0:03 i've been involved in some aspect of
0:05 arts and gallery education for nearly 40
0:07 years and in that time we experienced a
0:09 wide range of roles
0:11 so to receive recognition for all that
0:13 work is extremely heartening reassuring
0:15 and very encouraging
0:17 it's a great honour but feels a bit
0:18 overwhelming too
0:20 for like all my colleagues and peers
0:23 we're just doing our jobs
0:25 i always wanted to work in education and
0:27 after i finished our college i
0:29 gravitated very swiftly and easily to
0:32 working in arts education teaching with
0:34 community and higher education [Music]
0:35 [Music]
0:38 it was not until i moved to organism 35
0:40 years ago that i really began to
0:41 establish a routine of work that
0:44 involved working in community education
0:46 some part-time teaching and operative
0:48 design at rotney college
0:50 and initially on the freelance basis
0:52 working here at the pr centre before
0:55 being appointed in 2005 to the role that
1:02 the pier and its highly regarded
1:05 collection of 20th and 21st century art
1:07 has been central to my work and has been
1:10 a had a profound impact on my career
1:12 the founder of the gallery margaret
1:14 gardner not only gifted an extraordinary
1:16 group of artworks to ortny but had a
1:19 real desire and commitment that the work
1:21 should be accessible enjoyed by others
1:24 especially children and young people
1:26 she has left a tremendous legacy
1:28 which we as a team value with a real
1:30 passion and responsibility
1:33 we are currently celebrating our 40th
1:35 year and it's been a great opportunity
1:37 to reflect and look back on those early days
1:38 days
1:40 to what has been accomplished since then
1:43 and indeed think about and look forward
1:44 to the future
1:46 the collection is very much at the heart
1:48 and core of what we do
1:50 it provides the benchmark that we can
1:52 match everything else against
1:54 a real highlight of our work has been
1:56 the development of peer group our young
2:00 persons programme started in 2007.
2:02 over that time it has been a real
2:04 privilege to see the journeys that many
2:06 of these young people have taken whether
2:08 as artists are now working in the
2:11 gallery and museum sector themselves
2:12 most recently we've been working with
2:14 our youngest audiences three and
2:16 four-year-olds in a partnership with
2:19 orkney's preschool practitioners to
2:21 encourage engagement with contemporary
2:26 i believe that i've had a somewhat
2:28 privileged position at the peer arc
2:29 centre where learning and engagement
2:32 underpin the gallery's core mission
2:34 working at managerial and strategic
2:36 level and also facilitating and
2:38 delivering activities directly to our
2:40 diverse audiences
2:42 i undertake a broad range and breadth of
2:44 tasks and responsibilities that give me
2:46 an overview that is relatively unique in
2:48 gallery education
2:50 it's provided me with an insight of the
2:52 bigger strategic challenges that face
2:55 the sector today as well as the
2:56 practicalities that are dealt with by
2:59 gallery educators and artist educators
3:01 on a day-to-day basis
3:03 something that i hope i've been able
3:05 over the years to contribute to the
3:08 inspirational work that engaged us
3:10 i can't receive this award and wouldn't
3:12 be receiving it if it wasn't for my
3:14 exceptional colleagues at the pier and
3:16 what i've learned and gleaned from
3:18 working alongside them they're an
3:20 amazing bunch of very committed people
3:23 who go way above and beyond and i hope
3:26 it is a team that we can continue to
3:28 shape and form a secure and vibrant
3:31 future not only for the peer art centre
3:33 but for the visual arts sector as a whole
