Opening Out: Lesley-Ann Noel, Dave O'Brien & Navtej Purewal

Overview

Bringing together external collaborators from across the global creative education sector and beyond, alongside internal active chairs, the series creates space for open, critical and generative conversations about creative arts education and its future. Sessions take the form of an online panel discussion or presentation, designed to encourage exchange, debate and shared learning.

In this session:

Join Dr Lesley-Ann Noel (Dean of Design, OCAD University) and Professor Dave O’Brien (Professor of Cultural and Creative Industries, University of Manchester) for the first session in the Opening Out series. The discussion will be supported by Professor Navtej Purewal (Professor of Anticolonial and Decolonial Politics and Praxes, Decolonising Arts Institute, UAL).

The first half of each event will be dedicated to presentations and discussion led by our invited speakers. The second half will focus on questions and discussion from the audience. Ask your questions at the link here.

Speaker Bios

Dr Lesley-Ann Noel is a Trinidadian design educator and Dean of Design at OCAD University. She is the author of Design Social Change and co-editor of The Black Experience in Design. Her work focuses on equity, social justice, and critical approaches to design education, and she has developed widely used tools for critical reflection, including the Designer’s Critical Alphabet and the Positionality Wheel. Prior to joining OCAD University, Lesley-Ann taught at North Carolina State University, Tulane University, Stanford University, and the University of the West Indies.

Professor Dave O’Brien is Professor of Cultural and Creative Industries at the University of Manchester. His research explores cultural policy, urban regeneration, inequalities in cultural work, and the role of culture in society. He is co-author of Culture is Bad for You, the Panic! report, the Creative Majority, and Making the Creative Majority reports. Dave has advised the House of Commons’ Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee and the House of Lords’ Communications and Digital Committee. His work combines academic research with policy engagement to examine how culture shapes social and economic life.

Professor Navtej Purewalis Professor of Anticolonial and Decolonial Politics and Praxes at the Decolonising Arts Institute, University of the Arts London. Her work spans the arts, humanities, and social sciences, combining academic research, creative practice, and activist thinking to challenge coloniality and ethical responsibilities in contemporary institutions. She joined UAL in 2024 from SOAS, where she was Professor of Political Sociology and Development Studies and Deputy Director of the South Asia Institute. Navtej is an AHRC India Fellow, researching cultural heritage and the creative industries, and has held positions at the University of Manchester and the University of Sydney.

Hosts

Hosted by the Learning and Teaching Directorate, Staff Engagement Team

Who Should Attend

This workshop is open to all UAL staff and guests.

Where

This event will take place online. Please sign up using your UAL email and you will receive the link to the online event space on the day of the event.

Extra information

Registration Instructions

Please only register for yourself, if you wish to share with others please refer them to the event listing. Please note that this is for UAL Staff only. Only some of our events are open to students and / or people from outside UAL. Please check the 'Who Should Attend' section above to make sure you are eligible.

Event booking confirmation and reminders

When you book your place, you will receive a booking confirmation email and reminder emails. Please check your spam/junk folder if you do not receive them.

Tickets can be booked up to 30 minutes before the event. You will receive a “Starting soon” email with the event link 15 minutes before the event begins.

Cancellation

If you can no longer attend this event we’d appreciate it if you could cancel your place within the booking system. This gives others the opportunity to take your space.

We reserve the right to cancel this event if we do not get enough numbers, or due to other circumstances outside of our control. You will be notified via email if this happens.

Accessibility

The Learning & Teaching Directorate strives to make both our physical and online events accessible for all our participants. If you would like to discuss your needs prior to booking please contact us: learningandteaching@arts.ac.uk.

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Questions? Contact us at learningandteaching@arts.ac.uk

Image: 'Stories of Nablus', Zeina Soliman, 2024 BA (Hons) Fine Art, Central Saint Martins, UAL | Photograph: Zeina Soliman