The director of V&A East has said it is \u201ca shock\u201d to comprehend how creative education has been \u201cset back a generation\u201d in British schools.<\/p>\n
Gus Casely-Hayford, the inaugural director of the V&A\u2019s forthcoming five-storey museum in east London, and its collections and research centre, V&A East Storehouse, told guests at the Creative Industries Property Summit on Thursday (18 September) he wanted the government to \u201creinvest in STEAM\u201d, not STEM.<\/p>\n
Referring to an educational framework that encompasses arts subjects, as well as Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, Casely-Hayford said there were \u201chuge synergies\u201d between scientific and creative modes of thinking.<\/p>\n
Asked what his most pressing \u201cprovocation\u201d for the government might be, in a panel titled London\u2019s Creative East: Better Places and Aligning Partnerships, Casely-Hayford said education was his biggest concern.<\/p>\n
\u201cI do think at this stage, the shock to me is what a generation of not serving the creative education of young well [does],\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cSeeing the ossification of delivery [when it comes to arts subjects in schools], how that has set back a generation, even here in London, where we have these incredible creative traditions and roots\u2026 I would love it if government were to reinvest in STEAM.\u201d<\/p>\n
Casely-Hayford continued: \u201cSTEM has been the clear focus of our educational priorities, quite rightly. But I think we could broaden that and see the benefits.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2018Sobering\u2019 to see lack of creative provision<\/p>\n
The museum leader, whose previous role saw him direct Washington DC\u2019s National Museum of African Art, said he had found it \u201csobering\u201d to see how many schools lacked the provision to teach creative subjects and the arts to the same extent as other subjects.<\/p>\n
\u201cMany schools have fantastic facilities but do not have the resources to deliver the creative education young people would like,\u201d Casely-Hayford suggested.<\/p>\n
Pointing to the unpredictability of the political landscape, he said: \u201cIt\u2019s a period within which there is so little good news for young people.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want to give them the opportunities to at least dream.\u201d<\/p>\n
Casely-Hayford\u2019s comments echo many other creative leaders and the hopes of organisations including Society of London Theatre (SOLT), in urging Labour to reinstate a strong emphasis on the arts within schools and colleges.<\/p>\n