KArtsCon2026 Schedule - Kent Arts Conference

Below is the tentative schedule for KArtsCon2026. Times and activities may be changed in the final line-up due to unforeseen exigencies.

All main events will take place in The Medway School of Arts campus on the Historic Dockyard Chatham.

2026 Schools Art Competition: 14 JULY 2026
Time	Plenary Room
17:00	Registration and Networking
17:30	Official Welcome – Dr Julian Ng
18:00	Closing Notes; Certificate Presentation

DAY 1: 15 JULY 2025
Time	Plenary Room
08:30	Conference Registration and Networking
09:00	Official Welcome – Dr Julian Ng and Dr David Stokes
09:10	Michi Masumi – Going Beyond the AI Prompt
09:40	WORKSHOP: Clare Dash – Drawing a Healing Dialogue with the Body: An Experiential Somatic Drawing Workshop
10:30	*Short Break (10 mins)*
10:40	Karthiga Ratnam – Art as Conversational Ontology: Meaning, Interpretation, and Dialogue Across Human-AI Systems
11:10	Deirdre Kashdan – Art as a Catalyst for Conversation
11:40	Sumita Chauhan – Photography and visual transformation using a smartphone camera: a creative project for older adults
12:10	Day 1 Group Photograph and Lunch (80 minutes)
13:30	Richard Allaway – Autoethnographic Unearthing: The Language of Soil Voice
13:55	David Stokes: TBC
14:25	*Coffee Break (20 mins)*
14:45	Presenter TBC
15:30	WORKSHOP: Sophia Newton – The Art of Listening Through Movement
16:15	Bryan Hawkins – Multiple Conversations in an Arts Practice
16:45	Day 1 Closing Notes; Certificate Presentation
19:30	Kit the Musical by Julian Ng at The Spotlites Theatre, Chatham

DAY 2: 16 JULY 2026
Time	Plenary Room
08:30	Conference Registration and Networking
09:00	Official Welcome – Dr Julian Ng and Dr David Stokes
09:10	Luz Arriaga & Mariano Gilmore – Mi Casa – Su Casa
09:40	Umar Abdulrasheed – Ceramic Sculpture and the Conversation Between Land, Agriculture, and Art
10:10	Tom Grey – Can AI Make Art?
10:40	*Short Break (10 mins)*
10:50	Peter Kaune – Dienstreise (Business Trip)
11:20	Adeniyi Olusola Morolahun – Theatre, Storytelling and Communication
11:50	Day 2 Group Photograph and Lunch (80 minutes)
13:10	Julian Ng – Marlowe: A Conversation People Would Rather Not Start
13:40	*Coffee Break (20 mins)*
14:00	WORKSHOP: Olubunmi Elizabeth Ebisemiju & Samuel Ogundapo – Music Therapy: Activating Non-Verbal Dialogue through Sound and Visual Expression
14:45	*Short Films* – Waleed Yahya Mirza – Echoes of the Mind: Empowering Silence, Amplifying Voices – Hassam Qureshi – Even Dreams Require Blood
15:00	Short Break
15:20	WORKSHOP: Maxyne Ryan – The Wellbeing Vocal Workshop®️ starting a conversation about joy through live music & singing
16:10	Café Book Reading
16:45	Day 2 Close; Certificate Presentation

DAY 3: 17 JULY 2026
Time	Plenary Room
08:30	Conference Registration and Networking
09:00	Official Welcome – Dr Julian Ng and Dr David Stokes
09:10	Olutayo Rawa – Cloth That Speaks: Adire Batik as Conversation Between Heritage and Contemporary Life
09:40	Bowen Tan – A Mechanism to Initiate and Sustain Conversations
10:10	*Short Break (10 mins)*
10:20	Pamela Hatton – From Picos to Parting Seas
10:50	WORKSHOP: Olalekan Agbaje – Beyond the Instrument: Translating African Music Through Western Strings
11:35	Day 3 Group Photo and Lunch (80 mins)
12:55	Juhi Rathi – Would You Start a Conversation?
13:25	Oladimeji Sodeke – Using Poetry and Writing to Navigate Difficult Conversations
14:10	*Short Break (10 mins)*
14:20	Nadia Perrotta – Murphy’s Adventures: Conversations from the Worlds We Build
14:50	WORKSHOP: Bill Lewis – The Hero’s Journey
15:35	*KArtsCon2026 End Notes &* Presentation of Certificates