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Decidedly different approach to creativity
“Without creativity there would be no progress.”
So said Edward de Bono, lifelong proponent of creative thinking. Here at UEA we believe creativity is central to human existence and that it can deliver new areas of interdisciplinary research, innovation, knowledge exchange and impact. Having spaces to explore different perspectives together teaches us to see through fresh eyes and invites us to walk in one another’s shoes.
Today UEA is internationally excellent in creative fields. The University established the first Masters and PhD programmes in creative writing, and these attract gifted students from around the world. We have built on this expertise to establish an International Chair of Creative Writing (ICCW), bringing underrepresented voices to the fore to challenge entrenched attitudes and redefine the world for everyone.
Through a series of interdisciplinary Project Catalyst workshops UEA has been exploring ideas for projects that will bring together two of our areas of expertise and focus – Creativity and Climate.
These intensive workshops are our first actions under a three-year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between the University and Arts Council England (ACE) within ACE’s Let’s Create strategic framework. The MoU allows the University to work with teams from ACE more effectively on issues that resonate with us both, maximising efforts to develop projects that enrich cultural life, support diversity and inclusion, promote health and wellbeing and enhance equity and social cohesion.
New way of working
Kicking off the first workshop, in November ’24, academics from the School of Literature, Drama and Creative Writing, the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research and the School of Global Development came together with ACE representatives to discuss research interests and spark ideas around climate change and adaptation.
This is an exciting new way of working for ACE. And in the next two years UEA will work on creative projects and bids for funding – this is where the hard work starts. Now, we need to build innovative, inspiring projects and then apply for funding support. Success will depend on the quality and vision of each application.
Ideas already on the starting blocks include a celebration of the work and impacts of the Tyndall Centre over the last quarter century and a series of ‘public provocations’ under development with cultural and environmental groups in Norfolk. We’re excited to see how the bids will shape up.
UEA is a creative campus that welcomes the world, where we explore and create the new ideas that the world needs.
Lessons from the past
A now-completed project that chimes with many of the aims of the new MoU is The Later Prehistoric Norfolk Project.
Led by Dr Andy Hutcheson from UEA’s Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Cultures, it had multiple ambitions from exploring how to manage long-term changes associated with climate and agriculture to community-building, and from stimulating creative expression to improving mental health and wellbeing. A tall order, perhaps. But it was fulfilled over several years spent exploring two sites – the Neolithic Arminghall Timber Circle and Henge and Warham Iron Age Fort: a rare example of a Norfolk hillfort. Despite being set firmly in a local context it attracted international interest. Researchers from Japan, the Maldives and Nigeria joined in, with volunteers from local heritage societies, schools and colleges (including young people with a variety of additional needs), adult volunteers with poor mental health and members of the wider public.
Deep impact
“I saw how to identify and clean the rare finds and hear how the archaeological history had an impact on local ecosystems and rare species. The whole experience was very fulfilling.”
Volunteer
“We got to draw out the land, find treasure and find out new things. It was also amazing on my mental health to get out in the fresh air.”
Volunteer
Natural synergies
Archaeology is a natural bridge between science and the arts. Today archaeologists use science to uncover what lies beneath the soil and their creativity to imagine the lives of the people who left their mark in the ground.
Data and reports from both digs have yielded insights into changes in land use over time. They also show some hugely positive benefits for participants. Many reported enhanced feelings of wellbeing, purpose and positivity and this shines through in the many artworks they produced in response – drawings, paintings, photographs, poems and prose.
These expressions of what they learned, how they felt and what they will remember have been gathered into two books as a permanent record. They have also been shared with wider audiences via an exhibition at the Forum in Norwich in May 2024 and at Lowestoft’s First Light Festival the following month.
“Part of what this project was trying to examine was the potential effects of being in a landscape and deeply and mindfully thinking and learning about its human past.”
Dr Andy Hutcheson
Research Fellow, Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Cultures
Many thanks to our fellow funders:
Welcome support for an icon
Executive Director Professor Jago Cooper calls the Sainsbury Centre “one of the most iconic museum buildings in the world”. We’d have to agree, and so we’re delighted to report that this cultural gem has been awarded a £1.276m grant from Arts Council England’s Museum Estate and Development Fund (MEND).
The grant will fund work taking place next year, installing the latest environmental management systems in galleries, collections stores and the learning studio where increasing numbers of schools and community groups enjoy events and workshops. It will also refurbish the current goods lift so staff can continue to move priceless artworks safely. The enhancements mean the Centre can continue to host major international exhibitions and protect its own collections and loaned items from around the globe.
“This funding supports our commitment to a radical approach to arts and culture – and to helping UEA students and local communities explore how different cultures address fundamental human questions.”
Professor Catherine Richardson
Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Arts and Humanities