I took part in a recent event at Cass on April 30th. that may be of interest. Called Making the Extraordinary, and in partnership with City University, and The Culture Capital Exchange, it brought together leading edge researchers and thinkers, artists, creatives, technology innovators and people ‘to watch’, to share their knowledge, experience and challenges of trying to do just that. It showcased some of the rich sets of interconnections between research, the creative sectors and the wider business worlds, the conference asked some timely questions about how – or indeed whether – these fields could work together to realise the full potential of applying their respective intelligence, knowledge and creativity.
Some of the questions addressed were: is there potential for greater connectivity between these sectors and what might we gain from working and playing better, smarter and closer? What are our ambitions to make the extraordinary and who’s doing it? How could applying creativity and creative thinking more widely enrich our social, cultural and economic lives?
It kicked off with a great panel discussion, ‘Working & Playing: Better, Smarter, Closer.” Chaired by Bidisha, the panel comprised: Tricia Austin (Central St Martins, UAL) Pru Ashby (Head of Partnerships,Tech City Investment Organisation) Lynne Murray (Brand Director, Holition) and Tim Jones (Executive Director, Motiroti)
My workshop was called ‘I See What You Mean’ and based on techniques used in my teaching, was aimed at people who claim absolutely no drawing or art skills, and was all about helping to rebuild confidence in visual communication that does not involve Power Point. This was quite an extraordinary mixture of people attending, and it was fascinating to see twenty four individuals released from the bonds of often banal digital visuals, rediscovering their ability to communicate persuasively in a visually unique and powerful way..
