Placement overview
Name: Maryam
Age: 17
Duration: 3 weeks
Location: Barcelona, Spain
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“I’m so glad I pushed myself to go on this Erasmus+ placement! Working in Mosaiccos was such a great experience and was so different to anything I’ve ever done before. I learnt so much about the different art forms that exist and how therapeutic these can be.”
The motivation
I was a bit nervous about doing an Erasmus+ placement because I thought that I wouldn’t be able to handle the responsibilities assigned to me by my workplace. Although I had second thoughts about going on the placement, in the end I decided to go because I wanted to push myself outside of my comfort zone and I thought it would be a great opportunity to learn more about different styles of art.
The placement
My work placement was at shop called Mosaiccos which specialised in mosaic designs. When I first visited my placement, I was excited because I knew it was the right environment to learn all about the different techniques used in mosaic art. On my placement I had the opportunity to make magnets out of mosaics. At first, I struggled to make them so I felt quite demotivated, but my friend Alice gave me some tips which helped me make better pieces. By the end of the placement, I really enjoyed making the magnets and designed many pieces drawing on inspiration from Gaudi, who is famous for his work all around Barcelona. The magnets we made were then sold in museums and galleries connected with Mossaicos, so that felt like a real achievement!
The location
I really enjoyed the lively atmosphere on the streets of Barcelona and the incredible food! It was also great to interact with local people and learn all about the similarities and differences between the Catalan and Middle Eastern cultures. I’d have loved to have stayed longer in Spain because the people were so open and welcoming. I also really enjoyed working for Angelika and would have loved to have stayed on longer in this placement!
The impact
I’m so glad I pushed myself to go on this Erasmus+ placement! Working in Mosaiccos was such a great experience and was so different to anything I’ve ever done before. I learnt so much about the different art forms that exist and how therapeutic these can be.
I also learnt a lot about myself and realised that I can adapt to working in new and unknown places. One of my biggest achievements was assisting the delivery of workshops with young children. This was challenging because of the language barrier but I managed to adapt and used my body language to communicate with them. Many of the people I had to work with were people I didn’t know so I had to really push myself to build up the courage to work with them. I feel so much more confident now!
Outcomes
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Improved language skills
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Exposure to cultural experience
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Confidence building
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Improved people skills
Collaboration and partnership is at the heart of what we do.
If you would like to find out more about the way we work, get in touch.
