Volunteer Spotlight: Chaewon Hwang

This month, in a slight change to our regular Volunteer Spotlight series, we have asked Chaewon Hwang, who undertook a placement at Castlefield Gallery, to share her experience with us.

Hi Chaewon! Tell us about yourself. When did you start your placement with Castlefield Gallery?
Hi, I am Chaewon Hwang. I am a History of Art student at the University of Manchester. I started my placement on 7th February.

What made you want to do a placement here?
I read an interview on the gallery’s website, it was about sustainability and art. For me, as a person who is also interested in the environment, it was a very interesting post. I was able to see how much effort and love had been put into the different articles when I looked around the website. And I felt that the gallery tries to engage with local artists. I liked that point too. You can say that Castlefield Gallery is quite small, but I was sure that there was a lot happening there.

What’s your favorite thing about working with Castlefield Gallery?
First of all, every member of Castlefield Gallery was kind and sweet. I enjoyed working with them. And I will never forget my first day, when Leslie said this line while taking me to the office: “this is where the magic happens.” It was enough to be aware of their enthusiasm and pride in the gallery and the exhibitions that they organize. When we get close to graduating from university and getting ready for work, there are some moments that we start obsessing about ‘appearance’: the size and popularity of the workplace (ex; Apple, Google, NHS, National Gallery…) feels like everything even though that is not important at all. However, while I was doing my placement, I acknowledged again that the important thing is knowing what I am doing right now and being passionate about the task in front of me.

What would you say to the student who will do a placement with Castlefield Gallery in the future?
Be responsible for your work and be proud. I think that is all you need to do. That will make this placement a helpful and meaningful experience.