About this Event
The RCA EDI Conference invites colleagues and guests to discuss and reflect on the relationships between creative freedom, critical inquiry and belonging within art and design education. The conference will examine how freedom, belonging, decolonisation and artificial intelligence are transforming creative practice, critical inquiry and the future of the studio.
Grounded in the spirit of Ubuntu, the conference will create space for discussion, exchange and shared learning and best practices around how we shape more inclusive, equitable and intellectually rigorous environments. Rooted in the essence of communal interconnectedness, Ubuntu proposes that our collective flourishing and pedagogical growth are fundamentally inextricably linked through our shared humanity.
Ubuntu reflects the conference’s emphasis on interconnectedness, shared responsibility and belonging, framing creative freedom, equitable participation and critique as practices that are strengthened through community.
The event will bring together perspectives from across the RCA community and beyond to consider the conditions that support creativity, the value of constructive critique, and the importance of belonging in artistic and educational practice. Through keynote panel presentations, discussions and interactive sessions, the conference will explore how equality, diversity and inclusion can be embedded meaningfully within art and design education, research and practice.
Lunch will be provided free for attendees. Please provide any dietary requirements upon registration.
Some sessions will also be available to watch live online. A full schedule will be published later this year, and links to online sessions will be shared with registrants ahead of the event.
Agenda
🕑: 09:45 AM - 09:50 AM
Welcome and admin arrangements
Host: Dr Dave S.P. Thomas
🕑: 09:50 AM - 09:55 AM
Opening address
Host: Prof Chantal Faust
🕑: 09:55 AM - 10:15 AM
Sankofa - Looking back to look forward
Host: Dr Dave S.P. Thomas
🕑: 10:15 AM - 11:35 AM
Freedom, critique and academic responsibility
Host: Elaine Banton
Info: Chaired by Dr Simone Webb
🕑: 11:40 AM - 12:40 PM
Artificial intelligence and the future of art and design education
Host: Dr David Dunkley
Info: Chaired by Dr Dave S.P. Thomas
🕑: 12:50 PM - 01:35 PM
Neurodiversity in the workplace: exploring lived experiences (Parallel 1)
Host: Dr Katie Gaudion
Info: Event Space 2
🕑: 12:50 PM - 01:35 PM
Menopause and the workplace (Parallel 2)
Host: Dr Ninela Ivanova
Info: Event Space 1
🕑: 12:50 PM - 01:35 PM
The RCA student experience (Parallel 3)
Host: Leona Chang
Info: Event Space 3
🕑: 01:35 PM - 02:05 PM
Lunch
Info: Free for attendees
🕑: 02:05 PM - 03:05 PM
Belonging, inclusion and the student experience
Host: Kevin Cutinho
Info: and Leona Chang. Chaired by Dr Ben Cranfield
🕑: 03:05 PM - 04:05 PM
Decolonising Curriculum and Widening Participation
Host: Sharon Lloyd
Info: Chaired by Leyha Manampadi
🕑: 04:15 PM - 04:25 PM
Plenary
Host: Dr Dave S.P. Thomas
🕑: 04:25 PM - 04:30 PM
Closing address
Host: Dr Ben Cranfield
🕑: 04:30 PM - 06:00 PM
Conference exhibition and networking
Event venue & nearby stays
Level 7 Rausing Tower, 15 Parkgate Road, London, United Kingdom
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