Contextual Background (c.50 words):
I organised the How to Write an Artist Statement workshop as part of my academic support role. Since I work across courses in the performance department, I offered this workshop for MA Performance: Screen students as part of their major project, which prepares them for professional careers. It was their first structured workshop on this topic and was conducted in person and online over two hours.
Evaluation (c.100 words):
As this session was part of a peer observation exercise, I would like to incorporate some of the feedback I received. One key strength of the workshop was its practical focus. As second-year MA students must write artist statements after graduation, we prioritised generating content over theoretical discussions. Additionally, I structured the workshop as a hybrid session to enhance accessibility. While I typically avoid recording sessions for privacy reasons, the live online and in-person formats helped increase attendance.
One challenge was managing group work, as it sometimes disrupted the workshop’s rhythm. However, I intentionally paired participants so they could generate material by interviewing one another about their artistic practices. While the session leaned more towards professional development than creative practice, I was able to incorporate my performance skills into the workshop structure.
Moving Forwards (c.350 words):
Managing a hybrid workshop was challenging, particularly in balancing in-person and online engagement. At times, I unintentionally overlooked online participants or missed messages in the chat. Additionally, the class structure required different exercises for online and in-person students, which led to uneven outcomes. For example, when asking students to interview each other about their artistic practice and interests, in-person participants could easily pair up, whereas forming pairs online proved difficult to coordinate. While technically feasible, handling multiple logistical aspects simultaneously was not ideal. As a result, I asked online students to complete the task individually instead. In future sessions, I will explore better strategies to ensure both online and in-person students can fully participate.
Another area for improvement lies in the workshop content itself. Observer feedback highlighted that some concepts should have been explained in greater depth—for example, the nuanced differences between terms like interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary art. To address this, I plan to conduct further research and prepare more comprehensive explanations. I may also consult other art practitioners to gather additional insights.
Overall, if given the opportunity to run similar workshops in the future, I would continue using the hybrid format while proactively addressing potential challenges in advance.
References (additional to word count):
O’Byrne, W.I. and Pytash, K.E. (2015) ‘Hybrid and blended learning: Modifying pedagogy across path, pace, time, and place’, Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 59(2), pp. 137–140. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1002/jaal.463