Opening Out: Relevant, Inclusive and Socially Impactful

Overview

Bringing together external collaborators from across the global creative education sector and beyond, alongside internal active chairs, the series creates space for open, critical and generative conversations about creative arts education and its future. Sessions take the form of an online panel discussion or presentation, designed to encourage exchange, debate and shared learning.

In this session:

How might creative universities evolve to remain relevant, inclusive and socially impactful?

Join Dr Lesley-Ann Noel and Professor Dave O’Brien for the first event in the Opening Out series, where they will explore how creative universities might evolve to remain relevant, inclusive and socially impactful. The discussion will be chaired by UAL’s Professor Navtej Purewal.

Speaker Bios

Dr Lesley-Ann Noel

Design researcher Dr Lesley-Ann Noel practices design through critical and anti-hegemonic lenses with a focus on equity, social justice and the experience of those who are often excluded from design research. Lesley-Ann aims to decolonise design by highlighting the work of designers outside of Europe and North America and promoting critical awareness by introducing theory concepts and vocabulary into the industry.

Professor Dave O’Brien

Dave O’Brien is Professor of Cultural and Creative Industries at the University of Manchester. Since completing his PhD on urban cultural policy in the Department of Sociology at the University of Liverpool, he has written extensively on key issues in the cultural and creative economy. These include the use of culture in urban regeneration, how policymakers use evidence, the stratification of cultural consumption, and inequalities in cultural work. He is the co-author of Culture is bad for you, the Panic! report, the Creative Majority and the Making the Creative Majority reports. He has twice been an advisor to the House of Commons’ Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee inquiries, and has recently worked with the House of Lords’ Communications and Digital Committee on their At Risk: Our Creative Future report.

Professor Navtej Purewal

Navtej Purewal is Professor of Anticolonial and Decolonial Politics and Praxes in the Decolonising Arts Institute at UAL. She has been committed to un-disciplinarity and radical interdisciplinarity across the arts, humanities and social sciences throughout her academic and professional journey, including creative practice and activist thinking and action. Doing decolonial and anticolonial work means to resist business-as-usual approaches and to face and name the ethical responsibilities which academics and universities are confronted with in these times of ongoing colonialism, majoritarianism, perpetration, and coloniality. Silence is complicity.

Hosts

Hosted by the Learning and Teaching Directorate, Staff Engagement Team

Who Should Attend

This workshop is open to all UAL staff and guests.

Where

This event will take place online. Please sign up using your UAL email and you will receive the link to the online event space on the day of the event.

Extra information

Registration Instructions

Please only register for yourself, if you wish to share with others please refer them to the event listing. Please note that this is for UAL Staff only. Only some of our events are open to students and / or people from outside UAL. Please check the 'Who Should Attend' section above to make sure you are eligible.

Event booking confirmation and reminders

When you book your place you will receive email booking confirmation and reminders to your email. Please check your spam/junk folder.

Cancellation

If you can no longer attend this event we’d appreciate it if you could cancel your place within the booking system. This gives others the opportunity to take your space.

We reserve the right to cancel this event if we do not get enough numbers, or due to other circumstances outside of our control. You will be notified via email if this happens.

Accessibility

The Exchange strives to make both our physical and online events accessible for all our participants. If you would like to discuss your needs prior to booking please contact us: teachingexchange@arts.ac.uk.

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Questions? Contact us at learningandteaching@arts.ac.uk

Image: 'Stories of Nablus', Zeina Soliman, 2024 BA (Hons) Fine Art, Central Saint Martins, UAL | Photograph: Zeina Soliman