Ignite! Founder Rick Hall wins Nottingham Award

I am truly privileged to present Rick Hall as a winner of a Nottingham award and a real explorer. For over 50 years as a teacher, educator, actor, director, learning advocate explorer of creativity and curiosity, Rick Hall has been a tireless champion for children and young people’s education and an inspiration for thousands of students and colleagues alike. 

Rick has lit a beacon for learning which has shone beyond the classroom and illuminated the theatre, library and public square alike, unconstrained by traditional notions of where and when education should take place or where knowledge can be found. He has worked tirelessly to bring together those fields of learning so often kept apart – art, science, culture – and seen his vision vindicated as multi-disciplinary and cross-sectoral education and engagement has become the norm.

Crucially this has always been pioneered in Nottingham. The local context is vital to Rick but also the nature of the Nottingham community in particular those children and young people from disadvantaged backgrounds, although not exclusively them. In fact any planning, ideas, and then activity has always promoted the science – culture interface using local academics, local networks and aimed at all CYP the whole diverse range. This includes those interested in science and culture to widening the interest beyond traditional classrooms and included all phases and ages from Early Years to Secondary and all abilities including SEND and always done with sensitivity, humour, determination and success.

Rick made his home in Nottingham in the late Seventies and has made an indelible mark in the city through an impressive list of projects, initiatives and organisations, linked by a common theme recurrent through all Rick’s work – igniting curiosity. Rick has an impressive network which has developed through this period which means he is called on and contributes superbly to almost any science/arts/creative project in our City. And the proof of the success is in the literally thousands of people who have benefited from Rick’s work, much of which he has done freely and voluntarily.

Rick has so many accomplishments but here are a select few:

·        Founder of Ignite! - a Nottingham-based voluntary organisation dedicated to catalysing learning and community engagement in art and science

·        Director of Roundabout Theatre group, a ground-breaking Nottingham-based drama company that worked with hundreds of young people in the 1980s

·        Founder of the Festival of Science and Curiosity, launched in 2015 and held annually since as a platform for community engagement in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths. The festival has reached tens of thousands of children, young people and families, over 120K I total.

·        Fellow of Royal Society of the Arts, a Churchill Fellow, Child Friendly Nottingham champion and  Author of the A-Z of Creativity

What Rick perhaps doesn’t realise is the impact he has had on changing the lives of those who work with him. We have been inspired in so many ways by watching and learning from a true great. Thank you Rick. It gives me enormous pleasure to make this award.

Ignite! Chair of Trustees Susan Anderson, Lord Mayor Councillor Patience Ifediora, Rick Hall, Ignite! Programmes Manager Megan Shore and Ignite! Board Advisor Jon Rea at the Nottingham Awards.