The Ethical Table: Facilitating inter-institutional dialogues on the ethics of teaching and learning practices in art and design

The Ethical Table is a platform for furthering discussions and developing curricula with a focus on ethics in design at CSM / UAL. The ELIA Biennial Conference 2024 presented the opportunity to open the platform beyond the context of our institution, inviting a wider group of colleagues to sit with us at the table. In this article we reflect on our experiences facilitating this conversational workshop with an international and multidisciplinary group of participants.

The session affirmed our conviction that facilitating structured conversations is the most valuable practice for embedding ethical principles within design curricula, moving away from the notion that practising ethics might be a simple case of ticking boxes and signing off fine print to eliminate or transfer risk. While the overarching concept of artistic intelligence was not addressed directly in the workshop space, we reflected on this throughout the conference and will summarise our thoughts here.

Contribution to a Reader which was created following and in response to the ELIA Biennial Conference 2024 Arts Plural, held 20–23 November, hosted by NABA, Nuova Accademia di Belle Arti in Milan, Italy. ELIA is Europe’s leading multidisciplinary network in higher arts education and research.