Creative education in Kirklees in focus at Shape North Conference

Renowned national artists and creative organisations joined forces with local voices at the University of Huddersfield recently to celebrate, collaborate, and drive positive change for future generations.

This unique event brought together experts from arts, culture and education sectors to celebrate existing practice and discuss the future of creative education in Kirklees. The conference asked, 'how we can work together to improve provision for everyone in the Kirklees district?' 

Delegates were lucky enough to hear inspirational keynote speeches from renowned artists Ian Berry and Keith Brymer Jones, both investing their time to share their expertise and passion and contribute to the discussions about creative practice with local partners and organisations. 

The day focused on ensuring that creative education continues to be recognised as a vital part of children's development. Despite the current economic challenges, Shape North has built strong partnerships with a wealth of local and national arts practitioners and cultural organisations, such as Royal Ballet and Opera and the Crafts Council. 

In collaboration with the School of Arts and Humanities at the University of Huddersfield, the conference reflected on how to collectively grow the cultural and creative education offers for people in Kirklees. Delegates attended a range of inspirational CPD workshops delivered by creative practitioners and academics in the School. 

Liam Devlin, Director of Undergraduate Recruitment for the Arts and Humanities said, "We had tremendous feedback on the workshops we ran for the conference with multiple requests from teachers for a programme of creative skills workshops that they could access through their Continuous Professional Development provision. We look forward to carrying on the conversation with teachers of creative education across Kirklees."

The conference also raised awareness of the Council for Higher Education in Art and Design (CHEAD) Creative Education Manifesto, and its call to support arts in education from pre-school right through to university education. The conference attendees were provided with an opportunity to influence the conversation and speak about ways to advocate for positive change. 

Sandra Booth (Director of Policy and External Relations at CHEAD) said, "The Building Connections Creative Education Conference was an absolutely inspiring day. We listened to the experiences and heard the voices of over 100 creative educators and practitioners across all stages of education from early years to lifelong learning. We will use the collective contributions from the day as evidence to push for policy changes to secure the future of creative education.

"Everyone who attended received a copy of a Creative Education Manifesto and has now become part of a growing community of advocates calling for action to ensure every child has access to an arts education and that our specialist art and design teachers are better supported to continue the fantastic work they do."

Stephanie Bartholet from Shape North Ltd said, "Looking ahead, we are eager to ensure that children and communities receive the best possible opportunities to develop their creative skills which are crucial to their personal and social growth. As an organisation we actively work to keep conversations going between educators, artists, organisations and local authorities to keep the arts as a priority. Today’s powerful discussions will hopefully lead to positive actions that will shape the future of creative education in Kirklees and beyond."