UEA launches new strategy for culture and the creative industries
By: Communications
A new strategy which puts creativity at the heart of the learning, research, partnership and campus life at the University of East Anglia (UEA) has been launched. Creativity in Action commits UEA to embedding creativity across the whole campus and curriculum and to new areas of partnership, research and creative enterprise.
Creativity In Action is being launched a year on from the signing of a landmark Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between UEA and Arts Council England, which has seen the organisations work together to embed arts, culture and creative research into the heart of Norfolk’s communities.
Hazel Edwards, South East Area Director, Arts Council England, said:
“Creativity in Action is a powerful statement of ambition, and we’re proud to celebrate its launch a year on from signing our partnership with UEA into reality. This strategy reflects our shared belief in the transformative potential of creativity, not just within the arts, but across education, research, enterprise and place-making. It’s inspiring to see UEA championing innovation, collaboration and community through culture, and we look forward to continuing this journey together.”
Creativity is increasingly recognised as a significant force across disciplines – in areas as diverse as business, computing, medicine and social sciences. Creativity in Action affirms the value of creative thinking and practice and explains how UEA will continue to develop cutting–edge interdisciplinary courses that empower the next generation with the skills they’ll need to flourish in the UK’s growing and rapidly changing creative economy.
UEA will actively engage across its Schools, Faculties and Institutes, and with partners, to explore the significant and fast-moving debate around new technologies including AI, and their contribution to research and other creative processes.
Dame Jenny Abramsky, UEA’s Chancellor, said:
“Creative work Illuminates our world and its people, and has a vital role to play in the way our world will change, imagining and shaping our possible futures. UEA has always been at the forefront of this work.”
Alice Macdonald, MP for Norwich North, said:
“Norwich is home to a wealth of creative talent that makes things of cultural and economic significance happen, and the University of East Anglia is one of our key cultural anchors. Creativity in Action will support and grow a thriving, collaborative regional economy through access, education and knowledge exchange and ensure that UEA’s world-leading creative research continues to have an impact locally, nationally and internationally.”
Professor Catherine Richardson, Pro Vice-Chancellor of Arts and Humanities at UEA, said:
“Creativity in Action sets out how UEA will listen to the voices of our region and develop partnerships that open our expertise and our campus to all.
“We will nurture our community, and work with our partners to support our whole region’s impact and innovation and our diverse and outward-looking economy. This strategy helps us to build together a strong creative industries with international connections.”
Creativity in Action sets out how the University will work to make the most of its location in Norwich, England’s first UNESCO City of Literature and the only English city situated in a national park. Our campus is home to an internationally significant art gallery and sculpture park. Norfolk is also home to an increasingly important creative industries cluster: significant numbers of digital creative businesses, branding and gaming clusters, and an emerging European tech cluster, with a dynamic investment environment and a burgeoning tech community.
UEA’s campus is on Norwich Research Park, one of Europe’s leading centres for research in food, health and the environment. Clean energy, agri-food, financial services, advanced manufacturing and engineering are also among Norfolk’s strengths as a region. The strategy commits UEA to more dynamic collaborations between these very different sectors and industries, combining its world-leading research with the very latest commercial innovations.
Creativity in Action is centred around five core priorities which are interlinked and work in tandem. They are:
Creativity in Research
UEA commits to deepening its cultural and creative collaborations across all subject areas and with Norwich Research Park – as well as with a range of regional, national and international partners. UEA will do this in tandem with its civic commitments to drive regional and national policy, generate economic growth and reach new audiences.
Creativity in Place
UEA is a cultural anchor institution in a diverse and creative region and it will broaden access to its outstanding collections, teaching, and research to foster a vibrant, inclusive environment and support a thriving creative and digital economy in the East of England.
Creativity in Teaching and Learning
UEA will embrace creativity and innovation across every subject to ensure that it is training the next generation of leaders and supplying them with the imaginative skills they will need to thrive and make their mark in a fast-changing world.
Creativity in Enterprise
UEA will work with business, government and cultural and educational institutions to leverage new research and innovation opportunities, particularly in regional areas of excellence such as digital technology and creative industries.
Creativity in Partnership
UEA will work with its existing partners and form new partnerships - locally, nationally, and internationally - to reach new audiences and to offer imaginative responses, insights and solutions to pressing issues and questions particularly around climate change and health inequalities.
A landmark year
A year since singing the MoU with the Arts Council, the partnership with UEA has flourished, unlocking new creative collaborations, strengthening community ties, and championing the power of cross-disciplinary research to address urgent societal challenges. It has sparked a wide range of collaborative initiatives that reflect both organisations’ shared values - supporting inclusion, wellbeing, sustainability, and civic engagement through the arts. This strategy sets out our ambition for the next phase of our work.
Fostering ambition through creativity and climate
A standout strand of activity has been the Project Catalyst workshops - a series of intensive, sessions designed to generate ambitious new ideas around the University’s three interlinked strategic research themes – ClimateUEA, CreativeUEA and HealthUEA.
Academics from across UEA have worked closely with Arts Council England colleagues to co-develop ideas that transcend traditional boundaries.
We have brought together experts from UEA’s School of Literature, Drama and Creative Writing, the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, and the School of Global Development, sparking a range of bold project ideas with regional, national, and international potential.
In the coming year, we will be working with coastal communities as well as cultural and civic partners in areas of Norfolk most vulnerable to climate change.
A shared activity framework now guides the partnership’s priorities for the next two academic years - ensuring that work continues to be grounded in community impact and cultural relevance.
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