I am an artist educator, researcher, coach and consultant working in the field of alternative arts education, community resource building and organisational development.
Hi, I’m Ollie (MYCO Creative is my trading name). I’m the founder and Leader of Arts Education Exchange (AEE), a registered charity based in Margate, UK. AEE provides alternative arts education, creative therapies and advocacy for young people, who are marginalised from mainstream education and society.
I’m a qualified teacher of Art and Design and taught in secondary schools for 6 years before setting up AEE.
I did an MA called Artist Teacher and Contemporary Practice at Goldsmiths college, UK and I’m a certified coach (Level 7, Relational Dynamics). I'm part of the Goldsmiths Artsmark teaching team, supporting schools to achieve the Arts Council's accredited award for arts, culture and creativity in education.
I set MYCO Creative up to accommodate my growing freelance consultancy work and as a way to bring all projects and practice together in one place.
Having set up a charity I have a broad and extensive understanding about how each part plays a vital role in making the ‘whole’ work. My strength is making connections, implementing collaborative strategies and developing systems and structures to influence change. I've encountered so much that doesn't work (in the voluntary and education sectors) and discovered, through making mistakes and questioning everything that change is rooted in how we relate to ourselves, others and the conditions we find ourselves in, NOT by someone telling you how to do things differently. I use creative and arts based methods to open spaces of imagination and reflection to help people and organisations formulate bold plans and realise their next best steps.
I’m also a sound a visual artist. Listen to my music here.