Innovation Exchange

Last week, I attended an event at the Burslem School of Art in Stoke on
Trent, an opportunity to meet local innovators. It’s an old Victorian building that is used by the members of the local communities to explore the arts and find creative ways of dealing with social issues.  

I got the invitation from Unity Stoke who support excluded young people via alternative provision. Unity Stoke occupies a corner of the building and young people’s presence is definitely felt – especially when there is graffiti on the walls – and somehow it just works! And when I walked into their room, there was a young person on every Mac machine engaged in some sort of creative activity or another. I thought to myself – this is a real community hub hidden in a small town randomly in the middle of Stoke on Trent! 

And it made me think how hard it is to find local community hubs where innovators meet up and talk about the social issues in their local communities and how to deal with them. If you know of any school of arts in the UK or community hubs that encourage new ideas, creativity or innovation – get in contact and let us know. I would love to know more about their work.