Words by Molly McGreevy

'There is something very meta about talking to people who get up at 8am, about curiosity.' Says Lindsey Green, co-founder of Frankly, Green + Webb.

There is something very curious about this CreativeMornings Sheffield, people have to climb a grand spiral staircase up two floors before arriving in an art studio and workshop space. Alongside the usual coffee and breakfast, there are a selection of wooden objects to explore at the back of the room. People are asked to wear white gloves, handle the objects and guess what they think these museum artefacts might be used for.

For Lindsey’s talk on curiosity, CreativeMornings Sheffield was at the home of main sponsor for 2018, the Sheffield Institute of Arts (SIA). Sheffield’s Old Post Office was transformed by the university in 2015, and now one of the city’s most iconic buildings acts provides a gallery, studio and event spaces, and teaching rooms for Hallam’s arts students.

The SIA is a fitting venue for Lindsey’s talk, she has been working within arts, digital and learning since 1998. Lindsey co-founded Frankly, Green + Webb, a digital agency working with cultural organisations all over the world to design products, experiences and services that integrate digital and physical elements. Part tech sceptic and user advocate, Lindsey’s focus is on creative but practical experiences that delight visitors and deliver measurable impact.

“It’s part of our evolution to keep being curious about things but it’s not always easy to be curious” says Lindsey, whose work with Frankly, Green and Webb has taken her to cultural organisations across the globe, including the Science Museum, the Van Gogh Museum, Scottish Ballet and the V&&.

Frankly, Green and Webb works to help people become open to new experiences by creating spaces where people feel confident and safe. “In museums terms that is letting people know it’s okay not to know stuff.’ For Lindsey focusing your curiosity is about the right question, not the right answer.

Throughout the talk we hear about how cultural organisations help to shape visitor experiences, including the ballet which upgrades first time visitors from the often cheap seats they have booked to one with a better view. Lindsey ends her talk with a revelation – her museum artefacts, which creatives had been guessing the use of, had actually been made by her husband, Johnny Tyson the curious force behind Fallen Giants – ‘We design and make enduring contemporary furniture from found wood. Every piece of wood has a potential use, and finding that use is our job.'

We would like to thank Lindsey Green of Frankly, Green and Webb, for speaking, and the Sheffield Institute of Arts for providing the venue and breakfast.