creativity in context – Page 2 – Creativity in Context

Imagination is Grief Work

The last three newsletters have been germinating on what it takes to expose, understand and break down the systemic box, ending with the sentence: “There is no creativity without action.” This is an allusion to our working definition of creativity as imagination in action. So while creativity is an act, this also means that our creative actions are dependent on our imagination, i.e. we createContinue reading “Imagination is Grief Work”

The Systemic Box Won’t Dismantle Itself

Once you start to see all the ways the systemic box has been made to trap you, the impulse to break free of the box naturally arises. The question is: How? What does it really mean to think outside the box when the way we think has been shaped by that box? What does it take to tear down aContinue reading “The Systemic Box Won’t Dismantle Itself”

The Box is Made to Contain You

At the end of the last newsletter, I teased that we would move beyond questioning the systemic box to dismantling it, though there are many steps to that process. Seeing the box is the first step but that does not automatically translate to change. In fact, once you start to notice the existence of the box, you often beginContinue reading “The Box is Made to Contain You”

Thinking Outside the Systemic Box

When I ask people to define creativity, they inevitably use the phrase “to think outside of the box”, but this cliche always leaves me to wonder: What box? As I often tell my students: You can’t think outside the box if you don’t know you’re in one. If you want to create positive change in the world, then youContinue reading “Thinking Outside the Systemic Box”

You Can’t Change the World Alone

My last newsletter ended with a call to see the potential in what’s breaking apart, and boy did the world answer. It is truly amazing to take in how much has changed in just three weeks. The entire nation is engaged in a real conversation on police brutality and racism: more people than ever before are advocating for Black LivesContinue reading “You Can’t Change the World Alone”

Editing Reality

Reality is hard. There is no way around it. Especially now. Some people want to trick reality; skip the hard part and pretend it’s all okay, until reality rears its head and reminds us again just how hard it is (1). This pandemic has brought home the fact that there is no way but through, exceptContinue reading “Editing Reality”

The Creative Process of Healing

As this crisis continues to unfold, we’ve all had to sit with the fear that arises in the face of uncertainty. We each have our completely valid ways of coping, but to sustain living, we need to engage more deeply with the creative process of healing; to find ways to not just survive, but thrive. While this journeyContinue reading “The Creative Process of Healing”

Honoring Our Creative Survival

We are in survival mode, literally bunkered down as we wait out this crisis. Our freedom is limited, scarcity mindset is heightened, and our wellbeing is acutely critical. In times like these, it is best to take it one day at a time and not get caught up in the unknowable future. While this advice isContinue reading “Honoring Our Creative Survival”

The Creative Resilience of Community

These are uncertain times. When I spoke of hope as embracing uncertainty, I did not imagine the collective test we were all about to face. And yet, it is the creativity of community that is giving me hope in this moment. Community has always been very important to me (my only tattoo is in honor of my lifelongContinue reading “The Creative Resilience of Community”