On November 4th, 2010, Victoria and I travelled to the Jerwood space to take part in the launch of the Creative Bursaries scheme.

Colour-coded badges denoted who was a recipient, who was a host, and who was a guest of honour. After luckily bumping into Kate Danielson who runs the scheme I started to get the hang of introducing myself to people.

After introductory talks (see video below), we met lots of the recipients and their host co-workers. Meeting the other graduates and hearing about the projects they’re working on made me realise the broad arts spectrum Jerwood have managed to span.

My first month has been a wonderfully hectic introduction to working professionally within the arts, and producing projects and events. I have already gained incredible insight into the local Bristol area and out to a vast network of organisations around the UK and Europe.

One big project I’ve been involved in is the planning and development of Watershed’s new website. It will bring together the parts of the organisation which currently have their own site, and give them their own ‘space’ on one site: from DShed to iShed to the cinema. This means content can be shared between the different areas, and users will move through the site more comfortably – seeing and clicking on what they’re interested in, rather than what they already know about.

The process for developing the new site has been really interesting, and is typical of Watershed’s open, collaborative approach. From the beginning a cross section of the staff have attended the meetings, making big decisions about the architecture of the site, the editorial content and the design – which is currently in development between two design companies: Play Nicely and Document.

Working in this way can present challenges, but it also presents opportunities. With so many voices and opinions contributing to the conversation, it often takes a lot longer to come to decisions. But, when a decision is reached, it's informed, well considered and relevant. That said, we might not get everything right first time, but this approach ensures every part of the organisation is well reflected and the vision we're communicating is clear.