Panel Event: Spaces and Skills to Nurture Creative Thought & Action.

Wednesday 19th March, 4.00-5.00pm GMT.

Free for AccessArt Members.

Aimed at: Artists, Educators working in all settings, including EYFS, Primary and Secondary Schools, Sixth Form Colleges, Further and Higher Education, Home, Community and Museum & Gallery Education

The Work Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Survey: Insights Report (2023) highlighted creative thinking as one of the most important skills for workers, with 73% of responding organisations saying that this was a top priority for the future. However, at all stages of education, the nurturing of individual creative thought and expression has not been prioritised due to a government emphasis on a “knowledge-rich” curriculum.  

With open-ended and exploratory learning environments seen across nurseries and reception classes in the UK, and again encouraged in Further and Higher education, how can all settings benefit from this approach? What kind of spaces (real and metaphorical) and what kind of learning best enables all pupils to develop a sense of what it is like to think and act creatively and be empowered to feel safe enough to play and explore? How do current approaches to assessment impact or benefit these processes?  

In this online session, we’ll be joined by FE Art Lead and Artist, Toby Saville, and Sculptor and Lecturer, Silke Dettmers to discuss how we can develop approaches to creative thought and action through art. We’ll also look at the things which hinder creativity, and discuss how, as teachers, we can become creative facilitators.  

Please note, that this event is free and open to AccessArt Members only. A Zoom link, accessible via logging into the AccessArt website, will be included in your order confirmation. Please ensure you can log in well before the event so we can help you with any log-in issues. Please contact andrea@accessart.org.uk if you have any problems. 

This session will be recorded and available to AccessArt members a few days after the event.

Speaker Bios:

Silke Dettmers - Artist, Sculptor and Lecturer.

Born in Germany Silke Dettmers has lived in the UK since 1981. She trained at St. Martin’s School of Art and the Royal College of Art, London. Her artistic practice comprises sculptures, drawings and photography. Past exhibitions include ‘Parallel Lines’ (2019, The Lightbox), ‘Raw Materials: Wood’ (2017, Nunnery Gallery) and ‘Mark Wallinger Presents’(2014, Bermondsey Project Space). Dettmers has taught at a number of British arts universities (Foundation, BA and MA), and has lectured in Poland and Colombia. Currently, she is a part-time member of staff at The King’s Foundation Diploma Year, London. Dettmers also, occasionally, curates exhibitions and writes on arts-related subjects.

Toby Saville has spent over 20 years teaching Art & Design in three Sixth Form Colleges. Primarily delivering a fully diverse Fine Art course at A Level, he also has experience working with Level 4 Art Foundation as well as GCSE and Key Stage 2 students. Toby also has an art practice, with a specialism in diverse painting, collage and photographic processes.