S22 Ep5: Artist, Bob and Roberta Smith OBE RA: Guardian of the Arts — why art makes people powerful

Conversations of Inspiration

Holly Tucker MBE

Education, Society & Culture, Entrepreneurship, Self-improvement, Business, Personal Journals

5.0 • 1.3K Ratings

🗓️ 7 July 2025

⏱️ 75 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Why does art make children and society powerful? Why should creativity be a right and not a privilege?

In this episode, Holly is joined by the extraordinary Bob and Roberta Smith OBE RA — artist, activist, educator and passionate advocate for the power of the arts.

Together, they explore why creativity matters now more than ever, especially for the next generation.

From growing up in an artistic household, to painting powerful slogans like All Schools Should Be Art Schools and Art Makes Children Powerful, Bob shares the personal stories, political moments and joyful philosophies that have shaped his life’s work.

Holly speaks to Bob about creativity being fundamental for all, how he believes art teachers are in fact, human rights workers and why everyday actions — from cooking to parenting — might actually be more creative than we realise. Bob also explains how his brilliant project, The Superpower of Looking, is a tool for teaching kids and adults to slow down and truly see the world around them.

So whether you think of yourself as being creative or not, this conversation might just make you look at life a little differently and realise that art belongs to everyone.

Transcript

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0:00.0	teachers are kind of human rights workers.
0:02.3	I think this mistake to poor kids in one direction
0:05.3	is a measure of success for a few, but not everyone.
0:09.0	Everyone does matter.
0:12.0	Firstly, I have to say that this conversation meant a lot to me
0:15.7	because I have been a massive fan for a long time
0:19.2	to speak to one of my heroes and, I don't know, angel artists for me
0:25.7	is just, I mean, this is why I love this podcast. Bob and Roberta Smith, it is not two people,
0:31.9	everyone. It's one person. It's Bob. And Bob's not even called Bob. It's called Patrick.
0:39.6	And it is just one of those conversations where I've been deeply moved and hopeful because Bob, Patrick, reminds us of how
0:47.4	powerful creativity is. I'm not saying it's the answer to everything, but creative thinking outside of galleries and
0:57.2	studios and workshops. I'm talking about true creativity, the way that we imagine the world,
1:03.5	the curiosity that we should instill on our children is maybe the key and the answer to the
1:10.5	world that we're living in or the scary future that we
1:13.9	believe our children are going to be within the AI bubble. And I know so often that creativity
1:19.9	is also thought as a nice to have. But as Bob Patrick says, we need to have it. It is part of what makes us human and we speak intently on this
1:31.7	subject. He grew up in this artistic household. He had this world of sign writing. He's now in a
1:39.2	garden in Chelsea Flower Show. It's one of those podcasts that will take your mind to lots and lots of places,
1:45.7	but for anyone raising, teaching or championing a child at home, you must listen to this because
1:53.1	we're forgetting that creativity is not just about being good at art, it's actually about being
1:59.7	human. And so listen to this podcast, feel
2:04.2	empowered, follow everything that Bob Patrick says to follow. I'm going to do the same and you're
	...

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