Art History Really is for Everyone - A Week at the Modern British Department, Christie’s

When I first started AHLU, back when I was in year 12, Art History was an entirely distant concept. No one I knew studied it, or worked in the field - it was not something you did, and it certainly was not something you could earn money from. I completed the AHLU application in the summer before Year 12, expecting to end year 13 having done 3 A-Levels at my state comprehensive in the East Midlands. That half-hour spent filling out a Google Form transformed my following years. I ended up doing 4 A-Levels: the fourth one (Art History) largely online and, sometimes, in teaching rooms of the National Gallery, secreted behind doors that said ‘No entry’. I also completed an EPQ on 20th and 21st century Japanese photography, supervised by an incredibly lovely, perpetually patient Cambridge doctorate student who joined Zoom calls from Taiwan.

The summer of 2023, I sat in my school’s PE Hall as the only candidate taking Art History, furiously scribbling away in the three hour exams. I had done most of the classes online, on a Saturday morning - in addition to online homework club each Thursday evening, which, bizarrely, was great fun. I wondered whether this would be enough for an entire A-Level in a subject that I had never studied before, and for which I would email over grainy photos of my homework, and do past papers in the sixth form centre during free periods.

I ultimately got an A* in both EPQ and A-Level, thanks to the brilliance, kindness and support of the teachers, teaching assistants, EPQ leads and AHLU team. Moreover, I also gained a wealth of experience, opportunities and connections. AHLU really flung open the doors of the art world. Also - perhaps more importantly at that age - AHLU opened my sense of what was possible, and what I was capable of. For that, for all of this, I am eternally grateful.

Despite not pursuing Art History at university - I am entering my fourth-year of a BA in English and French at the University of Oxford - I have continued to engage with, and learn about, the art world. Winning the Art History Link-Up x Christie's Education Scholarship, worth £5,000, for my essay on the photography of Ninagawa Mika was an immense privilege. It began a series of exciting, slightly head-reeling, incredibly lucky juxtapositions in my life. I completed the Art Business Masterclass during sixth form, attending digital sessions on art auctioneering with business professionals whilst sporting my school lanyard. I later attended a private preview of Wallace Chan’s The Wheel of Time exhibition at Christie’s London, the largest exhibition of his works in Europe, before dashing back home on the train to pick up a late shift at my waitressing job.

This summer, I had the fantastic opportunity to complete a week’s work experience in the Modern British Department at Christie’s. I gained insight into the precision and detail required for specialist research; engaged with and professionally photographed works for private sale; conducted research for sale lots and wrote catalogue listings. Spending the week at Christie’s headquarters - in its offices, exhibitions and archives - immersed me into the workings of the biggest art auction house in the world. In fact, it was the day-to-day responsibilities that particularly fascinated me, sitting in on meetings about expert valuations, conducting the granular research to prepare works for private and commercial sales, and talking with department leads about the responsibilities of their roles. Really, what AHLU has proved to me - and it is three years now since I became part of the alumni network - is that Art History is, in fact, for everyone. It is a very real discipline, and a very exciting one. It is actually a real thing - and something that has taught me that maybe the impossible thing, the fantastical thing, could become real too. That Art History does not just exist for other people - it exists for me, and it can for you.  

Mei Kawagoe, AHLU Alumna

Mei completed the Art History for Everyone EPQ and A Level Programme with Art History Link-Up (AHLU) in 2021-23, continuing to pursue a BA in English and French at the University of Oxford. Mei is an active member of AHLU’s alumni network, still pursuing her passion of the arts and art history.

Find out more and apply for our Art History for Everyone EPQ and A Level Course, taught online and in-person at the Courtauld, Somerset House, on term-time Saturdays, here: https://www.arthistorylinkup.org/programmes/art-history-epq