University teacher education and the pop-up art school

Genesis
Johnson (2010, p.26) argues that most ideas ‘do not happen in a flash’ but rather form as a result of the ‘adjacent possible’, a term coined to describe the notion that ideas are only ‘built out of a collection of existing parts’ at a certain time. The Pop-Up Art Schools (PUAS) at the University of Huddersfield, the focus of this chapter, resulted from an eclectic collection of temporary and alternative cultural, social and retail events at a particular time. Pop-up shops began opening in unexpected places; pop-up restaurants and bars offered new experiences in unusual locations and art galleries inhabited disused shops. These pop-ups seemed fresh and exciting, and were portrayed by the media as creative ‘go now or miss it’ opportunities. There seemed to be a zeitgeist, something ‘in the air’. There was clearly an attraction to the fleeting and ephemeral, combined with a desire to experience something unusual and memorable. Many of the pop-ups seemed to offer the chance to form an instant community through shared ‘real-life’ experiences and connection with others. They seemed to provide an antidote to the impersonal, the corporate and the slick. They seemed to have more soul.