Strategically strengthening learning and teaching leadership in the creative arts through the createED network

In 2009, the createED network, a network for leaders in learning and teaching in the creative arts disciplines, was born. The disciplines included art, architecture, creative writing, design and performing arts (dance, music and theatre). Establishing the network was enabled by an Australian Learning and Teaching Council (ALTC) funded grant. The aims of the network were to strengthen learning and teaching leadership through the provision of opportunities for leaders in learning and teaching to engage in collaborative professional development activities and share knowledge and resources that inform and validate practice, individually and collectively; to address contemporary issues of pedagogy and viability through identifying, researching, reviewing and scoping activities that focus on current resources, strengths, gaps and challenges; and to foster scholarship in learning and teaching leadership and strengthen the teaching-research nexus through peer review of practice-based outcomes. In this article, we build on the reflections presented in a previous special issue of TEXT on leadership in the creative arts (de la Harpe, Mason & Peterson 2011), providing an introduction to the createED project – ‘the network idea’, its aims and aspirations – ‘the network ideal’, what transpired on the ground – ‘the network reality’, as well as where it is currently at and where it is headed – ‘the network evolution’.