Our time as Young Ambassadors

In January 2024, the ‘Bradford Young Ambassadors’ formed as a volunteer group of 16–25-year-olds with the aim of encouraging other young people into Bradford Museums and Galleries. Over the last year, we have delivered five workshops across our four different sites ending with a finale event on the 8^th December 2024 at Bradford Industrial Museum. Here are some of the best moments of the role from the 2024 team.

“One of the best experiences as a Young Ambassador has been the interactions with members of the public, especially during our ‘Ghost’ spray painting event that was held at Bolling Hall Museum by artist Oliver Neilson

The event required the use of pipettes and marbling ink where paper was dipped to create the image of the head of a ghost. There were opportunities to use different colours, either singular or multiple, which made the process fun for young children.

The end results were displayed in the final Young Ambassador event in December- this was a great way to end our year with displays from all the workshops. Providing opportunities for young people, children and their families to interact more with the museums through fun art events like the ghost painting was a great way to gain insight into what it takes to keep museums interesting.

What I enjoyed the most, were the opportunities to interact with artists to be able to create these experiences and get more people interested in attending museums, not just to look around, but to also gain insights into history through creative events and workshops.”

Aliyah

During this time, me and others from the team have helped to put together events based on the culture and history of Bradford in the museums for the public to attend.

One of the events I helped with was at Cliffe Castle where we showed people how to make their own bookmarks using marbling ink. It got quite busy at times as it was a free, walk-in event, so it was slightly stressful to try and make sure that everyone got a turn and had fun, but it was still very enjoyable, regardless of whether it was busy or quiet.

The time that I’ve spent at the museums and with the Young Ambassador team has been great. I’ve loved volunteering because I feel like I’m not only engaging with the Bradford community, but my team and I are also helping to give our perspective as young adults on how to get more people engaged with history and museums.

I’ve had the opportunity to meet others around my age who share the same passion for history as I do, and it’s also been great meeting the staff and getting insights on what it’s like to work as part of the Bradford Museums and Galleries team. I would recommend volunteering to be a Young Ambassador to anyone who enjoys history or would love to work with their community.”

Sofia

“Being a Young Ambassador has been challenging yet fulfilling.

Working with other young people to develop five workshops across the district was incredibly interesting as I don’t often have opportunities to interact with these people who live, work, and go to school on the opposite side of Bradford.

The September poetry workshop ran by poet Charlotte Wetton from The Writing Squad at Bradford Industrial Museum was particularly fun to me, who, despite studying poetry for two years at GCSE level, had never recreationally written a poem. Occasionally taking a step back from the rush of normal life is crucial and the workshop required a slower, more deliberate approach.

I would recommend the experience as a Young Ambassador to my peers who are thinking of joining the new team as it let me meet new, incredible people and allowed me to witness first-hand the sheer amount of planning and decision making that goes into organising an event. It also granted me access to a plethora of exciting opportunities working within the Bradford Museums.”

Christina.

My time as a Young Ambassador has been brilliant. I have really enjoyed working with the artists that we have commissioned to run workshops over the last few months, Charlotte Wetton, Oliver Neilson and Edible Archives.

Sonia Sandhu and Harry Jelley from Edible Archives ran the event, supported by the Young Ambassadors, with two separate workshops running alongside each other. These workshops were both inspired by various exhibits at Cartwright Hall.

I enjoyed interacting with the visitors as they drew on our Dagestan cloth or created their own ‘edible parcel’ (inspired by the visiting City of Culture: Bradford 2025 exhibition Osman Yousefzada’s ‘Where it all began’ solo exhibition, which invited people to consider themes of class, colonialism and immigration).”

Isabella.

“Being a Young Ambassador for Bradford Museums has been such an enjoyable experience!

My favourite thing has been the amazing people I’ve gotten to know- everyone is so friendly and there is so much opportunity to creatively work as a group and take charge of what we do with our time.

Seeing the results and reflecting on the experience has been so rewarding, especially after all the teamwork and thought that goes into a meeting.

To anyone considering doing this-go for it! Even if you aren’t sure about a career related to museums or history, the skills gained are invaluable and you get to interact with so many interesting people you may not get the opportunity to otherwise.” –

Imamah.

Funded by Arts Council England, National Portfolio Organisation.