Torrance Center for Creativity @UGA
The Torrance Center for Creativity is an instructional, service, and research center based in the Mary Frances Early College of Education at the University of Georgia (UGA).
The Torrance Center for Creativity and Talent Development is a service, instructional, and research center based in the Mary Frances Early College of Education at the University of Georgia (UGA). The Torrance Center is dedicated to the nurturing and development of creative potential, which is present in all individuals, across the lifespan. The Torrance Center is renowned for its creative skill and talent development training programs for educators and other professionals, its innovative and discovery-oriented educational programs for children, and its public engagement events in the form of festivals and conferences that are open to the global community. The overarching goals of the Torrance Center are to investigate, evaluate, and implement techniques for enhancing creativity across domains of human enterprise and to increase creative literacy in the local, state, national, and international communities.
Programs & Activities
PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT EVENTS
- Torrance Festival of Ideas: This cultural festival is a platform where creative and innovative professionals across fields of human enterprise present their new exciting projects and innovative ideas to the general public. The creative spirit of Athens will be showcased in this open public engagement event.
- Torrance Lecture: The E. Paul Torrance Lecture, sponsored by the College of Education’s Torrance Center for Creativity and Talent Development, annually brings scholars and creative artists to UGA to discuss issues related to creativity. It was established in 1985 to honor Torrance, a native Georgian and pioneer in research on the identification and development of creative potential.
- Torrance Conferences: The Torrance Center runs special conference events that focus on topics and themes of relevance to creativity. These events are open to the community at large and feature expert perspectives from scholars, educators, artists, and entrepreneurs.
PROFESSIONAL LEARNING COURSES
The Torrance Center offers training and expertise on a variety of topics on teaching for creativity and creativity in education using multidisciplinary perspectives. We offer flexible professional training tailored to fit the needs of your district, company, or organization.
EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS
Hosted on UGA’s campus, the Creative Explorers Camp is a Summer day camp for rising 3rd-5th graders. We will offer multiple sessions across May, June, and July of 2025. Creative Explorers can expect a highly stimulating and engaging curriculum in state-of-the-art specialty topics they would not typically experience in their regular school settings. Our instructors are trained to use research-driven, creative strategies in the classroom while teaching courses that are innovative, interdisciplinary, imaginative, and project-based.