We’re looking forward to seeing you at our conference tomorrow.
The conference is being held at our Grand Parade site:
University of Brighton
Grand Parade Building
58-67 Grand Parade
Brighton
BN2 0JY
You can find a map to the venue here: https://www.brighton.ac.uk/about-us/contact-us/maps/brighton-maps/grand-parade-campus.aspx
Key Note: Duggie Fields
British artist Duggie Fields, joins us to talk about his life long career in the creative Industries and highlights the diverse opportunities that has arisen during his life as an artist. Fields’ body of work is marked by a distinct signature style of post-Pop figuration, and self-described MAXIMALism – marrying imagery from classical and popular culture along with art history. Presenting works from the 1970s to the present day, it is easy to see the inextricable blurring between Fields’ work and his life and his wide cultural significance over the last five decades.
Please see below the final version of our conference programme.
Places are limited, so please register early to avoid disappointment
Into the Arts Conference 2018: Draft Programme
09:00 Registration
09:20: Welcome and Keynote: Duggie Fields
10:30 Session 1: A choice of Papers or Workshops or Roundtables:
Papers (30 mins each, with 10 mins Q&A)
Bounce Down: the utility of pop culture in exploring HE pathways for young people – Daniel Hignell-Tully & Jo Tolly
Networks, insights and opportunities: museum case studies in supporting young people from diverse backgrounds – David Judd & Leanne Manfredi
OR
Workshop: Inclusive and Equal Working in the Arts – Wonderland Arts Exhibition as a case study – Boo Vaughan
OR
Roundtable: Outside the Mainstream: roundtable by Lucy Stone, Michael Sells, Jo Bates and Rebecca Fidler
11:40 Tea / Coffee / Networking
12:20 Session 2: A choice of Papers or Workshops or Roundtables:
Papers: (30 mins each with 10 mins Q&A)
The role of transferrable skills in participation, adaptability and longevity in the creative arts – Carol Seatory
Widening Participation Into the Arts : Fashion Communication – Lucy Fine
OR
Workshop – Spoken Word / Poetry Workshop – Tommy Sissons
OR
Roundtable: Creative Writing Communities: rethinking collaboration between social, HE and secondary writing projects.
13:30 Lunch (A light lunch is provided)
14:30 Session 3: A choice of Papers or Workshops
Papers: (30 mins each with 10 mins Q&A)
“Diversity is not a Trend……..” Investigating inclusive studio practice in Fashion Design Education – Theresa Parker
The Sound of Colour – Widening participation and access to musical materials in a playful manner – Jack Davenport.
Open the Door: Creating an alternative creative learning space in a school environment – Ella Burns
OR
Workshop: Michael Aldrich Foundation
And
Workshop: The role of the Support Guidance Tutor in promoting a Culture of Inclusivity – Justine Devenney
OR
Co-Designing Innovative Pathways into the Arts – Nick Gant
16:15 Keynote: Kim Wide
16:45 Closing
17:00: End of conference
Download a printable version of the programme: Revised final programme-1haqmzz
Please see below the first draft of our conference programme.
Places are limited, so please register early to avoid disappointment
Into the Arts Conference 2018: Draft Programme
09:00 Registration
09:20: Welcome and Keynote: Duggie Fields
10:30 Session 1: A choice of Papers or Workshops or Roundtables:
Papers (30 mins each, with 10 mins Q&A)
Bounce Down: the utility of pop culture in exploring HE pathways for young people – Daniel Hignell-Tully
Networks, insights and opportunities: museum case studies in supporting young people from diverse backgrounds – David Judd
OR
Workshop: The role of the Support Guidance Tutor in promoting a Culture of Inclusivity – Justine Devenney
OR
Roundtable: Outside the Mainstream: roundtable by Lucy Stone, Michael Sells, Jo Bates and Rebecca Fidler
11:40 Tea / Coffee / Networking
12:20 Session 2: A choice of Papers or Workshops or Roundtables:
Papers: (30 mins each with 10 mins Q&A)
On Class and Curating: Learning from the history of alternative arts education to diversify arts engagement – Kerry Campbell
Hackney Street Style – Lucy Fine
OR
Workshop – Michael Aldrich Foundation
OR
Roundtable: Creative Writing Communities: rethinking collaboration between social, HE and secondary writing projects.
13:30 Lunch (A light lunch is provided)
14:30 Session 3: A choice of Papers or Workshops or Roundtables:
Papers: (30 mins each with 10 mins Q&A)
Thinking Through Language – Eddie Liddle
The Sound of Colour – Widening participation and access to musical materials in a playful manner – Jack Davenport.
Open the Door: Creating an alternative creative learning space in a school environment – Ella Burns
OR
Workshop: Co-Designing Innovative Pathways into the Arts – Nick Gant
OR
Workshop: Spoken Word / Poetry Workshop – Tommy Sissons
16:15 Keynote: Director Tap
16:45 Closing
17:00: End of conference
Bounce Down: the utility of pop culture in exploring HE pathways for young people – Dr.Daniel Hignell-Tully (Brighton MET)
Bounce Down was an Action Research project to raise educational aspirations for young people aged 14 to 19 who reside in targeted NCOP postcode areas. This project aimed to provide a bridging opportunity linking non-formal with formal education. The music charity AudioActive, working in partnership with Greater Brighton Metropolitan College, ran a week long workshop in the colleges recording studios, facilitating young people to write and record their own music in a professional environment. Using ‘Identity’ as a theme the participants worked with AudioActive’s tutors to explore lyric writing and beat making using a range of production equipment. Embedded into the project was information sessions on education pathways and HE IAG. The process was documented to examine how participants engaged with the more critical aspects of HE level study, and how engagement with popular culture and associated technologies – in this instance electronic music and recording studios – might foster attitudinal shifts in regard to formal educational opportunities. In particular, the project sought to allow its participants – through the creative output that they devised – to be able to self-document their educational engagement and locate such development within their existing knowledge of the music industry. By framing personal development through culturally-resonant tools and modes of expression, the goal was that participants might practically experiment with their own creative identity and advance the skills – collaboration, interrogation, critical reflection – required to succeed in HE study.
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Co-Designing Innovative Pathways Into The Arts– provision and possibilities Into the Arts Workshop Proposal 1st May 2018 – Nick Gant (University of Brighton / Community21)
How can we ensure that young people from diverse backgrounds are accessing and feeding creative education and the future of the creative sector? What barriers and opportunities are there and what new pathways can we explore that will open up access? How can we ensure that young people from diverse backgrounds are accessing and feeding creative education and the future of the creative sector? What barriers and opportunities are there and what new pathways can we explore that will open up access?
We will• practically engage with local stakeholders• explore new pathways from year 11 into Arts HE • co-design potential pilot pathways to be tested (subject to funding) • recruit a committed delivery group to take the agenda into the next phase
This open participatory workshop will facilitate the co-design of alternative pathways into the arts with targeted local providers. Encompassing schools; further education; community arts practitioners and HE teaching staff, the workshop will also include Admissions Tutors from Arts courses at Brighton and social enterprises delivering creative courses to young people locally.
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Creative writing communities: Re-thinking collaboration between social, HE and secondary school writing projects – Emma Newport (University of Sussex)
In 2017, the School of English launched a new creative writing initiative, Sussex Writes, developed in conjunction with Dr Mark Fairbanks and piloted at Beacon Academy. Exam-condition creative writing was introduced for the first time in summer 2016 to replace the old model of creative writing coursework at GCSE. Students struggle with formulaic writing, frequently becoming resistant to writing creatively, especially young white men from disadvantaged backgrounds. Partner schools identify a gap in children’s attainment in this area, and that teaching creative writing is a challenging area, not least because it is given little attention during PGCE training.
Sussex Writes connects Sussex University with local schools via student-led creative writing workshops in local classrooms for students in Years 9-11. We target students who are profiled as first generation, PP, FSM and/or BAME. To share and develop teaching methodologies and bring together local community activism with schools and the HE sector, Sussex Writes works with Little Green Pig, a local creative writing charity doing ground-breaking work using creative writing to raise the confidence, attainment and enjoyment of young people through their creative writing. Writing talent and experiment is multi-generational and barrier-free; at Sussex Writes, we believe creative writing is vital to community experience and cohesion. A major venture will be the Quick Fictions event: all participating schools will come together to create a performance-based output showcasing the students’ work. Funded by SLN:COP Innovations Fund (Uni. Brighton) and the Widening Participation scheme (Uni. Sussex), Sussex Writes will publish teaching resources and students’ creative writing on the SLN:COP digital platform.
The round table is unique in representing secondary education, the HE and charity sectors, as well as the UG and PG students involved in delivering the Sussex Writes scheme. Contributors will discuss questions including: how creative writing helps widen participation; what role creative writing can have in bridging educational and social change; how changes to the curriculum have impacted studying English and how schools and the HE sector can collaborate to minimise these impacts; to question the ways the HE sector works with schools and to examine ways of increasing collaboration and reciprocity, particularly in developing curricula and pedagogical practice in both HE and school settings; to reflect critically on the innovations in the methods for inclusion and engagement in the Sussex Writes model.
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“Diversity is not a Trend……..” Investigating inclusive studio practice in Fashion Design Education – Theresa Parker
The fashion industry is notorious for its very narrow rules for what is considered ‘beautiful’ or acceptable. For example, carefully policed beauty boundaries traditionally exclude anyone not extremely thin, tall, young, non-disabled, cisgender, and white. In the last decade there is evidence of a slow backlash to this culture of exclusivity which has recently culminated with ‘Diversity’ becoming a new fashion buzzword. Fashion Week Catwalks around the world are suddenly including models of colour, plus-sized models, trans models, older models and disabled models in their casting. Naturally this translates well for media and brand advertising but is it a short lived trend or is it indicative of genuine long term change? Fashion activists and industry pundits believe that if we want to instigate sustainable change across the industry we need to take a grass roots approach. By fashion brands having more diverse staff teams for example, the issue would be normalised and no one would have to think about it. Working from the bottom up could therefore instigate a genuine acceptance of diversity and not just fetishize it.
University Fashion Degrees or apprenticeships are the accepted training route into industry in the UK and therefore a critical juncture in influencing the culture of tomorrows industry by first influencing the experience of, the critical thinking of and the practice of tomorrows practitioners. Who we teach, what, how and why we teach them is now more critical than ever. There is increasing student diversity within our institutions influenced by widening participation activity, a rise in international students and changes to disability legislation. Our learners are asking for a broader curriculum and learning experience that more accurately reflects the global diversity of the creative industries as well as their personal lives. It is vital that Fashion Educators “practice a pedagogy that offers equality of success and value” (Bhagat, O’Neil, 2011)
Inclusive institutional policies and curriculum design for specific courses obviously contribute to what today’s students – tomorrows practitioners – are learning about diversity and how their actions could influence the industry in a sustainable way. This presentation specifically focuses on concrete examples of good practice in the fashion design studio and workshop thereby investigating opportunities to engage more diverse perspectives, knowledge, contributions, and concepts. I hope it will support and inspire other fashion educators and teachers and maybe other subject specific lecturers in the creative industries.
https://i-d.vice.com/en_uk/article/j5mqzy/the-runway-diversity-stats-are-in-for-autumnwinter-17
https://i-d.vice.com/en_uk/article/nengmb/how-do-we-ensure-fashions-diversity-drive-doesnt-just-fetishise-the-new-wave-of-models
http://www.britishfashioncouncil.com/About/Positive-Fashion
https://guildhe.ac.uk/ukadia/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2013/11/Inclusive_Practices_Inclusive_Pedagogies.pdf
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Michael Aldrich Foundation Workshop – Philippa Aldrich (Trustee, Michael Aldrich Foundation)
The Michael Aldrich Foundation is an independent charity which aims to promote education, particularly arts education, in Brighton and is keen to encourage community use of its collection of over 400 pieces of art and design.
Focusing primarily on the work of students and staff from the University of Brighton, this unique collection features work from recent graduates alongside established artists such as John Vernon Lord, George Hardie, Brendan Neiland, Alan Davie, Quentin Blake, Kenneth McKendry and Mark Power.
In this workshop led by Foundation trustee Philippa Aldrich and University of Brighton alumni, artist Jack Durling and designer Tom Meades, there will be the opportunity to learn more about the Michael Aldrich Foundation and the Aldrich Collection. There will also be the chance to participate in a short taster session based on the Foundation’s successful pilot project with Balfour Primary School where participants will work with clay to produce one collective work. The intention will be to give an example of how the Aldrich Collection can, with the help of local artists and makers, be used to facilitate exposure to real works of art and artists, encourage the making of art by different communities, promote art education and also the idea of art as a career.
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Networks, Insights and Opportunities : Museum Case Studies in Supporting Young People from Diverse Backgrounds – David Judd and Leanne Manfredi (V&A Museum)
David Judd started the V&A’s Young People’s programme fifteen years ago. From its initial programme of practical art and design workshops helping young people decide which foundation course or university to go to, the programme has now focused on the three areas of need identified by young people: networks, insights and skill learning opportunities. The programme offers alternatives to university.
This paper gives and overview of some of the V&A’s projects that actively encourage young people to engage with the creative industries.Many museums are well placed to offer support, encouragement and insights into the creative industries. As local community resources offering informal learning they offer a range of workshops, projects and events that support young people from diverse backgrounds Young People’s programme fifteen years ago. From its initial programme of practical art and design workshops helping young people decide which foundation course or university to go to, the programme has now focused on the three areas of need identified by young people: networks, insights and skill learning opportunities. The programme offers alternatives to university.
The case studies he explores are:
Leanne Manfredi is Programme Manager for Participation and Co-design overseeing the V&A’s offer for adult communities, residencies, higher education and creative industries. She will discuss The Levi’s Music Project, a collaboration between Levi’s/Skepta, Haringey Shed Theatre and the V&A. The project brought together twelve young aspiring musicians mentored by the artist Skepta, inspiration for new music was taken from the V&A exhibition ‘You Say You Want a Revolution: Records & Rebels 1966-70’ and new material was generated in a purpose built recording studio in Tottenham. The project culminated in a performance at the V&A in November 2016 as part of the ‘Revolution’s Weekender’ festival. This case study will explore the value of networks and insights for young people as well as the potential for projects that work in tandem with the third sector and corporate business to support young people.
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Open the Door: creating an alternative creative learning space in a school environment – Ella Burns (Little Green Pig)
This presentation will discuss our model of creating an imaginative unique learning space in schools in the areas of highest deprivation in our city in order to embed creative writing and learning in the whole school community and widen participation to the arts. It will seek to address the questions: how can we embed creativity and arts in a school environment? How can we best reach children, teachers and families? How can we work together long-term in the best way with schools? How can we build relationships with children and families who have the least resources and who don’t usually access or engage with the arts?
Little Green Pig (LGP) works to inspire children and young people aged seven to eighteen in Brighton & Hove and East Sussex to become creative with writing. We offer fun and innovative writing workshops, as well as large scale projects and one-off residencies in schools. We encourage young people to have fun with words, use their imaginations, improve their literacy skills and see themselves as writers. We focus on creativity, imagination, and high quality, tangible outcomes and work with professional writers, illustrators and volunteers story mentors who range from university students, writers and the unemployed.
In 2017 for the first time, we took up residency in a primary school for three months, allowing us to embed our work in a school community. Working with one of our key schools, City Academy Whitehawk (the primary school with the highest levels of free school meals in the city and in area of high deprivation), we transformed an empty classroom into a motivating, stimulating space for the whole school to use creatively: The Tooth & Claw Store. The room became a recreation of Martha Claw’s fictional 1867 pet shop, founded after she discovered a crate of mythical creatures washed up on Brighton seafront. We worked with Sherlock Studio to make products, including shampoo for unicorns and phoenix feather cream, used bales of hay for seating, and covered the walls in cardboard box shelves. Each child from Reception to Year 6 spent half a day in the store, during which the ghost of Martha Claw asked them to write a story bringing her pet shop back to life. Every child left with a printed booklet and the learning continued into the classrooms, and we led CPD with the teachers.
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Outside The Mainstream – Lucy Stone (Rhythmix)
Many arts and music organisations work with children and young people who are outside of mainstream education. They support those who are often multiple service users (youth offending, mental health etc) with complex needs in accessing the arts.
This panel includes arts organisations and young people who will explore:
-How are their ways of working successful with young people who have mostly rejected mainstream education?
-Once you’ve used music and arts to connect with young people – what next?
-What do the young people think is effective about this approach that could be transferred into education?
-Does an arts education limit or increase career choices?
Panel:
Lucy Stone, Rhythmix (www.rhythmixmusic.org.uk @RhythmixMusic) Rhythmix seeks out places where music isn’t happening
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Poetry Workshop – Tommy Sissons
Following the success of the recent Youth Project at the University of Brighton, which made use of the mediums of photography, styling and poetry to create a collaborative look book between young people of ‘Widening participation’ backgrounds, I would like to propose a spoken word / poetry workshop for the 2018 ‘Into the Arts’ conference. In this workshop, I would help the students to explore their personal identities through a range of creative writing activities and, in doing so, enhance their skills in performance and understanding of contemporary literary forms.
The aim of the workshop would be for each of the students to produce a poem unique to their experiences and passions by the end of the session. I will make use of the ‘free-writing’ poetry technique to introduce the students to spontaneous creative writing and lead a discussion with them about what elements of identity mean the most to them; e.g. class, gender, race, age and/or subcultures. I have a vast range of experience in teaching poetry to students in under-achieving schools who would not usually engage in literature and I believe this workshop will be a way to further communicate with and encourage young people to enter the arts. I will end the session with a question and answers sessions to ensure that all students have gained as much information as possible.
I believe that contemporary spoken word poetry is one of the most effective art forms in uniting people from varying backgrounds due to its creative use of language and wide appeal to modern youth who are disinterested in the stereotypical poetry of the Romantic period and favour, instead, a recognisable voice they can relate to.
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The role of the SSGT in supporting and retaining students from diverse backgrounds: a model of inclusion – Justine Devenney (University of Brighton)
The workshop will share good practice based on experience and statistical evidence of having SSGT in School of Architecture and Design since 2013 and feedback from students on how this has helped.
• How having the role of SSGT is considered to be important in terms of promoting a culture of inclusivity. • How pastoral support separate from that offered in the academic sphere is beneficial. • How the role promotes greater inclusivity within a very diverse student population (high numbers of international students and students with complex needs)• Retention – An overwhelming percentage of students cite they would see their SSGT if they were considering withdrawing from the course. As such we can demonstrate how students are supported and signposted to other services that can work with them on issues that are impacting on their ability to study e.g. finance, emotional support, study skills.• Students are now less likely to take academic concerns to counsellors than in years prior to having an SSGT in place. • As some students can be reluctant to use the services of other University departments (Student services) we can demonstrate the many benefits of working with an accessible member of staff who has a good understanding of how the particular department/curriculum works. • A significant number of students have cited that there was nowhere to take their concerns prior to the SSGT being in place – the SSGT consistently engages 48% of entire student cohort (both undergraduate /postgraduate)
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The role of transferrable skills in participation, adaptability and longevity in the creative arts
Carol Seatory (Greater Brighton Metropolitan College & UCA Rochester)
An anecdotal and observational discussion piece from a teaching viewpoint, intending to facilitate further thoughts on widening the commonly-taught skillset through formal education to foster skilled and resilient creatives, thereby increasing visibility and inspiring others, in turn, to participate in the arts.
From a long experience of teaching across a broad range of arts and design disciplines, a commonality of core skills is identified and a wide and varied skillset is further recommended for a less compartmentalised approach and a gradual shift in the perception of arts-based education necessarily leading to precarious careers
Part one: Why participate?
What does that mean, how participation is perceived and why that impacts inclusion. What does participation mean? Perception and participation. Self-validation and overcoming preconceptions. Overt and hidden benefits of an arts education.
Part two: Skills for a career with longevity
Equipping with transferrable skills: core skills and multi-discliplinary skills, the ability to value those skills – both instrinsically and in an economic context, to have confidence as a creative, to promote those skills: becoming a “success story” so that the creative is no longer seen as idealistic pauper but a contributing member of the economy inspiring others to take part.
Part three: Skills for life.
Money is not the only validator. The drive to create at any age or stage of life. Benefits for the self and contributions to the group. A gradual shift in perception increasing perceived value for a wider audience.
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The Sound of Colour: Widening Participation and Access To Musical Materials In A Playful Manner – Jack Davenport (University of Central Lancashire)
This paper presentation will discuss the development and implementation of a novel musical interface called the ‘Sound Of Colour’, an interactive installation built in Max/MSP. Through a combination of real time image detection and user movement, participants can control and compose music through the use of colourful balls. The ‘Sound Of Colour’ provides an interface away from traditional musical controllers or keyboards that allows participants to compose in an interactive and playful environment. It is the use of prime colours that allows the platform to monitor movements which are in turn mapped against a grid to control a variety of musical materials. Participants work collaboratively in an ensemble setting to produce a bespoke composition. The Sound of Colour was tested and compared with other professional musical interfaces at the Lancashire Science Festival 2017, where participants of all ages used the interface. The aim of this research project is to study the ways in which people interact with both physical hardware based controllers and sensory based interfaces in a musical composition environment, and which interfaces they find the most intuitive and engaging. This paper will also discuss the future development of this interface and novel ways in which it can make music making more accessible to a wider audience.
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WIDENING PARTICIPATION INTO THE ARTS – Lucy Fine (Middlesex University)
In January 2018, Arts Council England’s ‘Annual Diversity Report’ revealed the scale to which people from BME backgrounds are underrepresented in the British arts industry today. The lack of ethnic and socio-economic diversity apparent in the arts is a pressing problem for both excluded individuals and the industry as a whole, which misses out on diverse young talent. This paper explains how we can work to widen participation into the arts through a series of case studies, drawn from my work as a partner at Slashstroke (http://slashstrokemagazine.com), where I produce educational workshops for clients such as the Barbican and V&A, and also from my experience as a senior lecturer on the Fashion Communication & Styling BA at Middlesex University – an institution with a diverse intake in a multicultural city. Although the projects described are based around fashion communication, the models and ideas could be applied to different art-based subjects.
Firstly, the paper will discuss the ‘Hackney Street Style School’ project. In order to address the fact that teens from Hackney – an area with more fashion studios per square mile than any other part of the UK – were failing to produce entry-level portfolios for Middlesex, this four-day summer school helped 16 to 18 year olds reappropriate that creative capital to access our BA’s, creating an exhibition along the way. Secondly, I will outline the ‘2D Fashion Fix Mix Workshop’, which compiled key pieces from the London Fashion Week season in life size illustrations and invited local members of the public to curate them at the Barbican’s Ram Place Fashion Market. The paper will then conclude with discussion of the ‘Right Now Exhibition’ by Middlesex University students, alumni and staff; a positive role modelling project that gives a curated snapshot of students’ and graduates’ visual representations of BME women.
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We are pleased to announce the keynote speakers for this year’s event.
Key Note: Duggie Fields
British artist Duggie Fields, joins us to talk about his life long career in the creative Industries and highlights the diverse opportunities that has arisen during his life as an artist. Fields’ body of work is marked by a distinct signature style of post-Pop figuration, and self-described MAXIMALism – marrying imagery from classical and popular culture along with art history. Presenting works from the 1970s to the present day, it is easy to see the inextricable blurring between Fields’ work and his life and his wide cultural significance over the last five decades.
Key Note:Director Tap
The Plymouth based, arts action group, Director Tap, will join us to share an overview of their company and their very successful formula of engaging and empowering the public, through art related workshops and skills development practice. They will explore their current Models of grassroots engagement to explain how this engenders relationships between the arts and FE/HE within a socially engaged context
They work with FE/HE lecturers and young creatives to foster skills development and help to retain these skills in the local area.
Registration is free. Please sign up early to avoid disappointment as places are limited
Thank you to everyone who submitted a proposal for the upcoming conference. Everyone who submitted has been sent an email today to confirm the committee’s decision.
I am delighted to announce that the following have been accepted:
A programme for the event will be posted in June
Places are limited, so register soon to confirm your place.
There’s still time to submit your paper for the conference. Our deadline has been extended to 1 May 2018
Registration for our 2018 conference is now open.
INTO THE ARTS:
Equality of Opportunity through Arts Education
The Second Widening Participation in the Arts Conference.
Tuesday 17th July 2018, University of Brighton, Brighton, UK
