ABSTRACT
This contribution is an edited transcript of a conversation between the authors on the teaching of creative practice in a university environment. Harris teaches courses in Sonic Arts at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels, and McGuinness coordinates the undergraduate Performance programme. The initial point of departure for their conversation was a checklist for teaching in the arts by the writer Michael Rosen (2014), but most of the discussion considers the challenges of encouraging creativity within what can, at times, be a rigid institutional framework.
The conversation covers a number of a specific areas, including how artists learn and forms of creative knowledge, the presence or absence of a historical canon, the limitations of assessment, developing a freelance mentality, a co-researcher relationship with students and the impact of an institution’s mindset and culture. It ends with a consideration of what elements are required for the successful teaching of creative practice across a range of subject areas.
