From student to artist: Supporting students’ creative development through place-based work

This article reports on work emerging from an earlier research project that investigated undergraduate students’ autobiographical experiences of creativity at the University of Brighton. It found that students’ creativity was effectively supported if opportunities were provided for them to reflect on the things within their experiences that inspired their creativity. This research informed the creation of workshops and interview practices seeking to improve postgraduate students’ resilience and self-belief surrounding their place within their discipline. We argue that by offering students opportunities to reflect upon their practice and identify existing skills and experiences that contribute to their development as artists, that they will feel better prepared for place-based creative work. We further suggest that a process of reflection, action and discussion can enhance their personal, vocational and academic development. Our findings indicate that these learning opportunities can help students through liminal spaces in their work. The authors present a case study from a post-graduate Creative Writing MA course at the University of Brighton where students are engaged as artists in residence on a specific core module. We identify our model of best practice as being a fundamental part of the transformation from student to artist.