We started the Ideas Foundation with one big idea:
The creative industry should be open to everyone
In 2001, at The Learning Trust Mare Street Hackney, an idea was born. A creative engagement programme was nurtured in a place yet to be recognised as the creative hotspot that it now is.
It all began with the bold vision of Robin Wight, Founder, and later President of WCRS Advertising, and fuelled by the passion of Heather MacRae, who harnessed the power of education programs funded by Enterprise Pathfinder and Aim Higher initiative. It’s mission initially was to create a ladder of opportunity from Hackney schools into the ad industry. And we have been delighted that so many young people have found their way into industries that value creativity. Read about their success stories.
We appreciated that opportunities for young people in other parts of the country were limited. We also realised that you can’t be what you can’t see so we started to bring our education programmes to new areas and to younger students. We have been trying to even out access to employer encounters and real-life learning to students in under-served communities.
Features of our programmes remained the same – exciting tutors, hands on learning, real life briefs and opportunities to showcase student work – whether in the House of Commons, on digital screens across the country, in local exhibitions or to the bottom of the ocean in the deepest ever exhibition.
Along the way we have inspired young people thanks not just to amazing tutors but the support of a range of corporate, government and charity funders. These include Burberry Foundation, DCMS, King Badouin Foundation, Procter and Gamble, Canon, BBC and many others that you can see featured in our projects.