ICA Apprentice Seb Frazer
ICA Apprentice Seb Frazer makes his ICA blog debut following a night out at Kensington Palace, as part of the John Lyon's Charity birthday celebrations.
The ICA Academy, generously supported by John Lyon's Charity, aims to nurture young people’s interest in and appreciation of creative industries, broaden engagement with contemporary art practices, and provide career paths to Further Education, Higher Education and employment.
On Thursday 23 May, Ma-ayan and I visited the newly renovated Kensington Palace, to celebrate 21 years of the John Lyon’s Charity funding different institutions and causes across the world.
There are many reasons why this was such a special achievement and event, the main one being that it was the first private event ever to be held in the Palace. On the night, I was treated to champagne on arrival and frequent top-ups throughout the evening - it does feel good being on the receiving side of events. The room was full of trustee board members, recipients of John Lyon’s kindness, and the supporters of the trust.
At first it was very intimidating being surrounded by all these people, but with the help of Ma-ayan I was able to snap out of the negative thoughts, and like she said, 'Just be yourself' - and all was good.
I met members of the board and spoke with people who received funding from the John Lyon's Charity trust. I learnt what their organisation was about, and most importantly, I was able to share my experiences and future prospects with them.
It is very interesting how the stream of conversation can lead into many different topics. I recall a conversation with one of the trustees which turned into a full blown discussion about football and the prospects of the teams in the Premier League. It is nice to know that as much as our lives differ, there are many similarities.
Also meeting Susan Whiddington, Chairman of the Grants Committee, with her positive words and the faith that she had in me to go on to achieve great things - it just made me want to work towards my goal in life even more. Many people have mentioned a similar message to me and I have only now begun to take it properly into account.
To conclude, the event was fantastic and I would relive it all over again without a doubt.
Seb
To find out more about the ICA Academy, or to apply to be the next ICA Apprentice, please contact angel.dahouk@ica.org.uk 020 7766 1444.
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