GCSE and A level students had the opportunity to hear from practitioners about a career in the Arts and Creative Industries
Date: 09 December 2019
“Culture is yours to claim”, proclaimed young poet laureate, Momtaza Mehri, as he opened the Cass Creative Careers Day, at the end of November.
The event, which was co-hosted with the Chisenhale Gallery, welcomed over 140 GCSE and A level students from across Tower Hamlets at the Wash Houses in Aldgate.
Renowned artists, designers, architects, and performers described their work, experiences and the extraordinary opportunities the creative industries present for young people’s future careers. Cass students and graduates presented the work they do in their studies and talked to visitors about how they work.
The students heard from a remarkable range of speakers across a wide range of disciplines:
- Alistair Hall, We Made This, Graphic Designer
- Asif Khan, Architect
- Deepa Keshvala, filmmaker and cinematographer working with leading musicians and artists
- Block 1, Interior Designers
- In a Nut Shell theatre company, Cass graduates Harriet Catchpole and Hannah Clifford
- Peter Marigold, Furniture designer ()
- Leanne Elliott Young, founder of Commune East and Eden Loweth, fashion designer and co-founder of ART SCHOOL LDN
- Bob & Roberta Smith, artist and long term advocate for arts education
- Hanina Pinnick, Photographer
"It was great to work with Chisenhale and the Tower Hamlets Art Teachers' Network (THAT) on the event," said Andy Stone, Head of The Cass. "At a time when Arts education in secondary schools is under relentless pressure from STEM and 'core' subjects, we have a responsibility to demonstrate to young people the value these subjects bring to the cultural and economic wellbeing of London, the UK and beyond.
It was an inspiring day for teachers, speakers and students alike with Artist and Cass Professor Bob and Roberta Smith’s finale summoning the whole audience in a deafening call for "All Schools to be Art Schools".
