Creative Careers in Action at St Margaret Ward!

On 13 February, our students had an inspiring employer encounter with local Stoke-on-Trent artist Chloe Breeze, as part of our special collaboration with the Mitchell Arts Centre as part of our Youth Board project!

Students met with Chloe to plan and co-design an illustrated mural celebrating 70 years of the Mitchell Arts Centre in Hanley, a landmark of creativity and community in our city. Together they explored ideas, sketched concepts and discussed how art can bring stories and places to life in bold, colourful ways.

Chloe Breeze is an award-winning illustrator, designer and mural artist based here in Stoke-on-Trent. She runs Chloe Breeze Illustration, creating fun, playful and bespoke artwork, from Stoke-themed prints and murals to live painting and workshops, building her creative business by working with both individuals and organisations across the UK and beyond.

Her work champions local identity and creative entrepreneurship, showing that art is not just expressive but also career-building.

This encounter gave our learners valuable insight into the world of creative careers and the skills artists use every day, from visual communication and idea development to professional collaboration and community engagement.

Events like this support our Careers Education at St Margaret Ward and link directly to the Gatsby Benchmarks, including:

• Benchmark 2: Learning from career information – students meet with creative professionals
• Benchmark 4: Linking curriculum to careers – seeing how classroom skills (like design and teamwork) apply in real-world creative jobs
• Benchmark 5: Encounters with Employers and employees – seeing how Chloe and other artists work to develop community projects

We’re incredibly proud of the creativity, confidence and curiosity shown by our students throughout this project. Watch this space for more updates as the mural at The MAC takes shape!

Click images to enlarge.