A great discussion with students from our black student networks, who are curating and designing an exhibition. Robert O'Toole in conversation with Alicia Odumosu, Jessica Boakye, and Alex Land. With short samples of the music we discuss, by Labi Sifre, the Balafon Sextet, DJ Solo, and So Solid Crew.

The Creatives Institute, led by Raphael Taylor, is a collective of students from Warwick University, supporting emerging artists through exhibitions, events, magazine, and careers forum.

In October 2025 the Institute curated a successful and impactful exhibition of diverse art works. We interviewed Raphael, as well as the artist Annabel Rainbow, whose Windrush Quilts were featured. The opening event, at which we heard the artists in conversation, was followed by a special evening dedicated to the memory of, and ongoing campaign in support of, the Windrush generation. Benjamin Zephaniah's wife Qian spoke, along with Monica Brown. Annabel's portraits of Benjamin and Monica's mother Iciline, were highlights of the show. We were incredibly lucky to also get to talk with Monica about her mother's story and the wonderful artwork.

Isabel Hughes is a researcher in Life Sciences at the University of Warwick. She is also a brilliant artist. This exhibition brings together works created in response to her time spent in Kenya undertaking pioneering research on new ways to prevent malaria. See more of Isabel’s work on Instagram @izzi.art

Watch a video of the exhibition on our YouTube channel.

Tickets for the opening night at Temperance on the 26th Oct.

Folklore is not just something that existed in a dark, superstitious past. It continues to be a powerful force in culture and society today. Technology and science haven't eliminated it through reason, but rather they have given new ways in which its forms can be expressed and mutated. This is the topic of a fascinating undergraduate module in the History Department at the University of Warwick called "From Fireplace to Cyberspace: The Folklore of Europe from Prehistory to the Present", designed and taught by Dr. Jonathan Davies.

As you will hear in this discussion with Robert O'Toole, not only is this a great topic, the way in which it is explored with the students is itself very special, using digital technologies creatively and rigorously. Students are encouraged to make a personal connection, for example researching folklore in their home area. A digital project, either a podcast or a video, makes up 40 percent of the assessment, giving the students a chance to really get into and communicate the moods of the folklore they research.

Would you want to do this module? I certainly would!

Enjoy!

In the last episode Robert O'Toole interviewed Jonathan Vickery of the pioneering Centre for Cultural and Media Policy Studies. Their conversation delved deep into how to create the conditions for a successful, impactful, and continuously renewed University. In this episode, interviewer and interviewee switch roles, with Robert reflecting on 30 years of work developing Arts and Humanities education with impact, the growing emphasis on design and designing with a solid philosophical base, and how that can help us to respond positively to increasingly intense and neo-colonial technological change.

A serial innovator, a creator of powerful interconnections, and activist, and a brilliant researcher. Jonathan Vickery works across a wide range of media and communities: public speaking, art criticism, policy debate, evaluation and assessment, independent reviews for funded research, project management, curriculum design, innovative teaching, and much more.  In this podcast we meet another of our extraordinary academics with impact, and learn that when we engage in the Arts with an open mind and an appreciation that good ideas can come from many different directions, we can do great things together.

It takes something really special to be a successful and innovative leader in the creative industries. Not just a diverse skill set, well integrated and continually extended, but also an emotional bravery, strength, and empathy. Shuangshuang Cai has all of these attributes, and much more. In this conversation, Robert talks to this amazing practitioner and PhD student about her work.

Robert O'Toole interviews Luke Robert Mason about how he developed the successful and globally impactful Virtual Futures seminars and the FUTURES podcast series, as well as his podcast production company for academics, No Troublemakers Media.

Arts and Humanities degrees have led our alumni to achieve great successes - not always in the ways that they expected, and not necessarily immediately after graduating. But we do know that our degrees can supercharge careers. What advice can we give to our students and graduates to make the most of the experience and the capabilities they develop?

A panel discussion recorded at our inaugural Power of an Arts Degree event. Dr Marta Guerriero led the dicussion with:

Michael Ojetunde who studied French and Economics, and now has an exciting career with Baringa Business Consulting.

Vinitaraj Aulak studies English and Theatre Studies, and works as a radio presenter with the BBC Asian Network, and as a freelance digital marketer and creative.

Dr Heidi Ashton is an academic in Cultural and Media Policy Studies at Warwick. She has a background in the creative industries, and has guided many students to achieve success. We interviewed Heidi for episode 2 of We are FAB People.

Dr Heidi Ashton talks with Robert O'Toole about the importance and the future of creative industries education in the age of AI. In the FAB we bring together three essential ingredients: curiosity, criticality and creativity. This helps us and our students to succeed in an increasingly challenging and disrupted world. Heidi helps us to stay optimistic and to be positively creative.

Heidi is Associate Professor in Cultural and Creative Ecologies and is a global research fellow at the curative industries Policy and Evidence Centre (PEC).

She joined the Centre for Cultural and Media Policy Studies in 2019 having previously taught at the Centre for Labour Market Studies and the School of Management at the University of Leicester. She is a creative industries scholar with extensive experience in the creative industries having worked as a freelance dancer, choreographer and producer in a variety of settings including film, television, theatre and live events around the world. Her research was recently featured in The Observer and The Guardian and cited in the House of Lords. Other research includes freelance workers' access to social security in the UK.