TED TALKS (a lot)
Ted has given illustrated talks at over 60 primary schools and colleges across the UK, Continental Europe, and the USA, and also at:
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GEL Conference, Copenhagen, Denmark
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Brown University, Providence, RI, USA
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Sustrans, Bristol, England
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Oxford University, Oxford, England
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Society of Authors Conference, University of Sussex, England
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Bologna Children’s Book Fair, Italy
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Hay Literary Festival, Hay-on-Wye, Wales
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Edinburgh Literary Festival, Edinburgh, Scotland
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Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission, Philadelphia, USA
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Oxford Literary Festival, Oxford, England
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Cheltenham Literary Festival, Cheltenham, England
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Cardiff Festival, Cardiff, Wales
“Your talk was one of the best we’ve ever had.”
Mark Hurst, Founder and CEO of Creative Good, New York
“Ted’s message on creativity and the creative process deserves to be heard widely. He is great in front of a crowd and is a quirky Renaissance man who is an educator at heart.”
Heather Hoerle, CEO,
Enrollment Management Association, New York
“Ted is passionate in what he does, and when I see passion like that, I find passion in my self.”
Gregers Mærsk Møller, GEL Conference, Copenhagen
“A work of genius.”
Philip Pullman, on the exhibition and talk
about Rochester’s Extraordinary Storyloom
THE TALKS
SCHOOL & COLLEGE AUTHOR VISITS
This is a standard author visit talk. It reviews the Bing books and Crispin The Pig books, and can be pitched from nursery age kids up to 6th form. It includes projected images, readings, live drawing, a polystyrene wig head on a stick, and a very disobedient monkey. Typically, a full day's engagement involves 4 separate talks across an entire primary school. Bing books are usually made available for purchase using a third-party supplier. Please ensure you book early for World Book Day Week. If you prefer to go through an agency in the UK, most appearances in schools are booked through "Authors Aloud"
RECLAIMING THE STREET, FAMILY-STYLE
This talk focuses on the creation of Britain’s first ever do-it-yourself street makeover and the Roadwitch Trial. The project starts as a series of pranks, and through a curiously meandering route, becomes a true fairy tale. The story gained national TV and newspaper media attention. Two themes apply to many fields of endeavour. One is a powerful algorithm for breaking new ground: taking small steps and evaluating how the world reacts to inform the next step. The other theme ties group creativity to social bonding in a community, through the inevitable four steps every group goes through: forming, norming, storming, and performing.
THE CREATIVITY ROAD TRIP
“The journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step.” That’s true, but most of the time, you don’t even know you’re starting a journey of a thousand miles until you’re partway down the road. And the road isn’t actually there—you create the road by the act of stepping forward, and only then can you see where it might go next. Along the journey, unlikely opportunities and guardian angels seem to appear, and there’s a trick to recognising them when they arrive. In this talk, I follow some of the unlikely steps in creating something from nothing, projects that became far bigger than myself and out of my control, which was the best thing for them. The projects include the creation of the steampunk legend Rochester’s Extraordinary Storyloom, and Oxford’s unique fiery celebration of 1000 years, Luminox.
RAISING THE RABBIT
This talk is aimed at adults, though it follows the origins of pre-school character, Bing. The books became deeply beloved with a cult following, but the long road to Bing's success was riddled with potholes, failure, and a lawsuit involving one of the most powerful companies on Earth. The theme is how one of the most basic and destructive emotions--fury--can be mixed with compassion, sensitivity, and determination to supply enough creative energy to drive a project from a random sketch all the way to an international award-winning hit animated television show for children. Bing is currently the number one popular animated children’s BBC series broadcast today, and is screened in over 80 countries.