Thursday, 3 July 2014

We Love LiveFriday! - Aisling Serrant



We Love LiveFriday!

Love was in the air last Friday as we took part in our first event together as a team, the amazing LiveFriday  at the Ashmolean . And what an event it was! 

From 7 - 10.30pm the museum was transformed into a creative hub of captivating performances and exciting activities. There was music, dance and comedy aplenty.  We were running an activity which allowed visitors to flex their creative muscles while making a beautiful keepsake for their loved ones.  Our ideas were inspired by the charming trinket boxes found in the '18th-century Art’ gallery at the Ashmolean.



We were very impressed by the turn out, from  couples young and old, to lone visitors; many people came to join in the fun. But what we were even more impressed by were the wonderful boxes everyone created. It helped prove a very important point – crafts aren’t just for kids! 



Aisling’s Reflection of the event!

This event was interesting for me as it was the first time I have worked with a largely adult audience. At first some seemed reluctant to join in or unsure of whether the activity was aimed at them, with one lady who came towards the beginning of the session asking ‘Is the craft activity just for children then?’ However once we got into the swing of it I found working with this demographic especially rewarding because everyone put so much time and effort into making their boxes look great.  As many didn’t need our help making up the boxes our role often shifted to one of general interaction with the visitors. Engaging with them (also known as sitting and chatting!) and getting first hand feedback on the activity was really valuable experience.  One person said ‘this is a really brilliant event, it brings people to the museum who wouldn’t usually come’. In this way it was a great learning experience for me on how to interact with an adult audience in a context which is a little out of the ordinary.

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