Scroll down for detailed episode notes and quick access timings
In this episode you’ll learn:
- How creativity is becoming more important in our world
- Why creative skills will be vital for the future
- What guidance John would offer his younger self
What does it take to remain at the cutting edge of education in the creative arts and design?
In 2017, Professor John Last was appointed an OBE in the 2017 Queen’s birthday honours list for his services to education.
Today Professor Last is the vice-chairman at the Norwich University of Arts and the chair for the New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership Digital Creatives group.
In this interview, Professor John Last reveals what it takes to create a positive and safe environment for those wishing to carve a creative life and career, utilising one’s creativity at the very core.
You’ll hear what his own career and experiences have taught him.
And how smaller universities can offer a thriving creative community for creatives and artists alike.
The interview is the first of a short series, of the Bringing it Home season on Inspirational Creatives, and recorded in the heart of Norwich at Future Radio studios.
Items mentioned in this episode (quick access):
[00:41] Introducing Professor John Last
[02:30] John shares how he sees his role at Norwich University of the Arts.
[03:28] Some of the challenges that John deals with on a daily basis.
[04:28] Why creative skills will be important for the future.
[04:45] What creativity means to John.
[05:34] Working within constraints and structures.
[06:51] How John ended up in Norwich and the University of Arts.
[08:14] Creative leadership.
[09:11] Working for a charity: help the aged.
[10:48] The lived experience of people and making creative connections.
[11:45] The importance of creativity.
[12:30] Students’ degree fair – important issues in student work.
[13:25] How students’ concerns, education and media have changed.
[14:59] John’s views on old technologies and ‘hands on’ craft forms.
[16:19] Future watching: how the NUA remain at the cutting edge.
[17:33] Some of the bigger challenges has had to face during his career.
[18:23] John reveals the challenges around selecting new degrees for the NUA.
[20:07] Specialist vs. generalist.
[21:15] How students find each other and those they need.
[22:26] The unspoken truth of the people you meet.
[22:53] John discusses how universities, today, help creative people get unstuck.
[27:23] The value of creativity in industries other than the obvious.
[30:15] John shares how he managed multiple responsibilities in his various roles: acting as an ambassador for the city and as a figurehead for the university.
[31:24] Norwich as a vibrant, creative, city.
[32:53] What businesses in Norwich could be doing to promote their world.
[33:35] How John makes important decisions.
[35:30] What John would say to his younger-self; leaving university.
[36:14] John shares what he is most proudest of in his career so far.
[36:58] What has inspired John recently.
[37:37] John reveals what he is most grateful for today.
Links mentioned in this episode:
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