This blog has been written by Professor Christoph Lindner, President & Vice Chancellor at the Royal College of Art.
A few weeks ago, the QS Subject Rankings confirmed that London is the top city in the world for creative education. The Royal College of Art remains the world’s leading art and design university for the 10th year in a row, while the University of the Arts London, Royal College of Music, Royal Academy of Music and the Courtauld Institute of Art have all placed among the top 4 globally for delivering exceptional courses across a spread of arts subjects.
The Royal College of Art’s London location is something our community deeply values. There is much in common in the qualities needed to succeed in creative education and those that make London a global centre of excellence.
London is a diverse and cosmopolitan place that attracts people from across the world to live, study and work here, who then share their knowledge and experiences. This diversity of thought and backgrounds is crucial to creative innovation, as it enables an environment where orthodoxies can be challenged and new ideas explored. Creative education thrives in London not just because of the wide range of students and academics who come here from near and far, but just as importantly because of the inspiration and vibrancy the city itself provides.
London’s many cultural institutions, galleries, and performance spaces are also a crucial ingredient – bringing people together to explore all forms of creative expression. The density and diversity of these creative communities provide enormous support for new talent. From small pop-up spaces and collectives to world-famous museums and theatres, the ecosystem is ideal for gaining experience and developing careers for students and graduates.
The relationship between London and creative education is mutually beneficial. One in five jobs in London is in the creative economy, and London’s creative industries generated over £50bn in economic output in 2020 alone. Whether it’s creative practitioners, fashion, film, or game design, having the world’s most talented creative students on your doorstep is an invaluable tool to ensure future success and innovation. And for the institutions based here, London’s thriving creative sector provides a wealth of opportunity for learning experiences and research projects with active links to cutting-edge practice.
Of course, these qualities are not limited to London, and I prefer to think of the city as part of a network of creative excellence that is forming across the UK, supported by local and regional investment, as well as by far-sighted initiatives such as UKRI’s Creative Industries Clusters programme.
So while we can celebrate all the ways London has boosted and nurtured creative education, it’s also important to build on these achievements so that creative education – and all the economic and societal benefits it brings – can thrive in even more places around the country. Now is the time to invest in creative education nationally and to build up a collaborative, flourishing creative sector for the whole of the UK.
