5th June 2024, 6pm-8pm

At Locksbrook Campus, BA1 2EL

Book here

This year Forest of Imagination 2024 | Biodiversity Ring: a million small acts will be at the Holburne Museum and Gardens from 26-30 June addressing the theme of biodiversity. You are invited to a pre-event with Bath RSA and What Next? at the beautiful Locksbrook Campus, Bath Spa University overlooking the River Avon. 

Vice Chancellor Professor Sue Rigby will give a welcoming address about the importance of imagination and nature in our lives. We will be joined by Dr Chris Stephens, Director of the Holburne, Dr Chris Stephens, Director of House of Imagination, Kate Cross MBE, Director of the Egg Theatre, and Dr Penny Hay, Professor of Imagination, Bath Spa University who will share the plans and ideas for this year’s event in June. 

Everyone is welcome! 

Professor Sue Rigby, FRSA is the Vice-Chancellor of Bath Spa University. Sue commenced her role as Vice-Chancellor of Bath Spa University in January 2018. Previously she was Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Student Development at the University of Lincoln where she was responsible for the student journey from application to alumni activities, and had oversight of the Colleges of Science and Arts. Sue is a palaeontologist by background. After being an academic at Cambridge, Leicester and Edinburgh she moved into senior management, first as Assistant Principal and then Vice Principal at the University of Edinburgh. Sue is an HEA Principal Fellow. 

Dr. Penny Hay, FRSA is an artist, educator and researcher, Professor of Imagination Centre for Cultural and Creative Industries, Reader in Creative Teaching and Learning, Bath Spa University and Founding Director of House of Imagination and co-founder of Forest of Imagination and School Without Walls. Penny is a National Teaching Fellow and Fellow of the Chartered College of Teaching, with an Honorary Fellowship from University Arts Plymouth. 

Dr Chris Stephens, FRSA has been Director of the Holburne Museum since July 2017. Before that he worked at Tate in London for twenty-one years, as Head of Displays at Tate Britain and Lead Curator of Modern British Art, including ‘Barbara Hepworth: Centenary’ at Tate St Ives in 2003 and, in London, ‘Francis Bacon’ (2008), ‘Henry Moore’ (2010), ‘Picasso and British Art’ (2012) and ‘David Hockney’ (2017). As a leading expert on modern British art, St Ives The Art and the Artists was published in 2018. 

Kate Cross MBE is Director of The Egg at Theatre Royal Bath and co-founder of School Without Walls. Starting in 1998 as Head of Education Kate worked alongside Theatre Royal staff and Board to create and build the Egg Theatre which opened in 2005. The egg is now a thriving centre for children’s theatre and creative learning, with close ties to Bath Spa University. The egg works with an eclectic range of theatre making artists to create contemporary, new work for national and international presentation. 

Dr Chris Bagley is Executive Director of House of Imagination, an educational psychologist, writer and musician with an interest in educational transformation and systems change. He is Director of Research at social enterprise, States of Mind, Co-Director of Square Peg, and a tutor at the Institute of Education, University College London.