Golden Key Academy graduate Joe Brookes discusses his experience learning to become a London built environment tour guide

Why did you apply for the Golden Key Academy and what were you hoping to achieve in terms of personal and professional development?

I believe our “sense of place” is key in how we understand the world and the issues which affect us. Engaging with place in new and creative ways can enrich our lives and could be a vital tool in facing up to tomorrow’s challenges. For example, a deeper awareness of land and housing decisions locally could transform our understanding of global issues such as climate change and equality, driving positive change. My ambition was to use tour guiding to explore and re-imagine the built environment, developing alternative narratives about the city’s confluence of competing identities and interests.

In what ways has the academy transformed your confidence and ability to lead unique and informative tours of urban environments?

This has been a fantastic course and I've loved every minute of it! I definitely feel like I can now deliver and develop my own tours with confidence - it's been inspiring and enriching. I absolutely loved giving my tour as part of the Open House Festival. I thought I would be nervous but it was simply a joyous experience to connect with other people about the city and tell a story. It was particularly lovely how diverse my attendees were, which speaks volumes to the breadth of Open House's audience. The trust which you put in the Golden Key Academy to deliver the tour as part of the Festival's 30th year is hugely appreciated, and it was really interesting to be a contributor, filling in the form and going through the processes - to see how Open House is delivered.

The academy offers aspiring tour guides everything they need to deliver successful, insightful and engaging events exploring the built environment. What parts of the course did you find most useful in preparing your tour?

I feel like Open City's approach to the built environment is unique in that it is committed to the idea that you can unlock illuminating narratives about society, culture and the world around us by really thinking about the material aspects of architecture/urban planning and its history. It's been a privilege to cut my teeth as a tour guide in that tradition, and I'm looking forward to continuing down that path. It's changed how I engage with the city!

The opening lectures were really enjoyable, inspiring me to think about tour guiding in a way I hadn't considered. The free tours offered as part of the course and maps were also fantastic, extra opportunities to meet up with fellow students - all a wonderful way to learn independently using Open City's fantastic catalog of resources.

From day one the course felt extremely bespoke, to ensure all of our individual needs were met throughout, and we were given ample opportunities for development.

The support from the course also meant I was perfectly prepared for the big day where I delivered my public tour. We were given the right amount of space to follow our own ideas to completion, while also being given guidance at the right points by like minded, creative individuals.

Tour guiding involves lots of highly transferable skills including public speaking, research, analytical judgment and customer service. Where else have your Golden Key Academy skills proved useful since completing the course?

This course has massively enriched my life! I feel so much more confident as a person now that I've led a public tour, not just in the tour setting but in everyday interactions. Crucially, my understanding of the challenges and considerations faced by cultural programmers was massively developed, both by the opening lecture and the regular conversations I had with the Golden Key Academy team about what it's like to run the tours programme at Open City.

I also feel like I've proven to myself that I can write confidently and create new narratives about the city - something I always knew I enjoyed and wanted to do, but now feel I can do in a professional capacity for others to enjoy. Ultimately I've developed a deeper love for creating 'events' and would like to explore that further. I've always leaned more towards supposedly permanent cultural objects like books, music and artworks, but this course has given me a deeper appreciation for one-off events - and the power and value of a fleeting moment/experience with a group of people in a physical space - particularly as ways of galvanizing our thinking about the city.

A key part of is learning together and socialising with like-minded cohort of fellow course participants. What are your words of wisdom for all those signing up for the 2023 course?

Get involved and take up every opportunity you can! I particularly enjoyed the chance to meet experienced guides by attending various Open City tours and get direct advice on how to run a successful tour. It was also great to hang out with the Open City team whose work I have been massively inspired by.

Watch this space to hear more from Joe Brookes in 2023!