabilities. I was supporting those participants with greater physical needs, being fully trained to use mobility and care equipment. I was also assisting and helping those facilitating the drama workshops which culminated in a collaborative performance in which I supported and participated in. This group continues to meet on Wednesday evening during term time and I continue to work with them and support their needs.

HACKNEY MUSEUM – FREELANCE ART EDUCATOR

April 2011 – December 2012

I began as a volunteer at Hackney Museum and worked as a Museum/Gallery workshop assistant. Supporting freelance actors, artists, musicians and storytellers in both the museum workshops for school groups, nurseries, and community groups and helping with outreach projects in and around Hackney. This then developed into paid work as I began to develop my own freelance art educator practice. I designed and delivered a programme of art workshops with Hackney Museum and Horizon SEN School in Dalston as a response to the museum’s ‘Mapping the Change’ exhibition.

WILD THINGS FESTIVAL ORGANISER and INSTALLATION ARTIST

March 2012 – June 2012

Project Manager and site artist of a small (300+ person), intimate arts festival with art installations, interactive theatre, circus performers and music of all genres all in aid of an innovative and creative children’s education project ‘Hackney Pirates’.

 

MORE HOUSE SCHOOL - Arts Coordinator and Support Staff

September 2008 - June 2011

The school supports boys who have behavioural issues, specific learning difficulties/dyslexia, or some other language-based problems. My role within the school was in pastoral care and I set up after-school activities for the boys such as ‘Art Club’ and ‘Ceramics Club’. My duties included organising activities, supervising the boys through mealtimes, helping them with their homework.