Dear All,
We had our first Creativity & Culture 2017 follow up session today and as a result, we will be collaborating on writing the following 4 articles:
The Fruits and Failures of Creativity by Jesvir Mahil and Aryna Ryan
The Presence of Experts and Explorers in the Creative Space of Conferences. by Jesvir Mahil and Dr Annemieken Van Reepingen
We are always in the right place at the right time to be creative by Jesvir Mahil and Kerri Lake
Natural Creativity by Jesvir Mahil and Ariana Strozzi Mazzucchi
***** Remember to register for the Creativity & Culture Online Conference (2018) by clicking on this link: https://creativitycultureonlineconference2018.eventbrite.com
***** Our next follow up session is on Saturday 25 November 2017. If you would like to attend, please email me your preferred time between 9am and 9pm London time (GMT+1). We will discuss different themes around creativity and the possibility of collaborating to write more articles.
If you would like to collaborate with us in writing any of the articles listed above, please see short explanations about each of the themes here: Newsletter21October2017
Short explanation of the articles that we are currently working on:
- The Fruits and Failures of Creativity by Jesvir Mahil and Aryna Ryan
Business owners often say that they want “creative” employees. However, even though large corporations such as Google have the resources required to invest in their employees, generously giving them time and freedom to make mistakes, small business owners do not always have the resources required to absorb the failures of their employees without ruining their own business. So, they let their creative employees go when they prove to be too difficult to manage and apparently a liability rather than an asset.
Creativity entails risk-taking and resilience in the face of failure. Moreover, it may take time that the employer is unable or unwilling to invest. When employers ask for a “creative” employee, are they willing to pay for the mistakes that they will make, or are they merely expecting the fruits of creativity, on demand?
Aryna and I will be writing an article exploring this question. Please let us know if you have thoughts on this from your point of view as an educator, academic or entrepreneur/business owner.
- The Presence of Experts and Explorers in the Creative Space of Conferences. by Jesvir Mahil and Dr Annemieken Van Reepingen
In traditional Victorian style classrooms, a teacher or a lecturer positions themselves as the expert, telling, explaining or demonstrating their own knowledge in a one way communication system. On the other hand, modern classrooms advocate interactive teaching and learning where the teacher is no longer the font of all knowledge.
Even though modern technology offers us opportunities to be much more flexible in the way we communicate and learn, the majority of conferences still use the model where “expert” speakers impart their knowledge, as a monologue, to a predominantly passive audience. There is little scope for meaningful multi-directional interaction between the speaker and their audience. The position of the expert on the stage appears to be static whereas the position of the explorers in the audience implies a greater degree of dynamic receptivity and responsiveness to the external environment.
When expert speakers retain a degree of openness, as explorers, permeable to the influence of their audience, and acknowledge the expertise in their “explorer” audience, I believe the space of a conference can be better utilised to generate creativity.
Several years ago, after an EAHAE conference in Poland, Annemieken Van Reepingen and I wrote an article called Presence and Creativity
At the Creativity & Culture Conference (2017) Follow Up Session 1, today, we decided to write an article specifically about the “presence” of conference speakers in generating creativity, noting the dynamic interplay between “expert” and “explorer” in generating creativity.
If you have thoughts about the topic of “Presence & Creativity” and/or “Expert/Explorer” and would like to share your ideas, please let us know.
- We are always in the right place at the right time to be creative by Jesvir Mahil and Kerri Lake
Have you ever thought to yourself that if only you were lying on that sunny beach, drinking pina coladas, you’d be so much more creative? Kerri and I discussed our love of the Hawaiian islands and how we have both spent extensive periods of time there. Although these islands and other beauty spots have a significant impact on inspiring various kinds of creativity, based on our own experiences and observation of the plight of refugees and others who are forced to relocate and re-establish themselves in highly hostile environments, we conclude that in fact we are always in the right place at the right time to be creative. We do not need to wait for the next holiday or the next job or the next opportunity. Creativity requires resourcefulness. Wherever we are, is the perfect place for creativity.
We would love to include examples of how you experience yourself to be in the right place at the right time for creativity. Please email me if you would like to collaborate with us in this article.
- Natural Creativity by Jesvir Mahil and Ariana Strozzi Mazzucchi
Nature clearly demonstrates one of the essential principles of creativity; that it occurs in an environmental context and never in isolation or in a vacuum. Similarly, culture also survives and propagates through social contexts. You may argue that some cultures are more creative than others because they have left a deeper imprint in the world through artefacts, monuments and innovative technologies.
Ariana and I are both close to indigenous cultures that value “natural” creativity which does not necessarily leave a visible imprint. This is the creativity that keeps families together; the creativity that empowers us to grow our own food; the creativity that feels the impact of our actions on things we cannot hear, see or touch. Like a hurricane or a firestorm, this kind of natural creativity is not generated consciously but it can have a force that moves mountains.
Some cultures pride themselves on the creativity of their ancestors that left ancient monuments and others pride themselves on the creativity of their ancestors expressed through ingrained values leading to deep family & societal ties which keep them healthy, fulfilled and respected through old age.
If you would like to collaborate with me and Ariana, in writing an article which focuses on the natural creative force which keeps our families and societies together, please let me know.
Ms Jesvir Mahil
Director, University for Life
www.universityforlife.com
creativity@universityforlife.com