Where Arts Schools Lead
‘Where Arts Schools Leads.’ Report by Davina Hawthorne on the GLAD Symposium, Friday 5th September, 2025 at Nottingham Trent University. With thanks to Ian Reynolds for images
GLAD selected FACE to curate Our FACE X Horniman: Hair Untold Stories exhibition and chair a panel discussion on the exhibition and the wider context of this project within education and industry. Particular attention to the theme of Inclusive Practices and Lived Experiences was highlighted.
Themes of the day included
1.Pedagogy, Curriculum and Assessment • What are the latest teaching, learning and assessment innovations within art schools? • Which pedagogies embed curiosity, independence and critical thinking in the curriculum? • What role does technology play in reshaping art education?
2. Inclusive Practices and Lived Experiences • In what ways do art school practices value lived experience as knowledge production? • What role does art school play in generating diverse and equitable cultural spaces? • What pedagogies are required for an inclusive student experience
3. Future Skills and Competencies • How do art schools prepare students for the evolving demands of the creative industries? • What are the emerging skills and competencies vital for cultivating positive future cultural, societal and economic landscapes? • How can art schools align with regional growth plans, industry strategies and/or climate action imperatives?
The Hair Untold Stories exhibition curated by Davina Hawthorne (De Montfort University), Sharon Lloyd (London Metropolitan University) and Max Kandhola (Nottingham Trent University) showcases and explores personal narratives attached to hair from Black, Brown and Asian perspectives within the UK.
Both students and academics created works examining Black, Brown, and Asian hair narratives, centring racialised experiences, which began as a collaborative student competition with FACE and the Horniman Museum and later grew into an academic collaboration through the FACE network. These personal testimonies evolved to FACE ‘Our Untold Stories’. The project critiques mainstream views on hair, challenges colonial legacies, promotes identity empowerment through embracing natural hair. Using art, design, symposia, and educational tools, Hair Untold Stories questions Eurocentric beauty standards and systemic biases. It serves as a critical platform for exploring ‘Inclusive Practices and Lived Experiences’ practice-led research, collaborations between staff and students.
The panel discussion was Chaired by Gavin Douglas (Manchester Met University), panellists included Benita Odogwu-Atkinson (The Jimmy Choo Academy), Davina Hawthorne, (De Montfort University) and Sharon Lloyd (London Metropolitan University). A paper will be submitted for the Journal of Innovative Practice in Higher Education as a follow on from the exhibition and Panel discussion.
Here are five key questions asked and discussed within the panel presentation.
‘How can projects like this exhibition influence both museums and art schools to go beyond representational inclusion and drive structural change in knowledge systems?’
‘What does FACE’s partnership with the Horniman Museum reveal about how cross institutional collaborations can legitimise lived experience as academic knowledge?’
‘How can art schools navigate the tension between amplifying student-led cultural narratives and avoiding tokenism or institutional appropriation?’
‘How does FACE use exhibitions and symposia as tools to interrogate systemic biases in beauty culture and artistic traditions?’
‘To what extent can art education serve as a site for social critique and activism, as seen through the Hair: Our Untold Stories exhibition? Identity, Empowerment, and Resistance?’
Our FACE X Horniman: Hair Untold Stories exhibition is at the Bonington Building, Atrium Gallery Space, Nottingham Trent University until 29th Sept 2025, Mon – Fri, 10.00 – 17.00.
Full view of programme can be seen here: FIXED++++GLAD25+Programme.pdf