The Winchester-based arts and education charity Play to the Crowd has an annual partnership with the University of Southampton, inviting one student to work with them ahead of the Hat Fair Carnival. Last year, we spoke to intern Manjira Mazumdar all about it and now, her successor Poyao Liang has revealed her own experience of working with Play to the Crowd on some exciting projects. She even tells us how the process has led to a job offer for after she graduates.
Could you first introduce yourself to the reader?
Hello, my name is Poyao Liang, I’m 26 and studying for a MA (Honours) in Design Management at the University of Southampton. I graduate in November and since May, I have been working as a Carnival Artist Intern for Play to the Crowd – the arts and education charity based in Winchester, which runs Theatre Royal Winchester, Hat Fair Outdoor Arts festival and Playmakers creative learning and community engagement.
What does your job involve? What happens on a typical day?
My role has included designing outfits for school and community groups to wear in the Hat Fair Carnival and preparing materials to help them make them. I have helped Blue Apple Theatre’s participants make a giant Jane Austen puppet for the Carnival and redesigned the Junk Giant puppet, which was in last year’s Carnival, into a Robot for Playmakers’ PortsFest group to decorate and operate during this year’s Carnival. I’ve drawn images of nature (like the sun, clouds, fish) to make into giant signs for the Carnival and for Hat Fair’s Opening Ceremony; and created signage and backdrop for Playmakers – their Youth Theatre’s Showcase and Play in a Day event.
(Credit: Adrienne Photography)What’s great about what you do?
I enjoy being around people and designing and creating artwork as it gives me energy and inspiration; and I’ve been able to write about my experience at Play to the Crowd, which has led to a job offer back in China, working for Shanghai Liaoyuan Bilingual School as a teacher.
What are the toughest parts of your job?
Nothing is hard – all the tasks I do are enjoyable. My mentor, Hannah Jones, has helped me solve and understand things because of our different cultures. Everyone has been so nice and helped me.
What are the highlights of your creative career/studies to date?
I have really enjoyed working with other artists including Gina Dyer from The New Carnival Company on the Isle of Wight; and Lorna Rees from Gobbledegook Theatre – learning from them and getting ideas from them and their work.
What's been the biggest challenge so far in your career/studies? How did you overcome it?
The language difference has not been hard as I can use things to translate English into Chinese. The hardest thing has been balancing life and study – needing to go to university and wanting to travel around Europe while I’m here. I’ve been able to visit Spain, France, Norway and Italy – Italy has been my favourite. It’s so romantic and I was in Florence when I checked my emails and read that I’d been offered this intern job at Play to the Crowd in March this year. I’ll never forget that! Balancing art with design has also been hard – balancing what’s in my heart, how I would like a piece of work to look, with what the job is, how others would like the work to look.
(Credit: Adrienne Photography)
What was your career path into this job? Have you also worked outside the arts?
I applied for this internship while studying at the University of Southampton, but before this I went to university in China and did an internship there and worked as an art and design teacher in a high school in China. I have always worked in the arts.
How has your background, upbringing and education had an impact on your artistic career?
My internships have always been in design and art; my formal background is in art and sculpture. But sculpture is very hard, you have to move heavy materials, and my favourite art is illustration so I’ve worked at that and now I want to teach art.
Do you have any advice for young people interested in your field?
My advice to young people would be – they need to keep hold of their dream! Other stresses could influence them to do something else but they need to keep their dream in their heart and not worry about other stuff.
Where can people find you and your work online?
I have an Instagram account - viola_liangpy.
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