I’m currently a researcher for an exciting initiative called ‘33,000 Everyday Artists‘ based at King’s College London and funded by the King’s Cultural Institute.

I wrote this blog piece for the 33,000 Everyday Artists ‘digital artwork‘ about the research side of the project:

Is it possible to embed ‘an everyday culture of creativity’ in a huge institution like King’s? Two researchers from the department of Culture, Media and Creative Industries are finding out.

33,000 Everyday Artists is a project led by Jo Hunter and David Micklem from 64 Million Artists. They have one ambition: to recognize and realize the creative potential of every person in this country. Jo and David are resident at King’s for 7 months to harness and celebrate the 33,000 students, staff and academics who make up the five campuses of King’s.

This exciting experiment about bringing change to the culture of King’s presents an interesting research case study. It raises all sorts of important questions such as: How can we develop a space for play? Who gives permission for it? What would need to change (at the level of the institution – i.e. procedures, rules, norms etc.)? Would it be different in different parts of the university?

The research element of the project is in two phases – the first of which ran from September to December 2015. This explored the already existing culture of King’s, what the features of an everyday culture of creativity might include, and the process that it is required to get such an ambitious initiative off the ground.

The second phase, running from January to March 2016, is questioning how and in what ways creativity and a play space can be developed and embedded in an institution such as King’s.

To read more about the research focus of this experiment, you can follow the ‘sketchbook’ research blog here: https://sketchbookeverydayartists.wordpress.com/