The Occupational Philosophers - A not-so-serious business podcast to spark Creativity, Imagination and Curiosity

If a Museum Curator explored your Organisational Culture, what would they display?

The Occupational Philosophers | Episode 123 - Jenny Theolin

Jenny Theolin is a Stockholm-based designer, facilitator, curator, photographer and author. She spent her twenties and early thirties running an independent creative practice in London before taking her studio back to Stockholm. Since 2009, she's run Studio Theolin, designing learning experiences, keynotes and culture programmes for organisations including Volvo Cars, the European Parliament and the London Stock Exchange.

In 2023 she wrote, curated, designed and personally financed Dare to Facilitate: 320 pages, 120 dares and 39 contributors across nine countries. Along the way, she's built exhibitions out of ideas most people would dismiss, including a lolcat art show that raised over £4,000 for a dogs and cats home and a global campaign for Comic Sans's 20th birthday.

If that's not enough, she's also the founder of the Museum of Organisational Culture.

The conversation starts with how someone who does almost everything makes sense of it (her answer: making ideas happen, and getting shit done). From there it's the importance of aggressive curiosity and the Museum of Organisational Culture: a growing collection of donated objects that make an organisation's invisible culture visible, from a staff T-shirt to the office fruit bowl that vanished in the pandemic.

Behind it sits Curatology, her method for reading organisational culture the way a curator reads a collection, in four steps: Choose, Uncover, Interpret, Open. Then her marvellous book, Dare to Facilitate, her exhibitions, and how she designs events from the invitation onwards. 

John and Simon hope you enjoy the show as much as they enjoyed making it. It's the reason they started this show - interesting, cool and creative people who have taken the path less travelled and kicked arse!

Timestamps

• 00:00 – What's caught your curious eye: vertical drinking and the V&A East Storehouse
• 00:04 – Meet Jenny (and the intro that made Simon and John feel inadequate)
• 00:07 – Sweden's missing summer and being aggressively curious
• 00:12 – Dinner party questions: tufting, ceramics, photo lunches and building your own communities
• 00:22 – The Venn diagram: making ideas happen
• 00:27 – The Museum of Organisational Culture and curatology
• 00:37 – A protest T-shirt and the vanishing office fruit bowl
• 00:40 – Dare to Facilitate, and a game of "dare or dare"
• 00:47 – Designing learning from the first invite, and why little learning happens in the room
• 00:56 – Thought experiment: musée or not musée?
• 01:05 – The LOLcat exhibition
• 01:10 – Rapid fire, what's next, and where to find Jenny

Pre-order Jenny's book! 

• The Museum You Carry (pre-order): https://www.museumoforganisationalculture.com/the-book 

Live links 

Jenny Theolin

• Studio Theolin: https://www.studiotheolin.com 
• The Museum of Organisational Culture: https://www.museumoforganisationalculture.com 
• Dare to Facilitate: https://www.studiotheolin.com/shop/p/dare-to-facilitate-buy 
• The Curatologist (Substack): https://thecuratologist.substack.com 
• Toolbox Toolbox: https://www.toolboxtoolbox.com 
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennytheolin/ 

People & Work Mentioned

• V&A East Storehouse: https://www.vam.ac.uk/east/storehouse/visit 
• Abracademy: https://abracademy.com 
• Hyper Island: https://www.hyperisland.com 
• BBC on Jenny's LOLcat exhibition: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/technology-21166326 
• Charlie Mackesy, The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/439667/the-boy-the-mole-the-fox-and-the-horse-by-charlie-mackesy/9781529105100 
• Museum of Broken Relationships: https://brokenships.com 
• Cup Noodles Museum Osaka Ikeda: https://www.cupnoodles-museum.jp/en/osaka_ikeda/ 
• Crocodile Harry's Underground Nest & Dugout: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/crocodile-harry-s-underground-nest-dugout 
• The National Poo Museum: https://poomuseum.org 

The Occupational Philosophers

• Website: https://www.occupationalphilosophers.com 
• Substack: https://occupationalphilosophers.substack.com 
• John — Bowland Consulting: https://www.bowlandconsulting.com 
• Simon — https://www.simonbanks.com.au

Standout Line

"There's a museum for absolutely everything apart from the place where we are most of our working lives."

 

As always: Stay curious, play more, have fun, make stuff, and as you leave the door, date life.

How play, creativity and self-belief can change the world with Ash Perrin 

In a reboot episode with one of their favourite guests (aren't they all favourites?), The Occupational Philosophers revisit their chat with global humanitarian, childhood conservationist, lifelong play enthusiast and founder of The Flying Seagull Project, Ash Perrin. 

Since 2008, The Flying Seagull Charity Project has brought love, light and laughter to more than 200,000 children in 23 countries across four continents in challenging and desperate situations, including hospitals, orphanages and refugee camps. They use clowning, magic, games and arts workshops to replace fear and uncertainty with positive human connections based on respect, happiness and laughter.

Ash is the author of ‘The Real Play Revolution’,  a TED Speaker and an all-around creative and joyous person. 

In this episode, they explore: 

• How play is a universal feeling of liberation, creativity and expression and a safety net for learning 
• Why the world is just waiting for your amazing ideas 
• How to bring 'play' into the workplace that doesn't make you feel like an idiot 
• That the best ideas and the most stupid ideas come out of the same well 
• If you are below the age of 99, being asked to grow up is an act of violence

They also dive into: 

• The emergence of the Monkey Christ 
• Why neckties should be banned unless fluorescent
• The board of brilliance and the bucket of goodbyes  

As always, there are some great thought experiments such as: 

• If I were Prime Minister.....
• Is this a real job or not? (Surf barista anyone?) 

Links

• The Flying Seagull Project https://www.theflyingseagullproject.com/
• The Real Play Revolution (book) https://www.amazon.com/Real-Play-Revolution-Need-Silly/dp/1786782235 
• Ash Perrin Ted Talk https://www.ted.com/talks/ash_perrin_the_power_of_play?language=en 
• Check out the Bus https://www.facebook.com/flyingseagulls/posts/3741712149233070 

The Occupational Philosophers

• Website: https://www.occupationalphilosophers.com 
• Substack: https://occupationalphilosophers.substack.com 
• John — Bowland Consulting: https://www.bowlandconsulting.com 
• Simon — simonbanks.com.au: https://www.simonbanks.com.au
• Simon Showreel: 

Standout Line

"It is not the fault of the artist, it is the fault of the person who commissioned the artist!" 

As always: 
Stay curious, play more, have fun, make stuff, and as you leave the door, date life as always, stay curious, play more, have fun, make stuff, and as you leave the door, date life. 

 

 

 

How to be a better Public Speaker with Dr Lousie Mahler. 

(This is a reboot of episode 71, recorded a few years back - and one of our favourites)

Dr Louise is the polymath's polymath and is recognised as a Top 30 Global Guru in both Body Language and Communication.

She was an Opera singer for 10 years with the Vienna State Opera. 

Louise’s qualifications include B.Econ; B. Mus; Post Grad Dip Music; L.Mus.A; Master of Applied Science in Organisational Change and a Master Practitioner in Neuro-Linguistic Programming. 

She has completed an award-winning PhD around the unsung wisdom of the mind-body-voice connection she named Vocal Intelligence.

She is a sought-after commentator discussing leadership, body language and effective presentation on television, radio and in the media. Her recent interviews with Channel 7 where she analyses the body language of Harry and Meghan Sussex have over 2 million views.

Louise's clients include Fortune 500 clients around the globe. 

Louise was voted Keynotes Speaker of the Year in 2021 by the Professional Speakers Association and is the author of "Resonate: for people who need to be heard" 

She is the virtuoso of the voice, the high priestess of hot air and the femme fatale of unfailing attraction. 

In this episode we explore: 

• The importance of breathing out (not just in) 
• Why we all need to channel ancient Rome and have way more Grrrrrrrravitas 
• Why communication should not just be a linear give and receive 
• Why we need to stop making excuses for communication (including being left-handed) 
• How we need to embrace Move, Move, Move 
• How wit and levity are wingmen for all types of communication 
• Why it's important to be an active listener, not just a passive listener
• The importance of saying ‘yes, please!’ more often

More about Louise

https://louisemahler.com.au/

 

Say Hello

www.occupationalphilosophers.com

Their day jobs

• JOHN: https://www.bowlandconsulting.com/
• SIMON: www.simonbanks.com.au
• SIMON SHOWREEL: https://youtu.be/YZQdJI6qGvg

 

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SHOW NOTES

In this short, sharp Inbetweener episode, The Occupational Philosophers continue to delve back into some highlights from the first 100 episodes and some sage advice from guests who have helped populate the ‘Maniguesto’ tree…

• Ian Gilbert…Do things no-one else does
• Mike Parsons …If you want to transform the world, start by transforming yourself
• Professor David Cropley….Creativity is like spinach!
• Tiffany Markman….In order to be creative, don’t be an insular arsehole …or asshole….
• Dr Barbara Doran ….Draw, use your hands
• Tim Vaughan-Hughes….Fail again but fail better
• Jemma Enright….Stay curious

They hope you enjoy the show. 

 

FYI: The Inbetweeners episodes are just that - smaller episodes 'in between' the longer format episodes designed to give a fruity burst of energy to enable you to be the most curious, creative and imaginative cat you can be - and have some fun in the process.

 

References:

https://www.independentthinking.co.uk/speakers/ian-gilbert/

https://www.moonshots.io/

https://people.unisa.edu.au/David.Cropley

https://tiffanymarkman.co.za/

https://www.barbaradoran.org/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/tim-vaughan-hughes

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jemmaenright

 

Say Hello

www.occupationalphilosophers.com

 

Their day jobs:

 

JOHN: https://www.bowlandconsulting.com/

SIMON: www.simonbanks.com.au

SIMON SHOWREEL: https://youtu.be/YZQdJI6qGvg

Why Movement Changes How You Think | Nuggets With Peter Lovatt

The Occupational Philosophers | Episode 120

Nuggets With Dr Peter Lovatt — Dance Psychologist and the show's very first-ever guest.

John and Simon launch a new segment, likely the poorly named 'Nuggets', by digging back into the archive and pulling out the three ideas (nuggets) from Peter's original episode: what movement does to thinking, why dancing first beats thinking first, and why fear of judgement quietly kills creativity and curiosity.

Timestamps

00:00 — Intro to the show and the new Nuggets segment

00:01 — Meet Dr Peter Lovatt, the show's first-ever guest

00:02 — Idea 1: Movement and thinking — structured movement for convergent problems, improvised movement for divergent ones

00:03 — Idea 2: "Dance first, think later" and how movement disrupts default thinking patterns

00:05 — Idea 3: The fear of being judged, and how it shuts down dance, creativity and curiosity alike

00:07 — Thought experiment: encouraging more movement inside your organisation

00:07 — Practical experiment: designing your day for multiple moments of movement

00:08 — Wrap-up with a Nietzsche quote on movement and ideas

00:09 — Subscribe and outro

Find out more 

Peter Lovatt

https://peterlovatt.com

https://academy.doctordance.com

https://peterlovatt.com/the-dance-cure

https://x.com/DrPeterLovatt

 

The Occupational Philosophers

https://www.occupationalphilosophers.com

https://occupationalphilosophers.substack.com

https://www.bowlandconsulting.com

https://www.simonbanks.com.au

 

Key Ideas

Convergent Problems Get Structure, Divergent Problems Get Wiggle — Lovatt's advice for revision was to match the movement to the thinking task: structured movement like running sharpens convergent, single-answer problem solving, while loose, improvised movement (his "bit of a John Travolta") loosens up divergent thinking for open-ended, creative problems.

Dance First, Think Later — Lovatt's central claim reverses the usual order of operations. Moving first, before you've worked out what to think, breaks your existing thought patterns and forces the brain into new territory rather than looping the same ideas.

Movement Changes Your State Immediately — Beyond the cognitive shift, moving also changes how you feel in the moment, through the endorphins it releases. The state change is instant, whether or not the movement ever tips into actual dancing.

The Fear of Being Judged Is the Real Blocker — Dance gets written off early as something only children do, or something you need to be brilliant at to attempt. That same fear of judgement, not a lack of ability, is what stops most adults from dancing, singing, or making anything at all.

The Fear Shows Up in the Boardroom Too — The same self-consciousness that stops someone dancing in public is what stops them asking a question in a meeting. Teams that don't challenge assumptions or chase breakthrough moments are often just as afraid of looking silly as a nervous dancer is.

Standout Line

"Dance first, think later. It's the natural order."

The Art of Asking Great Questions (and how not to lose it)

The Occupational Philosophers | Episode 119 - Larry Robertson 

Larry Robertson is an author, innovation advisor, and Inc. Magazine columnist and founder of Lighthouse Consulting, where he's spent three decades helping organisations successfully manage growth. He's a graduate of Stanford and Northwestern's Kellogg School of Management; he was named a US Fulbright Scholar in 2021, (a rare distinction for someone working outside academia). If that's not enough, he's also an Adjunct Professor! 

In his work, he's watched the world drift away from real questions and toward statements dressed up as questions, which, unsurprisingly, is the subject of his fourth book, Great Question: The Art of the Ask. This episode dives into what that lack of curiosity can cost us. Importantly, the book explores what we get back when we relearn the practice of noticing, intellectual humility, and the "adjacent possible" as a way of seeing what's one step from where we already are. It also unearths the bigger question of what it means to be human. 

Larry is possibly the world's nicest man, and Simon and John hope you enjoy listening to the show as much as they did recording it. There are so many gems here. 

Timestamps

• 00:00 – What's caught your curious eye and Simon's favourite artwork story
• 00:08 – Larry's curious eye: yellow finches, and the joy of seeing
• 00:13 – Dinner party questions: The big question Larry keeps circling back to
• 00:20 – Larry's Venn diagram, and his to-ask list (with an assist from Mary Oliver)
• 00:25 – Where the new book started: the pattern across his first three books
• 00:29 – The 25-year observation: statements replacing real questions
• 00:32 – Four things a question is: an invitation, a frame, a behaviour, an identity
• 00:37 – Noticing versus the practiced noticer
• 00:40 – Stuart Kauffman and the adjacent possible
• 00:43 – Slow looking, the National Gallery, and Claire Bown's "The Art Engager"
• 00:47 – Training medical students by having them diagnose art
• 00:50 – Intellectual humility: the Hero's Journey, three levels, and the mantras for practicing it
• 00:58 – Warm data versus cold data, and reframing the data-centre problem
• 01:02 – Why the book matters: mattering, meaning, and being a questioning species
• 01:07 – Jeopardy! Possibly the world's best ever thought experiment
• 01:13 – Rapid fire: the manifesto addition, plus book and film recommendations
• 01:18 – What's next for Larry, and where to find him

Live Links

Larry Robertson

• Website: https://lrspeaks.com/
• Great Question: The Art of the Ask (Amazon): https://www.amazon.com/Great-Question-Getting-More-Really/dp/0983757461
• Lighthouse Consulting: https://lighthouse-consulting.com
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/larryrobertson3rd/
• Column — Inc. Magazine: https://www.inc.com/author/larry-robertson

People & Work Mentioned

• World Peace Game Foundation (Robin Klingler): https://worldpeacegame.org/
• Stuart Kauffman, theoretical biologist and originator of "the adjacent possible": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stuart_Kauffman
• Claire Brown — The Art Engager / Thinking Museum: https://thinkingmuseum.com/
• Project Zero, Harvard Graduate School of Education: https://pz.harvard.edu/
• Centre for BrainHealth, UT Dallas (art-based medical student training): https://centerforbrainhealth.org/
• Temple Grandin: An Open Door (documentary): https://www.templegrandindocumentary.com/

The Occupational Philosophers

• Website: https://www.occupationalphilosophers.com
• Substack: https://occupationalphilosophers.substack.com
• John — Bowland Consulting: https://www.bowlandconsulting.com
• Simon — simonbanks.com.au: https://www.simonbanks.com.au

Standout Line

"What will you realise soon that you already know?"

As always: 
Stay curious, play more, have fun, make stuff, and as you leave the door, date life as always, stay curious, play more, have fun, make stuff, and as you leave the door, date life. 

In Episode 118,The Occupational Philosophers dive into a totally different format! Together with Natasha Redman, host of the very popular‘Casa De Cambio’ podcast, they have created their first ‘mash up’ podcast episode which invites them to be both guests and hosts to each other on one show!

In this episode they explore a wide range of topics including:

• What’s the best Quentin Tarantino movie?
• What was the best career advice you’ve ever received?
• What have John and Simon learned about curiosity in over 100 episodes?
• Who are the 4 horsemen of Nirvana?
• Why saying ‘I don’t know’ is so powerful
• How to stay curious (even when under pressure)
• What questions should organisations be wrestling with today?
• How should any change initiative start?
• How can you implement changes when ‘all is in flux’?
• If you change all the planks of the ‘Ship of Theseus’, is it still the ‘Ship of Theseus’?
• Where do organisations struggle when it comes to change?
• The danger of ‘Toxic positivity’ and how to counter it
• Why ‘pet projects’ can derail change programmes
• What is the secret of the universe….sorry….scrub that, wrong podcast

And as ever, enjoy the Thought Experiment …this time it’s:

• Who’s in the house?

About Natasha Redman 

Natasha Redman is an experienced change practitioner and project professional, with a proven track record in system implementations, organisational change initiatives and large-scale transformations. She has managed change initiatives at Australia’s biggest companies (including ANZ, Telstra, Australia Post, Accenture, NAB, Newcrest), holds multiple certifications and is well versed in both agile and waterfall delivery methods.

Natasha’s passion for all things change led to her creating and hosting a successful podcast about change, technology, innovation and leadership.

 

Learn more about Natasha 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/natasharedman/

https://www.casadecambio.com.au/

 

References

https://www.thethe.com/

https://www.amazon.com/World-Needs-Your-Art-Creativity/dp/1683503732

https://conneradvisory.com/daryl-conner/

Bad Boy Bubby

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0106341/

 

Casa De Cambio - Free webinar 9th July

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/changify_agile-changemanagement-erptransformation-activity-7475121753778806785-K9ax?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAAABIFFkBQKyN-YVNoL5dWZCukKlPAEKDwCI

 

John and Simon hope you enjoy the show as much as they enjoyed making it. It's the reason they started this show - interesting, cool and creative people who have taken the path less travelled and kicked arse! 

Say Hello to the OP 

www.occupationalphilosophers.com

Their day jobs

JOHN www.bowlandconsulting.com
SIMON www.simonbanks.com.au

 

The Occupational Philosophers  |  Episode 117  |  With Jasper Vallance

Jasper Vallance is a social entrepreneur who left his corporate life at Google to create a life of meaning driven by his passions. As an event architect, he became the founder of Australia's largest sober dance party. 

He has taken what he learned at Burning Man to rethink what corporate gatherings could actually do for people. This episode is about why many company events don't work and what intentional gathering looks like when it's done right.

In this episode, they cover the collapse of Friday drinks, the WeWork meltdown (yes, that one), and why alcohol has never actually been the social lubricant we think it is.

Timestamps

• 05:00 – Guest intro: Jasper Vallance
• 07:30 – Burning Seed relaunch — Cosmic Canyon
• 10:24 – Burning Man 101: it's 10 principles
• 12:19 – Dinner Party Round begins
• 12:41 – What's giving you joy? Who inspires you? 
• 16:12 – Big question: can the magic of Burning Man translate to company events?
• 20:49 – Why Jasper is always in costume and why that matters
• 21:22 – The secret sauce: costumes do what alcohol does, without the damage
• 22:20 – Google, 2007, and what the digital age did to human connection
• 26:01 – How Burning Man changed his life
• 27:42 – How Xstatic Sunsets was born: the natural high through dance
• 28:22 – Walking the talk: how do you actually create belonging?
• 30:15 – The welcome experience: hugs, costumes, facilitators
• 31:42 – The corporate opportunity: what if the CEO wore a chicken outfit?
• 33:00 – Storytelling starts before people arrive and the art of building anticipation
• 35:14 – Thought Experiment: Jasper Vallance, Event Detective
• 51:44 – Rapid fire: one thing you couldn't live without
• 53:04 – Dr. Peter Lovatt: dance first, think later
• 56:19 – What's next: Burning Seed and Immersive8
• 57:42 – Where to find Jasper online
• 58:50 – Post-show reflections: John and Simon on the art of gathering

Key Ideas

Purpose before planning. Most corporate events treat purpose as an afterthought. Jasper argues it should be the first thing locked in — not as a value statement, but as a lived experience the event is designed to create.

Participation over presentation. Burning Man works because everyone is in the action. The moment people become spectators, you lose them. Same applies to company offsites.

Costumes do what alcohol does, without the damage. They lower inhibitions, break social hierarchies, and give people permission to play. Jasper has proven this at scale.

The welcome is everything. The first point of contact sets the entire tone. Not an icebreaker on a slide. An actual human welcome that makes people feel like they belong.

Passions connect people across silos. Ask everyone what they love doing outside work. Cyclists ride together. Cooks cook together. Then they come back with something real in common.

Post-COVID, Friday drinks aren't coming back. Younger generations want to go home. The social fabric of the office has changed. The answer isn't to recreate the old model — it's to reimagine what connection looks like now.

Standout Line

"I have guys coming up at the end of the night going, 'I almost had a drink before I came in, but I'm so glad I didn't.' That is the experience I'm trying to deliver."

Live Links

Jasper Vallance
- Personal site: https://www.jaspervallance.com 
- Immersive8 (corporate events agency): https://immersive8.agency 
- Xstatic Sunsets (sober dance parties): https://www.xstaticsunsets.com 

People & Movements Mentioned
- Peter Sharp & The Liberators: https://www.theliberators.org 
- Peter Sharp (personal site): https://www.petersharp.com.au 
- Dr. Peter Lovatt (dance psychologist, Episode 4/5): https://www.drpeterdance.com 

Events & Festivals
- Burning Man: https://burningman.org 
- Burning Seed (Australian regional Burning Man event): https://www.burningseed.com 
- Blazing Swan (WA regional burn): https://blazingswan.com.au 
- Elsewhere (the successor to Nowhere, Spain's European burn): https://nobodies.team 
- Bali Spirit Festival: https://www.balispiritfestival.com 

Events Referenced
- Fyre Festival — Netflix documentary: https://www.netflix.com/title/81035279 
- WeWork: Or the Making and Breaking of a $47 Billion Unicorn — documentary: https://www.hulu.com/movie/wecrashed-the-rise-and-fall-of-wework-documentary 
- Woodstock 99: Peace, Love, and Rage — Netflix documentary: https://www.netflix.com/title/81258733 

Get in Touch: The Occupational Philosophers
- Website: https://www.occupationalphilosophers.com 
- Substack: https://occupationalphilosophers.substack.com
- John: Bowland Consulting: https://www.bowlandconsulting.com
- Simon: https://www.simonbanks.com.au 

 

In this episode 114, the Occupational Philosophers chat with the wonderfully curious Professor Katherine Boydell. 

Katherine is an internationally recognised leader in qualitative inquiry and arts-based knowledge translation in mental health and social care with innovative approaches to create knowledge and translate empirical research using arts-based methods, including art installations. 

She is the founder and head of the award-winning Arts-based Knowledge Translation Lab at Black Dog Institute and Director, Knowledge Translation, Maridulu Budyari Gumal – Sydney Partnership for Health Education Research and Enterprise. 

She was appointed as a Fellow of the prestigious Australian Academy of Social Sciences in 2020.

She is Vice-President of the Arts & Health Network of NSW/ACT and is Executive Editor of the Arts & Health journal and Associate Editor of Early Intervention in Psychiatry.

She has been a Visiting Professor at the University of Wollongong, University of Sydney, Rotterdam Arts & Science Lab, Radboud University, and Singapore Art Museum.

She has published over 300 peer-reviewed journal articles, book chapters and books as well as other arts-based outputs such as research-based installations and exhibits and two PhDs. 

Her recent book, Applying Body Mapping in Research: An Arts-Based Method, brings together years of practice using this powerful participatory technique across health and social care settings around the world.

This is some impressive stuff! 

In this episode, they explore a wide range of topics including:

• What sparked Katherine's passion for arts-based research
• The Salon des Refusés: The alternative Archibald Prize exhibition
• Abstract painting, layering, and what lies underneath
• Five grandsons and the joy of childlike curiosity
• What actually counts as evidence in research?
• How Katherine's lab uses art to create AND share knowledge
• ReBloom: An interactive digital installation about self-harm, hope and human connection
• Body mapping: tracing, filling, and telling stories through the body
• Taking research-based art into shopping centres and office lobbies with Dexus
• The Think, Feel, Do framework for measuring impact
• Deep looking and why we need more of it
• Arts on prescription and the therapeutic consequences of engaging with art
• Why the funding still hasn't caught up with the evidence

Chapters 

• 0:00 Opening quote: Embrace Messiness
• 0:26 Intro & Guest Introduction
• 0:44 Introducing Professor Katherine Boydell
• 3:03 Curious Eye: The Salon des Refusés
• 5:05 Dinner Party Round
• 13:15 Arts-Based Research: What Katherine Does
• 17:37 ReBloom: Arts & Self-Harm Research
• 29:48 Body Mapping Explained
• 36:59 Dexus Partnership & Public Installations
• 43:23 Wrap-Up & Rapid Fire Questions
• 48:59 Post-Show Reflections

John and Simon hope you enjoy the show as much as they enjoyed making it. It's the reason they started this show - interesting, cool and creative people who have taken the path less travelled and kicked arse! 

Learn more about Catherine

• Black Dog Institute
  https://www.blackdoginstitute.org.au/
• Arts-Based Knowledge Translation Lab (overview page)
  https://www.blackdoginstitute.org.au/research/
• Sydney Partnership for Health Education Research and Enterprise (SPHERE)
  https://www.thesphere.com.au/
• Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/in/katherine-boydell-87b3867/ 
• Arts and Health Journal: https://www.tandfonline.com/journals/rahe20
• Rebloom Project https://www.uts.edu.au/news/2025/10/rebloom-how-an-art-installation-is-changing-conversations-about-self-harm

Mentions

• Archibald Prize
  https://www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au/prizes/archibald/
• Salon des Refusés
  https://www.salonrefuses.com.au/ 
• Art Gallery of New South Wales
  https://www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au/
• Daisy Fancourt
  The Art Cure
  https://www.penguin.com.au/books/art-cure-9781529935547https://www.penguin.co.uk/
• World Health Organisation – What is the evidence on the role of the arts in improving health and well-being? A scoping review
  https://www.who.int/europe/publications/i/item/9789289054553
• Arts & Health Journal
  https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/rahe20/current
• Early Intervention in Psychiatry
  https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/17517893

Say Hello to the OP 

www.occupationalphilosophers.com

Their day jobs

• JOHN Bowland Consulting
• SIMON www.simonbanks.com.au
• SIMON SHOWREEL 

In Episode 116,The Occupational Philosophers chat with Tim Simpson, creative director of Plunge Creations, a company probably best known for being the imaginative powerhouse in designing and making the costumes for ‘The Masked Singer UK’. 

In this episode they explore a wide range of topic including:

• Why pencil and paper beats working on a laptop
• How imagination focuses on what’s important to you
• Where to scribble your most creative ideas…clue, it’s not the front of an envelope
• Whether a 10m cat is ever a good idea
• The creative process which brings the magic of Plunge Creations to life 
• How problem solving is a key skill which underpins the creative process
• How to tap into everyone’s bright ideas
• Is it ever possible to ‘price in the love’ on a creative project for a client?
• How might the education system better prioritise creativity?
• What might teams do to innovate and generate new ideas?
• Would the London Marathon be improved if everyone were dressed up?

And as ever, enjoy the Thought Experiment …this time it’s:

• Who’s that behind the mask?

About Tim Simpson

As well as creating bold & crazy designs for the Masked Singer, which is one of the UK's biggest family entertainment shows and a show which has global fame, Tim and his team at Plunge also craft jaw-dropping props for cinema and TV, including for ‘The Traitors’; again another global phenomenon.

For the latest Wicked movie, they created a stunning sculpture in St Pancras International station in London, which drew you in to an adventure into the enchanting world of Wicked, bringing the Emerald City to life, with immersive details, and magical surprises - this takes your breath away when you first see it!

He is a creative all rounder, equally at home behind the computer, designing and visualising a project, or in the workshop, working alongside the team. 

He is the Willy Wonka of design, creativity, magic, who lives in a world of pure imagination!

 

Learn more about Tim

• https://www.plungecreations.co.uk/
• https://www.linkedin.com/company/plunge-productions/posts/?feedView=all

 

References

• David Bowie - https://lightroom.uk/
• Leatherwork - https://www.wolframlohr.com/
• Masked Singer UK - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Masked_Singer_(British_TV_series)_series_7
• Playtime movie - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0062136/
• People’s Pyramid - https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/whats-on/whats-on-news/gallery/new-bricks-laid-people-build-32930136.amp

 

John and Simon hope you enjoy the show as much as they enjoyed making it. It's the reason they started this show - interesting, cool and creative people who have taken the path less travelled and kicked arse! 

Say Hello to the OP 

www.occupationalphilosophers.com

Their day jobs

JOHN www.bowlandconsulting.com
SIMON www.simonbanks.com.au