Your say / Arts
‘Creative mindsets have a vital role to play in the ongoing regeneration of our city’
As a creative arts advocate, actor, writer, father, educator and leader of a creative education provider situated in the city, I was heartened by Labour metro mayor candidate Helen Godwin’s recent comment about the importance of creative industries in regenerating our city and region.
This is something we focus on with our students every day.
Creative education and exploration can make a fundamental difference to society, and it is central to our great city.
is needed now More than ever
Walk through Bristol, looking up, down or around you, and you will see creativity in every nook, cranny and corner.
From our coffee shops and musicians to our venues, theatres, street art, food, architecture, book shops and retail outlets, all of these are underpinned by creativity.
Creative mindsets, therefore, have a vital role to play in the ongoing regeneration of our city, and we owe a great deal of our vibrant present to our creative past.
The Bristol Old Vic recently announced it would support four writers (including three pictured here) as part of their Five Year Commitment Residency – photo: Ciara Hillyer
It’s heartening to read of a government commitment to ‘proper arts education in schools’.
We live within a creative hub that contributes significantly to our economy.
There is a real opportunity for young creatives within our region.
As educators, it is our responsibility to open the eyes of young people and parents to the extensive creative pathways available and the positive impact these pathways can have on young people’s futures.
I’ve seen unconfident and timid students develop significantly, both socially and academically, through creative study, resulting in them making discoveries about themselves they never thought possible.
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I’ve seen confident young artists smash through a ceiling they never knew they had and develop even further.
I’ve witnessed this in young people coming through our doors, and I experienced it myself as a young person.
It happens.
It shouldn’t be taken for granted.
It works.
Here at our college, we place a key emphasis on all our students—regardless of their pathway—developing essential skills such as Communication, Collaboration, Problem-Solving, Organisation, Planning, Prioritising, Creative Thinking and the ability to interpret information.
The development of these fundamental skills is baked into everything we do.
Jon says “it is our responsibility to open the eyes of young people and parents to the extensive creative pathways available” – photo: Jon Domaille
While it is vital to open people’s eyes to pathways for development and employment in creative industries, there is something of equal importance: recognising that creatives possess talents and skill sets that are applicable not only to creative industries but also to wider industries and roles.
They are your marketers, your web developers, your problem solvers, your managers, your leaders.
They are your project managers, engineers, collaborators, facilitators, empaths, presenters, and quick thinkers.
They show a willingness to take risks.
They are the people who write your stories or sell you those stories.
They can make a difference.
As I’ve said, if you want to see the work they create, just look up, down, or around you when you’re out in our city today.
If you want to explore how you can be a part of that, study as a creative.
This is an opinion piece by Jon Domaille, head of centre at Access Creative College Bristol
If you would like to write an opinion piece, please send an email to ed-team@bristol247.com with your idea and we will get back to you with instructions on the next steps.
Main photo: Matt Thompson
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