Latest news & blogs
Artists-in-Residence: Arts & Ecology
As part of our arts and ecology programme, five artists were selected for a residency in September, exploring new projects and ideas inspired by the natural, ecologically-rich surroundings, and the history of innovative art-making at Dartington.
Alice Oswald joins Dartington Arts School as senior lecturer
We are delighted to be able to share with you that poet Alice Oswald is joining the teaching staff at Dartington Arts School as a senior lecturer on the Poetics of Imagination MA.
Arts & Ecology residency programme open for applications
In January 2022, our MA in Arts and Ecology will begin at Dartington Arts School – and as a space for dialogue and exploration, we are seeking applicants for a residency alongside the academic programme.
What’s on for families at this year’s Summer School?
Since 1953, summers at Dartington have meant one thing; the estate is filled with music during our Summer School and Festival. And this year, we’re delighted to also offer a programme of family-friendly and free events.
Performance at Dartington with Emma Bush
A blog about the new performance movement that is gathering momentum at Dartington Arts School with a Master’s programme starting early next year.
Know the World: Reflections on Holistic Science by Dr Troy Vine
Troy Vine, our Holistic Science programme lead, asks how we might start searching for an objective knowledge of nature in the world today…
Volunteer blog: Seeking a swift encounter
As a new project beings to attract swifts back to a disused church tower, volunteer Alistair Whybrow writes on his own fascination with these beguiling birds.
What’s it really like to study at Dartington?
Students share their thoughts on the experience of studying on our postgraduate programmes over the past nine months.
Project underway to encourage Swifts to return to our church tower
A project to encourage swifts to return to the disused church tower on the Dartington estate has been set up the Trust’s conservation team.
Hauser & Wirth launches The Gustav Metzger Foundation Scholarship
We are thrilled to announce the Gustav Metzger Foundation Scholarship in partnership with Hauser & Wirth. The scholarship will support a student with refugee status or an application for asylum in the UK on our Arts and Place MA course.
Why most wine does not age well, and other wine talk with Justin Howard-Sneyd
We caught up with Justin, a well known wine communicator and ex-head of wine at Waitrose, as he prepares to head up our first-ever wine course.
Radical learning environments
Dr Sarah Elisa Kelly, lecturer in Engaged Ecology at Schumacher College blogs with her thoughts on what radical education means for her.
Meet our lead gardener
We caught up with Mike Record, who has worked at Dartington for four years and is responsible for our much-loved Grade II* Listed Gardens.
Three books to spark a revolution?
Jonathan Dawson, the Programme Lead for our highly-respected MA Regenerative Economics, blogs on the often forgotten but increasingly important philosophical dimension in modern day economics.
Plea for dog owners to take care around livestock
“I have been hit with sticks, I have had stones thrown at me and I have been spat at” – our tenant farmer issues a plea for visitors to help protect his livelihood.
Vision for Dartington Estate to become a food hub for south Devon
We catch up with Tara Vaughan-Hughes, Food Lead for Dartington Trust, whose culinary influences are inspired by her native home in rural Vermont, USA.
New MA programmes begin and students arrive
A historic moment for learning at Dartington Trust as students on our two new MA programmes experienced their first day of teaching on site here at Dartington.
A statement from Dartington Trust
A statement regarding the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO)’s decision on our handling of private data last year.
How we run our garden has had to grow
As we blinkingly start to come out of lockdown darkness, it is a time of newness, the trees are full of blossom, and the gardens at Dartington are going through a period of growth and change.
Plas y Brenin and TYF join Dr Rachel Sweeney on our new MA Movement, Mind, and Ecology
We’re delighted to announce today our official partnership with two leading outdoor organisations TYF and Plas y Brenin in the delivery of our new Movement, Mind, and Ecology Master’s programme, starting in June this year. We’re also extremely pleased to announce our newly appointed Programme Lead, Dr Rachel Sweeney.
Moving over imagined ground
Dr Pavel Cenkl, our Director of Learning, blogs on his experience exploring the undulating gravel highlands between Iceland’s Vatnajokull and Hofsjokull icecaps.
Holistic Science: a 30 year legacy at Schumacher College
Dr Troy Vine discusses the wide-reaching and influential legacy of the Holistic Science programme at Schumacher College with one of the founders of the College, Dr Stephan Harding. (Links to SoundCloud)
Caroline Aitken: Regenerative farming and the education landscape
We can only achieve widespread transition to agroecological farming if we change the way we educate the next generation of farmers writes our Regenerative Food and Farming lead, Caroline Aitken.
Schumacher College launches major essay competition for 30th anniversary
We’re excited to announce today the launch of our 30th anniversary Essay Competition, “Education as if People and Planet Matter”, in collaboration with Resurgence & Ecologist Magazine.
Forest Gardens at Schumacher College
Our Horticultural Intern Emilia shares her thoughts on the two forest gardens at Schumacher College on the Dartington estate.
Your questions answered: MA Arts and Place
We’ve compiled a neat set of questions and answers to give prospective students a sense of what to expect from this radical new course when it starts in April.
Practising place-fullness with Dr Sarah Elisa Kelly
In this immersive reflection, Dr Sarah Elisa Kelly explores our understanding and experience of place and offers a simple exercise to help you feel more “place-full”.
Meet Dr Jo Joelson, Programme Lead for MA Arts and Place
We’re very pleased to introduce Dr Jo Joelson, the Programme Lead for our radical new MA Arts and Place. Jo is a practicing artist curator and writer, with a particular focus in working with light, and she brings with her a background in academic research and collaborative working. We asked Jo a few questions to find out a bit more about her and her thinking as she prepares to start the first residency-based teaching here at Dartington in April.
Interview with Dr Tine Bech, MA Arts and Place Senior Lecturer
We catch up with Dr Tine Bech, internationally recognised artist and new Senior Lecturer on the MA Arts and Place programme at Dartington Arts School.
Total extinction: what money cannot buy?
Dartington’s bookbinding tutor, Mary Bartlett, writes on the deepening climate crisis in the context of the covid pandemic and Dartington Hall’s own ecological history.