Artificial intelligence is impacting every aspect of our lives, but what does its exponential rise mean for the natural world?

In this episode of the RCA Podcast, RCA President and Vice-Chancellor Christoph Lindner is joined by two leading voices working at the intersection of art and design, living systems and future technology.

Guests

• Dr Danielle Barrios O’Neill: Danielle is Associate Dean (Academic Planning & Development), Schools of Communication and Design. Her research explores complex living systems, technology, and the use of advanced play and speculative design to help humans engage with and reshape ‘wicked problems’, like climate change.
• Dr Julie Freeman: Julie is Founder of art and design studios Translating Nature and ShapedSound. Her work has seen her turn raw data from living systems, like fish or mole rats, into physical and sonic artworks. Julie's most recent work, Models of Care, uses data from Arctic glaciers to explore environmental responsibility and the relationship between artificial intelligence, climate change, and human agency.

Get more information:

• Learn more about the ⁠RCA's programmes.
• Learn more about ⁠applying and studying at the RCA⁠.
• Discover more from the ⁠RCA podcast.

In this episode of the RCA Podcast, RCA President Christoph Lindner speaks with artist and educator Sarah Staton and architect Liza Fior about the power of public art and architecture in shaping belonging, community, and inclusion.

They explore its power to invite connection, the challenges of gentrification, and the ways art can redefine the spaces we share.

Guests:

• Sarah Staton: Sculptor, educator, and Senior Tutor of the RCA’s MA Sculpture programme, whose permanent commissions explore how public works can foster connection across generations.

• Liza Fior: Founding partner of Muf architecture/art and Professor of Architecture and Spatial Practice at Central Saint Martins, known for award-winning projects that put community at the centre of urban design.

Get more information:

• Learn more about the RCA's programmes.
• Lear more about applying and studying at the RCA.
• Discover more from the RCA podcast.

In 2024, representatives from the Royal College of Art (RCA) joined the National Oceanography Centre (NOC) on an expedition from Greenland to Iceland onboard Royal Research Ship James Cook, but what exactly was an art school doing in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean? 

In this collaborative episode, Into the Blue Podcast and the Royal College of Art Podcast join together to explore the critical role of collaboration in tackling the challenges facing our oceans.

Professor Ashley Hall, Professor of Design and Innovation in the School of Design and Lead Researcher on NEMO (New Economic Model for the Ocean) at the RCA, is joined by Marine Biogeochemist and Biological Oceanographer Dr Filipa Carvalho.

The pair discuss the unique partnership, how their projects are helping us to better understand climate tipping points, and the role of co-design processes that connect life on land with ocean systems to incorporate local knowledge and perspectives.

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What does a genuinely ‘decentered’ space look like in creative education and the fashion industry?

Ahead of the upcoming FACE (Fashion Academics Creating Equity) Summit at the Royal College of Art on November 7-8, 2024, we explore the deep, systemic work necessary to create fairer, more inclusive spaces within the arts and education.

FACE is a pioneering collective founded to confront inequities in creative education, championing the intersection of fashion, art, and academia as a force for meaningful change.

This episode’s host is Joyce Addai Davis—an RCA Fashion MA graduate, footwear designer, and the first Black female academic in RCA’s Fashion Department. Joyce shares insights from her journey in academia, where her work bridges sustainable fashion practices with critical questions about waste and equity.

Joining her is Andrew Ibi, a co-founder of FACE, creative director and fashion curator, who recently curated “The Missing Thread” exhibition at Somerset House. With his extensive experience as a course leader at Liverpool John Moores University and as an external examiner at RCA, Andrew brings invaluable insight into what it takes to create decentered, inclusive, and anti-racist spaces.

In this episode, Joyce and Andrew discuss:

• What it means to “decenter” a space in education and industry
• FACE’s upcoming summit at the RCA
• Joyce's experience studying Fashion at the RCA, under the leadership of Zowie Broach
• Practical steps institutions can take today toward a fairer, more open future for all

Whether you’re in academia, fashion, or an ally for change, listen to discover the vision and actions needed to reshape the future of creative education and the fashion industry.

• Register your free place at the ⁠FACE Summit⁠
• Learn more about ⁠FACE⁠
• Read the FACE RACE Handbook for Educators

• Learn more about the ⁠RCA⁠
• Explore ⁠news and events⁠ from the RCA
• Discover the work of ⁠Joyce Addai Davis⁠

Follow along on social media: #FACExRCA2024

In the final episode of our Dean's Downloads series for RCA2024, we catch up with Kerry Curtis, Dean of the School of Communication.

Kerry chats with Etan about The Festival of Communication, which takes place across a variety of London locations between 17 July and 4 August.

They discuss the innovative programmes at the School, which explore how communication shapes our lives and develop new ways to interact with the world.

Kerry tells us of the various mediums used by students, from animation, data visualisation, and game design to graphic design, illustration, XR, AI, generative systems, and immersive experiences like soundscapes and performances.

The festival includes a range of events across 3 weeks, taking place at the RCA White City campus, and Television Centre and MediaWorks, also both in White City, as well as at The Outernet on Tottenham Court Road, and the RCA Battersea campus.

The programmes featured are:

• Information Experience Design MA
• Digital Direction MA
• Visual Communication MA
• Animation MA
• Communication MFA

All parts of The Festival of Communication for RCA2024 are free to attend, and no registration is required.

Find the full schedule for the exhibitions, events and activities for the School of Communication for RCA2024.

Discover more about the School of Communication at the RCA.

Find out how to apply to the RCA.

In the third episode of our Dean's Downloads series for RCA2024, we catch up with Professor Paul Anderson, Dean of the School of Design. We discuss the School's upcoming exhibition taking place from Friday 12 - Sunday 14 July at RCA Battersea Campus.

The School's exhibition will take place across two weeks in the Studio Building on the RCA's Battersea Campus on Howie Street.

Paul chats to Etan about the broad variety of practices of the students, how they interact with the public and industry, and how he hopes visitors will actively engage with the work on show in RCA2024.

Week 1: 12 - 14 July

• MA Service Design

• MA Textiles

• MA Intelligent Mobility

• MDes Design Futures

Week 2: 19 - 21 July

• MA Design Products

• MA Fashion

• MA/MSCs Global Innovation Design

• MA/MSCs Innovation Design Engineering

Open times:

• 12pm – 7.30pm on Fridays

• 12pm to 6pm on Saturdays and Sundays

• Last entry will be 30 mins before closing time, so get in early.

Find the full schedule for the exhibitions, events and activities for the School of Design for RCA2024.

Learn more about the School on the ⁠RCA website⁠.

Listen to other episodes in this series:

• School of Architecture
• School of Arts & Humanities

In the second episode of our Dean's Downloads series for RCA2024, we catch up with Dr Adrian Lahoud, Dean of the School of Architecture.

The School's exhibition will take place at The Truman Brewery on London's Brick Lane from Friday 12 - Sunday 14 July 2024.

Adrian chats to Etan about the School, how its programmes operate, and the themes of the work that will be on show. Programmes include:

• MA Architecture
• MA City Design
• MA Environmental Architecture
• MA Interior Design

The exhibition is free to attend and you don’t need to register.

Find the full schedule for the exhibitions, events and activities for the School of Architecture for RCA2024.

Learn more about the School on the RCA website.

Listen to other episodes in this series:

• ⁠School of Design
• ⁠School of Arts & Humanities⁠

In this episode, we chat to Kimberly Burrows. Kimberly graduated from the Royal College of Art with a MA in Painting in 2023, and continued her RCA journey as the President of the RCA Student Union. She is an interdisciplinary artist, disability advocate and model living and working in London.

Kimberley is a recipient of the Tony Snowdon Scholarship, awarded by The Snowdon Trust to exceptional disabled scholars, and was named on The Shaw Trust’s Disability Power 100 List of the UK’s top 100 influential disabled people and organisations.

Listen as Kimberley chats to fellow RCA graduate, Benji Jerffrey, about:

Learn more about Kimberley

Mentioned in the episode

Funding and studying at the RCA

Support for students with disabilities at the RCA

Additional reading/resources

In the first episode of our Dean's Downloads series for RCA2024, we catch up with Ken Neil, Dean of the School of Arts & Humanities, to chat about the School's upcoming exhibition taking place from Thursday 20 - Sunday 23 June.

In the midst of the exhibition install at the RCA's Battersea campus, Ken discusses the diverse offering of work that will be on display from the 11 programmes exhibiting.Programmes includes:

• Ceramics & Glass MA
• Contemporary Art Practice MA
• Curating Contemporary Art MA
• Jewellery & Metal MA
• Painting MA
• Photography MA
• Print MA
• Sculpture MA
• Writing MA
• Arts & Humanities MFA
• V&A/RCA History of Design MA

The School’s exhibition is taking place from Thursday 20 - Sunday 23 June. It’s a free event and you don’t need to register.

On 16 July, you can also experience work from the V&A/RCA History of Design MA programme, in a symposium and publication launch called ‘i <3 things’. Find out more about the V&A RCA Symposium.

Find the full schedule for the exhibitions, events and activities for the School of Arts & Humanities at RCA2024.

How can we integrate sustainability into arts and design education to empower students to make an impact?

In the latest episode of the RCA Podcast, Dr Nick de Leon explores this question with representatives from the Sustainable Markets Initiative, the Dubai Institute of Design and Innovation (UAE), the National Institute of Design Ahmedabad (India) and the Rhode Island School of Design (USA).

Following on from the global success of the 2022 edition, the RCA is partnering for a second time with the Sustainable Markets Initiative’s Terra Carta Design Lab - a competition to discover student led, high impact solutions to the climate crisis.

This year’s Design Lab has expanded its reach to also partner with Dubai Institute of Design and Innovation (UAE), National Institute of Design Ahmedabad (India) and Rhode Island School of Design (USA).

In this podcast episode, leaders from each of these institutions come together to consider:

Host & guests:

Nick de Leon is the RCA’s Academic Lead for the Terra Carta Design Lab. He is also Executive Education and Knowledge Exchange Lead in the RCA’s School of Design, where he leads the development of the School's research and knowledge exchange relations.

Jennifer Jordan-Saifi, M.V.O., MBA is Chief Executive Officer of the Sustainable Markets

Initiative, a global organisation that mobilises the private sector to put sustainability at the

heart of global value creation. His Majesty King Charles III, a champion of sustainability for over 50 years, launched the Sustainable Markets Initiative (when he was Prince of Wales) in 2020.

Touba Ghadessi is President Provost of the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), setting a visionary path for student learning and academic affairs. Of Iranian ancestry and raised in  Geneva, Switzerland, Touba embodies a commitment to diplomacy and cultural dialogue.

Hani Asfour is Vice President of Innovation and Institutional Partnerships at Dubai Institute of Design and Innovation (DIDI). He is a founding member of DIDI, playing a pivotal role in shaping its curriculum, developed in collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and The New School's Parsons School of Design.

Praveen Nahar is the Director of the National Institute of Design (NID) in Ahmedabad, India. His leadership extends across various departments and committees within NID, with a focus on areas such as Sustainable Design and Systems Thinking. 

Learn more about the Terra Carta Design Lab on the RCA website

Find out more about studying at the RCA.

Discover the RCA’s Scholarship and funding opportunities.