DISNEYLAND CREATIVE
Written by Ben Tallon
I’d never been to Preston before. UCLan appeared on my radar in 2003 because it had an illustration degree course. It was far enough away from my childhood home for independence, but close enough to visit my people regularly. It had been recommended because the course had a strong reputation. I arrived for an interview having never been to the city, and somehow, on a level I couldn’t articulate with language, all it took for me to know I would be coming here was a blue sky at the top of a road full of black cabs leading out of the station. I still could’t tell you why, 21 years later. I learned my craft, enjoyed 6 wonderful years in Preston, and still love the place. The best I can offer is resonance. Time and place. Knowing on a primal level that here was where I needed to be now. The view literally offered no more than the blue sky, the taxis, and a smattering of people. And from there, the campus activity, the high street, and Victoria Building, where I’d spend the next 3 years studying illustration, upheld this instinctive allure. Steve, the course leader was a Leeds fan, and showed none of the borderline hostility a lecturer at Leeds Met had oozed as she smacked each page of my admittedly weak portfolio aside before telling me ‘bit thin... Preston might be the one for you.’ In fact Steve said little at all about the work. Nodding and smiling occasionally, asking about Bradford College, where I’d be switching from, he seemed more interested in me – something I have since learned is at the top of any good course or business leaders’ priorities: the human and their story. He told me he’d seen enough to know I wanted this and my offer of a place came through shortly after.
On Friday I pulled into the car park of Arts University Bournemouth where I was due to do ‘The Creative Condition’ talk for the communication design students. The sky was blue, and it happened again. The campus was alive. People seemed to carry purpose and it looked fantastic: a range of cool buildings, a cafe, and as the tutor showed me around, a knee-weakening array of craft facilities; typesetting workshops, printmaking, breakout rooms next to course studios, and not just art and design: I saw creative writing course, even an acting space. Just like Preston, my instincts glowed and raged and crashed around my body and mind. I hinted at this in the staff room as I prepared my notes and met the other tutors, one of whom told me it was something of a ‘Disneyland for creatives.’
Whether there’s something for me at Bournemouth specifically remains to be seen. Geographically and skillset-wise it’s possible. But you have to look at this thematically. Just weeks earlier, I’d carried out my coaching ‘the vision’ exercise on myself, and what flooded out of my unconscious was close to art school. I’ve never gotten over the wondrous crackle of art college and the sheer purpose it brought to my life. So clearly, while grateful for my little garden studio and the benefits it brings me, I need that kind of interaction, scope to play, and space for my creativity to be optimal. Here was one version of it, and a very familiar feeling returning from 21 years ago.