Personal statement

Dr Penny Hay (National Teaching Fellow, FRSA, FHEA, FCCT) is an artist, researcher and educator. Penny is Professor of Imagination in the Research Centre for Cultural and Creative Industries, and Reader in Creative Teaching and Learning within the School of Education.

Previously Penny was a teacher with responsibility for the arts, advisory teacher for art, and lecturer in arts education at Goldsmiths College, the Institute of Education, University of London, Roehampton Institute and the University of the West of England.

Penny has worked extensively in arts education across the UK and co-ordinated the professional development programme for the National Society for Education in Art and Design (NSEAD). She was instrumental in setting up the National Artist Teacher Scheme with Arts Council England and NSEAD that offers teachers the opportunity to develop their own creative practice, culminating in the first summer school at Tate Modern.

Penny coordinated CEDES (Creative Education: Disaffection, Exclusion and Society), a two-year action research project in collaboration with the Centre for Research in Education and Democracy at the University of the West of England. She was also a Creative Agent for Creativity Culture and Education (CCE) and co-convened the South West Hub for the Cambridge Primary Review Trust, researching the Power of the Arts in Primary Schools.

Penny is a member of the Crafts Council Learning and Development Advisory Group, HundrED Advisory Group, Cultural Learning Alliance Advisory Group, RSA Innovative Education Network, BERA Creativity in Education Special Interest Group and Co-chair of the Creative Practice Research Group in Bath Spa University's Centre for Cultural and Creative Industries.

Penny is the Strand lead for Creative Pedagogy in the Centre for Policy, Pedagogy and Practice and Associate Director of the Centre in Transnational Creativity and Education (TRACE). She is Co-chair of the research group eARTh, focusing on Education, Arts and Environment.

Penny was an artist researcher on the Global Challenges Research (AHRC) project in Dharavi Mumbai ‘Rethinking waste and the logics of disposability’. Compound 13 Lab is an experimental learning space, built on methodological and pedagogical innovation, where issues of work, waste, education and sustainability are explored to develop a 'living curriculum' for young people. Penny recently worked on an Erasmus+ research project, Interstice, with University Autonoma Barcelona and on pARTiciPED with University of Agder and Norway Research Council.

Penny integrates her experience in arts and education with participative action research, engaging individuals, institutions and communities. Her doctoral research focused on how as adults we support children's identity as artists.

Penny has been awarded an Honorary Fellowship at University Arts Plymouth for her international contribution to creative education, a Fellowship in Imagination at the Centre for Future Thinking, Hawkwood College, and is part of the Faculty for The Future of Flourishing, a futures thinking lab dedicated to the field of human flourishing. She is a school governor and active in children's rights. Penny is Co-chair of RSA Bath and What Next? West Chapter, and has awards from Action for Children’s Arts, Thornton Education Trust and Creative Bath.

Current signature projects:

Previously, Penny has also worked on:

She is also a visiting lecturer at Plymouth College of Art.

Academic qualifications

  • PhD - Bath Spa University
  • MEd - Bath Spa University

Professional qualifications

  • FRSA
  • FHEA
  • FCCT

Professional memberships

  • RSA
  • Sightlines Initiative
  • Action for Children's Arts
  • Engage
  • Tate
  • InSEA

Other external roles

  • RSA Fellow, Co-chair RSA Bath
  • What Next? West Co-chair
  • South West Creative Education Network
  • Action for Children's Arts Executive
  • Bath Cultural Education Partnership
  • Cultural Learning Alliance Advisory Group
  • Crafts Council Learning and Development Advisory Group
  • RSA Innovative Education Network
  • BERA Creativity in Education Special Interest Group
  • HunderED Advisory Group

Teaching specialism

  • Arts education and creativity; Visual Art; Creative Pedagogy
  • Teaching: PGCE Primary and Early Years, Arts Specialism, Education Studies, Guest lecturer for Artist Teacher Scheme and Graduate opportunities; PMP tutor; CPD
  • Public Engagement and Knowledge Exchange
  • Strand lead for Creative Pedagogy in Centre for Policy, Pedagogy and Practice

External examiners

  • University of Wales in Newport graduate Art Education courses 2002-5

Recent professional updating

  • School of Education Research Seminars
  • Research Fellow Network
  • Issues in Creative Practice: Creative Conversations
  • National Cultural Education Partnerships Peer Learning Programme

Research Centres or Groups


Centre for Cultural and Creative Industries (Research Centre), Centre for Environmental Humanities (Research Centre), Centre for Transcultural Creativity and Education (Research Centre), eARTh (Research Group)

Research and academic outputs

Go to ResearchSPAce