Creativity + Social Change

Community: Make a Change

2011-11-23T14:02:00.001-05:00

By Karen Faass
Creativity + Social Change
University of Connecticut

The Respect Quilt idea was brought to Cromwell Middle School to make anawareness of how some people are treated and that all individuals want to beaccepted. This was a “hands-on” activity involving every 8th grade student. Itwas the intent from the beginning to make this project student-driven. Wewanted all students to feel important and special in creating a piece of artthat brought a very serious message…respecting others. The students needed tosee that out of nothing (a blank quilt) so much can be accomplished if everyoneworks together. Much beauty can occur and positive changes can happen ... theyare the leaders and ... they can “make a change."

This very concept was used as a medium in promoting another project entitledOlweus. This program is designed to stop bullying and to bring an awareness ofthe devastating effect it has on individuals. Implementing this program is acontinuation of the solidarity in our school community to “make a change."

The programs do not stop there…conversations are taking place to havestudents make a video with regard to the Respect Quilt and “bullying” program.

Everyone is a part of this school community and, when working together, itbecomes healthier, stronger and cohesive for all. We can “make a change."

Commentary: Contribution to 'We Are the 99 Percent'

2011-11-14T21:19:00.001-05:00

By Matt Kilbourn
Creativity + Social Change
University of Connecticut
9 November 2011

We are lucky!
We have a healthy family.
I have a good union job and my wife works part-time.
We have benefits.
We are both educated.
We have shelter.
Layoffs?
Future?
Retirement?
We are the 99%. Thank you for all the Occupy Movements happening around the world! You are being heard.

Community as People

2011-11-14T21:15:00.001-05:00

By Matt Kilbourn
Creativity + Social Change
University of Connecticut

When you looked tired, we stepped in
   We gave you warmth
   You showered
   You ran laundry

When you were without, we stepped in
   You charged your devices
   You checked e-mails
   You checked the news

When you needed help, we stepped in
   We shared our heat
   We shared our showers
   We shared our laundry

When we need help, you lent your hand
   You helped with yard clean up
   We removed fallen branches
   We drove away the debris

We opened our home, Our home was your home
   Our shared home made you feel human again

We are friends, we are community

- November 2, 2011

Community as a Collaborative Home

2011-11-10T11:00:00.001-05:00

By Rachel Holden
Creativity + Social Change
University of Connecticut

Community as Shelter

2011-11-09T14:57:00.001-05:00

By Thomas Norman
Creativity + Social Change
University of Connecticut

Community as ...

Shelter. When I think of community it provides me with an image of shelter. A safe haven for those who dwell within the community and call it home. We are all familiar with the definition of home and most can relate to the reality of owning a home or have lived within one. However, there is a greater home that exist outside the comforts of our living rooms and bedrooms. We all dwell in some sort of community. Rather rural, suburban, or urban, or it can be a collection of individuals who share a common interest or some sort of goal. No matter the definition, one can relate a community to a having a family. Typically with family there is level of trust and commitment to the development and nurturing of the family. This concept also exist within the constructs of a community.

A community should embody the same concepts as family based on the premise that a community is a gathering of those who share a common lifestyle. When I think of the ideal community I envision a strong and solid structure capable of protecting its citizens, especially in those times of hardships. Shelter is something we all need to protect us from the natural elements of life. Rather from the rain or the coldness of winter, shelter is a necessity to ensure the safety of the occupants. Within communities there are occupants who are less fortunate than others and those who face difficult life situations. It is during these times that one should be able to lean on the pillars of the shelter that is the community. A community should embody the concept of shared sacrifice and shared responsibility. If one is without, the community should step in to ensure its occupant is provided with what he/she needs. This is what sustains a community and keeps a community viable and strong. A community must provide a trusting shelter to those who live within it. If one cannot depend on its shelter, he or she will find another and abandon the weakened shelter that was unfit to provide a safe dwelling.

There are many weak communities within our society. We have communities that are falling apart due to the lack of trust in that community. If someone does not believe in the community that they live in, why expect them to stay? If someone is living in a home in which they cannot trust the integrity of the roofing, then why would they stay to witness the roof collapse upon them? The same concept is relatable to communities. If one does not believe in the integrity of their community and does not trust the inhabits, then why should they continue to live and support the community in which they have no trust? Should they wait until the roof collapses on them as well? Should someone dwell within an area that they feel is unsafe and unfit for their children to be raised in? The community must be a shelter. Strong in structure and trusting in integrity. With a trusting shelter, a community can thrive and be a safe and lasting home for generations. I see a community as a roof and the residents as the families that dwell beneath it.

A community can provide many forms of support as long as the residents within the community embody the concept of shared responsibility. Each member of a community must contribute to the durability and strengthening of the community. If someone within the community becomes a weak link in the chain, the very next link must strengthen its hold so the links that follow will not lose integrity. There is strength in numbers and the more families we have dedicated to a community the better chance a community has at sustaining its relevance. Each member of a community must contribute to the strengthening of the shelter. Rather its brick by brick, meaning each member must take the time to develop relationships within the community, that way a genuine trust is develop.

With this trust development comes love. Love for one another is the shelter’s insurance policy. When and if the shelter begins to lose integrity, there will be something tangible that exist to keep the shelter together in the midst of the most troubling of times. Love is what keeps communities thriving for years and years. Once love is removed, the shelter is no longer insured to its inhabitants. Hatred and negativity will engulf the community and cause those who live within it to leave and seek new shelter within different communities. This is a theme all too familiar with many communities throughout our society. We have to rediscover a love for one another which will translate into our communities, and all those who have lost faith in our communities to return and invest in them.

Community as the Gift We Give Each Other

2011-11-09T14:52:00.002-05:00

By Juliet Kapsis
Creativity + Social Change
University of Connecticut

You give but little when you give your possessions, it is when you give of yourself that you truly give.
- Kahlil Gibran

Community as ...
Poetry
Grace
Meditation
Co-mingling
Coming Together
Synthesis
Connection
Communicating
Passion
Finding Common Ground
Listening
Sharing
GROWING
EVOLVING
Being of the people, by the people, for the people
Public
Shared by all
Fellowship
Common Ownership
Taking responsibility
THE GIFT WE GIVE EACH OTHER

Inside the Hooker Day Parade in Hartford on 10/22/11, marching w/BeatCityHoops

“Community: The origin of the word community comes from the Latin munus, which means the gift, and cum, which means together, among each other. So community literally means to give among each other.”(1)

Community as the Gift We Give Each Other

Rose from Elizabeth Park, Hartford, CT July 2011 by Juliet Kapsis

We have come into a whole new time and place as humans. This is a time and place where we are waking up to our true selves and what our purpose is on this planet. I can only speak for myself when I write that to contribute and feel connected are major goals of mine. Yes, there is much joy to experience in who I am and what it is I am doing. Yes, there is even more joy in sharing that with others, in sharing myself with others. Many readings that have been a part of this class thus far have also mentioned the joys that are shared when one has a sense of belonging with people and place.

In "Warrior Angel," Lily Yeh makes note of what it is to be “filled with a sense of community harmony, pride, and a genuine concern for others,” that this full feeling is what leads to connection, involvement and growth.(2) This is the kind of fullness we are hungry for. This growth is not just for the person involved, but for the city itself. While I was marching with the Beat City Hoop girls at the Hooker Day Parade this past Saturday, I exclaimed out loud that we were witnessing the beginnings of a city falling in love with itself (and my fellow marchers agreed!). This came out spontaneously and then I remembered that awesome Pier Giorgio Di Cicco who poured his little heart out about being creative and taking ownership for that act in one’s living space. “What does love have to do with it?” asks Di Cicco, and he answers that love has everything to do with a city being a living, breathing entity.(3)

What is it that you love about your city? Di Cicco argues that your quality of life depends on the quality of your love. We have many unique opportunities at this point in human evolution and one of these opportunities is ask what is it that we can do to create more harmony and more joy on this planet. What is it that I can do to contribute to my community? Asking questions and taking action is what it’s about. This action can be as simple as taking a walk around your neighborhood and appreciating what it is you are witnessing. I live on the same street as the motivational speaker, Dave O’Brien, from WorkChoice Solutions. Dave has a great way for us to call attention to being in the present moment by asking, what frequency am I on? AM or FM? FM stands for fear mode and AM is for Appreciation Mode. The power of appreciation is enough to uplift yourself and others around you. Contributing to your community is as easy as smiling to others, picking up litter on the side of the road, donating coats in coat drives. Contributing is frequenting local businesses, such as rockin’ out at the tea house Tisane that hosts funky dance nights on Wednesdays.

This idea of community as the gift that we give each other is one that is a celebration and recognition of contribution. We all have limitless gifts to contribute – there’s no need to hold back anymore. The reason why this idea of community matters is that it’s simple. There are no rules to learn and memorize, you don’t have to spend hours finding minimal pairs in Swedish or putting together a chart of the IPA characters for Polish. You don’t have to go any further than whatever it is that makes you, You. It’s awesome to read the tweets of a Waterbury-based music-promoter, DWI aka Dartz Wit Intellect, as well as those from other Nutmeggers promoting what they are passionate about. It’s fabulous to have a cup of java at JoJo’s on Pratt Street, while contemplating a visit to the Wadsworth or Real Art Ways. Or bring a friend and share rides on 97 year old carousel horses in Bushnell Park. All you have to do is be you and do what you like to do. It just gets bigger from there, because once we get a taste of what it feels like to be in an area that is loved by its citizens, we’ll desire more and more of that feeling of connection and contribution. It’s a gift we get to give to each other.

Calder’s Stegosaurus outside of Wadsworth Athenaeum in Hartford, CT, by Juliet Kapsis

(1) http://www.seek2know.net/word.html
(2) http://www.barefootartists.org/Lilys_Warrior_Angel_11_2.pdf
(3) Municipal Mind: Manifestos for the Creative City by Pier Giorgio Di Cicco

Community as Nurture

2011-11-09T14:39:00.001-05:00

By Eileen Ahlquist
Creativity + Social Change
University of Connecticut

When I think of community, a metaphor that comes to my mind is “nurture." Maybe it was my being part of a crazy, dysfunctional family that led me seeking community to connect with as a growing child and seeking spirit. Perhaps it is the bonds with people or places that have fulfilled my various needs at different times in my life when my own self is not enough. To survive as a human, we need nurturing ... for our physical bodies, our developing minds and our spirited souls. Within community, there lies a foster-mother as a source of nurture for those facets of existence.

Nurture can be defined as: to feed and protect; to support and encourage; to bring up, train, educate. First, consider: to feed. It is our first and most basic need for survival. While we initially get this need met from our mothers or parents, “feeding” and eating becomes primary in many community aspects. Sometimes it becomes a social event or sometimes it is someone in need receiving food. It could be dining at an event or celebration, baking cookies for the neighbor, “breaking-bread” with a gathering of friends, cooking for someone(s) in distress, or the helping to provide food through donations to food banks or serving in a soup kitchen. Food and feeding is probably the most common shared community experience, no matter what culture you live in. It is a central theme of connection and providing.

While “feed” may immediately relate to food, there are other important ways we need to be fed. We are all in need of being fed love - whether it is attention, affection, words or touch. Any developing human needs this as much as food and we receive love throughout life from all over our community. Aside of our family, love can come from neighbors, daycare providers, teachers, friends, lovers, strangers, churches & leaders. Again, regardless of what culture you are from, love is another strand of food for a developing human.

Protection could be considered the literal shelter we need from elements. If someone(s) is lacking this basic need, there are often places in the community to get help. Even if one is self-providing, there is reliance on trades-people to create this for us. Protection comes as another form of nurture in community as we confide in and trust our friends, form our neighborhood watches and have emergency services like the police and ambulances to keep us safe.

When we look at the rest of what nurture means - to support and encourage; bring up, train, educate, it is so evident how much nurturing we receive from community. The primary institutions that help “grow” us, guide us, teach us, love us. Schools and churches are full of people and ideas that shape and inspire us as we develop. As we extend beyond institutions, there are clubs such as boy/girl scouts, mentors, elders, teachers, friends, gyms, associations, therapists, and 12-step groups ... just to skim the surface.

When we think of nurture, it is natural to just think about your parents and family or your partner or spouse. But, the reality is that we receive nurturing everywhere. I don’t think we would label it as that, but consider how much (more) of life has been nurtured by community. It makes me realize, even more, how connected we are. It is a natural thread between us all to feel compassion and help or give to someone who doesn’t have basic need for surviving. When we see someone suffer, we suffer. It is instinctual to guide and help younger people. For some people who either don’t have family or are not close to family, community becomes their kin and source of nurturing. I know when I was growing up, the whole neighborhood looked out for each other’s kids.

While community may not be as immediate as it once was, we still have sources of nurture within it. Nowadays, people in some neighborhoods are less social and sometimes barely know each other. In addition, internet technology has replaced a lot of human interaction, but conversely, can make communication quicker and many more people available easier and faster. However, even with these changes, community will always be a nurturer. Whether a basic need is at risk, if we want to learn something, we are joining a religion or just looking for a group to share a hobby, we know community is there for us. (Even when we don’t know this, there is community that can link us to community!) It could be that family is not an option or a need could extend beyond what our family can offer. However we need, community can often help us or do for us what we sometimes cannot do for ourselves.

Creativity as ...

2011-11-09T14:32:00.001-05:00

By jen pradhan
Creativity + Social Change
University of Connecticut

Creativity as one.
Creativity as me.
Creativity as curiosity.
Creativity as imagination.
Creativity as wonder.
Creativity as failing.
Creativity as succeeding.
Creativity as love.
Creativity as action.
Creativity as thinking.
Creativity as never giving up.
Creativity as always going.
Creativity as whole.
Creativity as a child.
Creativity as a teenager.
Creativity as you.
Creativity as positive.
Creativity as learning.
Creativity as rest.
Creativity as unique.
Creativity as believing.
Creativity as patience.
Creativity as beauty.
Creativity as not so pretty.
Creativity as amazement.
Creativity as innocence.
Creativity as an adult.
Creativity as the truth.
Creativity as possibility of the impossible.
Creativity as magic.
Creativity as out of the ordinary.
Creativity as six billion.

I didn’t know where to start to write about creativity and about my reflection because I don’t think I would ever be able to stop. A few weeks ago, I couldn’t describe it and now I cannot stop talking about it. And I couldn’t pick one of the metaphors so I decided to create my own.

When I think of creativity and this class, I think of it as an on going process .... Creativity comes easy to us when we are seven because we let our imagination run wild .... That can still happen if we stay connected with one another and engage in our communities. No one really loses touch with their inner child; I believe some just choose not to acknowledge it. Creativity is inevitable. It doesn’t and cannot stop. We just seem to be out of touch with creativity, but don’t realize what we are capable of when it comes to creativity. Creativity keeps us going, young or old, small or big, good or bad, from the beginning, to the middle, all the way to the end. We wouldn’t be where we are without creativity. We have evolved into the people we are today because of creativity and creativity can only keep going because of people.

I started off the “Creativity as …” metaphor with "Creativity as one." When we come into this world, we are connected to nature as one ... and then we separate ourselves as individuals. And through creativity, imagination, thinking, learning, failing, trying again, succeeding, never giving up, believing in the impossible and making those things happen, stepping out of the box, and connecting with one another, we have become over SIX BILLION people in the world and we’re going stronger than ever. We make ends meet and have survived this long because of creativity. It’s pretty magical.

Community as Contributing to the Social Playground

2011-11-09T14:28:00.001-05:00

By Eileen K. Boisseau

Creativity + Social Change

University of Connecticut

I imagine my community as shared space where people can gather. We an use this playground in lots of various ways.

Thinking about community from my 7-year-old self perspective, my community includes my friends and me out on the playground having fun. We share in playing lots of different games, but one of our favorites is softball. We each get a chance to get up at bat and sometimes we hit a home run, or just a single, and may not get a hit at all, but we cheer each other on nonetheless. And we have fun! When we play in the outfield, each of our positions is different and we see the game being played from different perspectives. We chatter it up out on the field cheering each other on. To play the best game, we communicate our intentions and goals. Every once in awhile the coach advises us on a better strategy, and we brainstorm our ideas as well. We are a team and share in contributing our best efforts, and celebrating each others individual styles which all come together in creating a productive, happy softball community. But even if we are on the playground and not playing a team sport, there is still a lot of social interaction, and a lot of spontaneity and energy abounding.

This idea of community is all-inclusive and celebrates diversity. Through allowing and encouraging a friend or team member or a member of our social community to pitch in their ideas from whatever angle their perspective derives from just adds to the colorful mix of creating new ideas.

What I have learned is that reserving judgment about one’s style can serve to complement the group. So no matter what the social arena is the idea of community matters in providing the space for the germination of ideas and sharing in the fertilizing and the shaping of something with more robust and colorful results.

If we adopted the idea of equal playing time and equitable contribution in the community playground at hand – whether it be social policy changes such as affordable access to healthcare and housing, or coming together to help restore a neighbor’s house, or spending time creating a mural, the more voices that are heard and the more diverse the hands that shape it, the more of an impact we can make in enhancing our communities. The best part of all is that I think the social playground would be a lot more fun.

Community is ...

2011-11-09T14:24:00.000-05:00

By Nicole Milne

Creativity + Social Change

University of Connecticut

I chose this tree to depict "Community is ..." because it shows that there are many things that hold a community together that are below the surface. For me, I really enjoy where we have chosen to raise our family. We have a great neighborhood that is always there to lend a hand, and help out whatever family needs it. With that kind of togetherness we end up flourishing in our lives together. We all work together for the greater good and that is what I feel my community is.

Crowdsourcing Art (and Food) at Billings Forge in Hartford, Connecticut

2011-11-09T14:16:00.002-05:00

Potluck Slideshow
Wed. Nov. 16 | 6:30 pm
Hartford, Connecticut
An evening of community, food & art. Potluck Slideshow is a crowd-sourced slideshow of artworks by visual artists, graphic designers, fashion designers, performance, conceptual and multi-media artists, garden designers and more, presented along with a communal potluck meal.

All artists are invited to submit to the slideshow and a prospectus may be obtained by contacting: Janice@billingsforgeworks.org. The Potluck meal and Slideshow presentation are open to all guests. General admission to the event is a dish that serves four people or $2.00 at the door without a dish.

Deadline for submissions: Fri. Nov. 11

Billings Forge Community Works:

http://billingsforgeworks.org/

Community as Progress

2011-11-09T14:14:00.000-05:00

By Charlene Folston
Creativity + Social Change
University of Connecticut

I feel that progress is extremely important in a community. It is needed in order to move forward and advance in life. With progression you can build on your strengths and overcome your weaknesses. First, it is important that you know what your strengths and weaknesses are. I think that every community should have goals and objectives set in place so they are continuously working towards the outcomes. Each person in the community should have the same goals in mind. If there is no progress in a community there will not be any happiness because everyone would just be settling with what they have and not working towards making their current situations any better. You have to always strive to move forward in life. I would love to live in a community where everyone helped each other progress in life and worked to together to improve the look of the environments they live in. I do not like when there are negative views about a certain community and I see that no one is trying to make improvements.

I have learned that communities need strong foundation to build on in order to progress. Each person in the community is the foundation so it is up to them to make sure that it is a strong one. There are so many different issues in every community. I have also learned that the people in these communities do want a change; however, most of them do not know how to take the necessary steps towards progression. All they need is someone to help them and show them that they do have the resources that they are looking for. Education also plays an important role when it comes to progression. Learn about new ideas and ways that you can change your situation. You should know the process of progression and the steps that you need to take in order to achieve your goal. It is important that you understand what you are fighting for. I feel that each person should make progress a priority of their own. It is everyone’s responsibility to contribute and help facilitate. We all can make a difference by using our own skills and various connections.

When you have a team of people that work together for the greater good for everyone as a whole it makes all the difference. It takes a strong group of devoted and dedicated people to change a community. You can’t just want a change for yourself. Your success depends on the people around you. It is impossible to progress on your own. The only way you can progress is when everyone is on one accord and has the same goals. If there is division in a community it will make it harder to advance and live a more comfortable life. You can tell when a community is progressing just by the people you see. I believe that progress has a domino effect, and once you begin to notice improvements in one area it will then transfer to next goal that need to be achieved. Why not make the world a better place for everyone, instead of a better place for you?

Community as Agriculture

2011-11-09T14:10:00.001-05:00

By Michelle Hypolite
Creativity + Social Change
University of Connecticut

I grew up watching my mother garden for most of my life which has given me an appreciation for the labor put into the process of creating something that yields much, something that all people can enjoy, and an activity that brings us closer to nature. My mom would spend hours tending her garden, toiling, planting, fertilizing, weeding and rearranging. I never realized the effort it took to keep her garden so beautiful until I moved out and wished to create a garden of my own.

I started from nothing. When I first dug into the earth I had no idea that beneath the grass lied rocks, broken glass, and all sorts of trash that would first needed to be removed before I was able to even think about planting. After the soil was cleared I realized that I could not just plant any which way, I would have to plan, create and design so that my garden would make sense for me, both atheistically and practically. Some plants needed more sun, while others should be placed in the front because they could be overshadowed by taller ones. There was a lot of effort placed in prepping before I could actually put one plant in the ground. Somewhere along the way I understood that it takes a lot of work to enjoy the benefits of a garden. I was tired, dirty, and hot, but I knew that the end product would be worth it. A project that I thought would take a day turned into over a week. By the time the last bush was in the ground I was exhausted. But the work wasn't over yet. I had my garden but something was missing. I needed stones and accents and all sorts of other additions to make the garden into something special.

I feel like if we look at society as agriculture, and we are its tenders, then we can create something extraordinary, too. But first we must prep as I prepped my little garden. Prepare our society by first cleansing of waste and trash (both literally and figuratively). We must start with something fresh and plan its design, then begin to sow into our society, while still allowing it to grow organically. This is the foundation. Things like a good education for all children, regardless of socio-economic status. Good health care as well. We need to plan for the future of our society to flourish and give back to us as we put into it. Then we can add our accents with the arts and music to make it beautiful, creating something wonderful. And of course, like in any garden we must work diligently to maintain it through weeding and daily maintenance. It is hard work, but the results are magnificent and we will all take ownership and love the fruits of our labor.

Community as Birth

2011-11-09T10:03:00.004-05:00

By Julie Bauereis
Creativity + Social Change
University of Connecticut

I painted this because I think there are dozens of aspects of the silhouette of a pregnant woman that are beautiful. It is a complete miracle that of two cells a living, breathing being can be created. The process of pregnancy allows for countless possible errors, however the majority of pregnancies and births create completely healthy, perfect infants. The fact that a woman's body can facilitate such an amazing, and barely comprehensible, process blows my mind. Aside from the beauty of the biology involved, this also symbolizes love for me: love for my husband, love for my new child, and the love that is required to sustain a family. I tie this into the assignment because communities are made of families, and a successful community requires love and work to maintain itself. Creating a community requires utilizing networks, similar to pregnancy utilizing the body's systems. It's amazing that despite the plethora of roadblocks that can and will occur, the outcome will likely be amazing. While pregnant I had to avoid things I love, such as coffee, sushi, riding rollercoasters, etc. to prevent any damage to my growing fetus. Sacrifice is also necessary to create and sustain a healthy community; to be successful we have to give up perhaps time and money for ourselves to offer those things to the community to help it thrive. The journey of pregnancy, birth itself, and the product are truly miraculous, and I believe it to be the same with the ideation, growth, and sustenance of community.

Community as Creating Together

2011-11-09T09:54:00.000-05:00

By Kathy Glass
Creativity + Social Change
University of Connecticut

In my neighborhood there is a group of children ranging from the ages of 4 to 10 years old. My husband and I call them the posse – a gang of “wild” kids. They’re never accompanied by adults or their parents. The group is composed of 8 to 9 members on any given day, and they’re always together. On many occasions they congregate in my backyard whether it’s to play, to create, to learn, to talk, to visit my dog. They come for a variety of reasons, but they always come together. Their presence is one of the things that makes the neighborhood unique – it’s a community of children – and their voices fill the streets day after day. I am so lucky to be a part of their community, even if I’m just the lady who lets them play in her backyard.

This group has taught me that community is defined by its members and their individual gifts, talents, quirks, uniqueness. The members of this community include:

The leader, age 10, (sometimes she’s considered a little bossy, but boy does she keep everyone on task!) and the performer. She sings, she dances, and she’s amazingly talented at wiffle ball. She wants to throw the Frisbee constantly and she’s loud and full of life, brimming you might say. She is a leader in the sense that she leads the group in their discussions, activities, play and time spent in the yard.
The nurturer and best friend to Fester (my dog), age 5. She was afraid of Fester, a 15-pound Chihuahua mix, when she was younger. She would stand on one side of the yard where Fester couldn’t reach her and scream every time he looked her way. This lasted for about a year until she finally worked up the courage to come from the other side of the yard to pet his tail: “Can I hold his tail?” she’d ask. After months of tail holding, she and Fester bonded. She decided that Fester was no threat and that he would listen to her if she wanted him to. This blossomed into a friendship and now when the kids come over to play, she spends her time holding Fester’s lead and petting him. One of the little boys in the group is afraid of Fester so she has taken it upon herself to help make him feel comfortable when in his presence. Just the other day, she said to me, “It’s okay if he is scared of Fester now. I was when I was his age, so when he grows up like me, he won’t be afraid anymore.”
The mother-figure and caregiver to the little ones, age 10. She always has the youngest member of the group in her arms. She is attentive and tapped into their needs. She has a brilliant memory and cares deeply about her peers. At times she is quiet and reserved, not interacting but observing. She seems to internalize everything.
The free spirit and artist, age 7. She is always in her own head. She connects with the group when they are part of her vision, whatever that may be. Her interests include eating herbs from my garden and learning about what they are, how they’re used, why you can eat them and not other plants, and she also enjoys watering all of my plants daily. She regularly leads the group in the garden about what you can and cannot eat and what each item is. Many times she branches off from the group to do her own thing. She often begins talking and then in the middle of a phrase she’ll trail off and begin to mumble, lost in her head. She becomes frustrated easily when the other members of the group do not understand her, or are not connecting with her. A picture of her art is below.
The daughters of our new neighbor, ages 6 and 8. The family just moved in this summer so I’m not sure of the girls’ names, but they too are a part of the community. The youngest is outgoing and tenacious. She demands to be heard and is quick to bring her own contributions to the group. The oldest is enthusiastic about almost everything. If there is something happening, she’s a part of it. She enjoys being engaged and with the rest of the group.
The baby, age 4. The youngest member of the group, he is terrified of Fester. He is constantly in the arms of another member and enjoys being the baby.
The inquisitive thinker, age 9, asking questions constantly. She moved just over two months ago, so the community has lost a member. She loved helping us plant our garden. We planted peppers, tomatoes and bean plants over the summer together. She was fascinated by the process of growth, monitoring the plants’ progress along the way. Nature seemed to excite her. She once made a neighborhood of houses out of white computer paper for the ants near my garden and called them ant houses. It rained the day after she made the ant houses (little tents of paper), but when she came over the next day to check on them, wouldn’t you know there were ants under the paper.

There is never any parent supervision when the kids come to play in my yard. The only adults present are either me or my husband. In the uninhibited play I’ve witnessed and been a part of, I’ve learned so much. It’s taught me that to maintain a strong community the members must ...

Care about each other.
Explore together.
Experience together.
Play together.
Help each other overcome our fears.
Grow together.
Teach each other and learn from one another.
Dream together.
Scream together.
Eat together.
Laugh together, and often.
Consider all possibilities.
Celebrate individual expression.
Move together.

This community has taught me that we must continue to adapt, engage, wonder and, most importantly, laugh. They have taught me that community is most importantly a group of people creating something together, whether a shared goal or experience. That it breathes based on the passions of its members and that it can do great things for the individuals it is composed of. Community helps us to grow as only we can with the help from each other. It teaches us an honest true sense of belonging.

Community as a Form of Expression

2011-11-09T09:33:00.002-05:00

By Will Carnes
Creativity + Social Change
University of Connecticut

I came up with community as a form of expression because I thought this metaphor was really important. A community is a group of people living in one place, by definition. To me that definition is plain and paints a picture of just people living their own lives, not interacting with each other. I believe every community should get together at least once a month to interact and express themselves whether its through music, dance, story telling or a party. Coming up with community-based projects is a great way to build connections and interact. It also builds a sense of accomplishment, the community gets a feeling that they accomplished something good. I believe this builds confidence in being able to take on even more challenging tasks in life.

In order for a community to be able to express themselves they need to make a change. A community that is plain and ordinary is one where neighbors do not interact, merely just live their lives in their homes and go about their own business. Change needs to be made and a leader needs to emerge so he/she can engage the community. The leader should be enthusiastic so community members get hyped up and excited to make a change and be proactive.

Once the community is engaged to make a change they can begin to communicate with each other about ideas to be creative in the community. Setting up town gatherings is a good way to voice ideas. It doesn’t have to be formal it could be a block party where community members can come socialize while sharing ideas of what they could improve in the community.

After setting up ideas of how to change the community for the better, its time to take action. A goal is hopefully going to be reached and members of the community are working together to get to that goal. Relationships are being built during the process and trust is being formed. These are essential tools to form a productive, creative, and expressive community. Before you know it the community that was once plain and distant from each other now consider each other family.

Working together as one unit or a family to create positive projects in your community will create a sense of self worth and happiness. Helping people always makes me feel good because I made a positive difference. The people really appreciate it and remember that you helped them. Someday they will help you when you are in need. Everyone can start by helping people in their community and then branch out and help other communities.

I also wanted to share a video that I think is pure creativity. I found this video about a year and half ago and it's a couple of guys on the streets of Oakland dancing in the rain. What struck me as incredible was they were freestyle dancing on the street for fun. They weren't doing in front of a crowd for attention or on a stage. They were just trying to express their creativity. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. They have pretty incredible moves! I talk about expressing yourself in your community, I thought this was a good example.

Community as Entertainment

2011-11-09T09:30:00.001-05:00

By Marco Vernacatola
Creativity + Social Change
University of Connecticut

I feel that a fitting metaphor for community would be community as entertainment. When people are looking to unwind after a grueling day of work or school, the first thing that this person is likely to do is turn on the TV. The television, for many, is the easiest and most efficient place to go to for entertainment; if you want laughs, music, political talk, or sports, it’s all at your fingertips. The problem with this is that what’s going on in the television isn’t actually there.

This is why the community is an important alternate, and some would say more fulfilling, way to find your entertainment. Everyone in the community has some sort of talent to offer; this can be a good sense of humor and wit, skill with an instrument, or a heated passion for politics. This is all something that can be found on the television, but when this is on the television, it becomes distorted because of its impersonal nature. And the viewers who watch this can only ever be a viewer and never a participant.

As someone who plays an instrument moderately well, there is nothing more exciting than making noise with a group of equally inept musicians in my community, with no aspirations of recording anything or performing live. I’ve seen many bands live, big and small, and jamming with a few friends, making the most horrible noise one can imagine, is still more than exciting than seeing a giant live show or watching music videos and live performances on TV.

The greatest triumph of the community, however, is the fact that it is not an expensive proposition. To see Roger Water’s The Wall live in 2010, I paid $180 to see performers that resembled ants playing a band’s “greatest hits”. On the other hand, it didn’t cost me anything to get together with a few friends for an improvisational jam. The same can be said of art; why spend all your life enjoying only the artists deemed important by the mainstream when there are hundreds of artists in the community who can make meaningful and important pieces of art, regardless of the artist’s popularity?

The sad thing that happens to the community is that people are so focused on celebrities and nationally important figures, that the talents of those around them are ignored in order to continue the hero worship of some person they may never even meet. However, the people in the community are capable of becoming celebrities in their own little circle if the people of the community come together to share and embrace each other’s talents.

A friend of mine, a very talented art student, regularly needs to free up space in his art room, requiring him to get rid of his older paintings he feels are primitive at this point, which I quickly offer to take. As someone who is by no means an art expert, I am as moved by his paintings as I am a van Gogh. And good luck buying an original van Gogh.

In my mind, my friend is as important an artist as anyone in the art world, past or present, and he lives five minutes away from me. This is what makes the community important; it offers what everything else offers, except it is unique in the sense that you can easily become a participant in all the shenanigans.

Community as a Family

2011-11-09T09:27:00.000-05:00

By Elizabeth Matte
Creativity + Social Change
University of Connecticut

When I think of a community I think of a group of people living in the same area as one. I especially think of this when I think of communities in the city. When people live in close proximity under poor conditions I think it can bring people closer together. They can unite and become a family. This is important because if people are living in harsh conditions then need as much support as they can. They need to have positive people in their lives that inspire them. If people in a community unite as a family and can inspire one another than they could provide hope and courage for people that are in extremely bad situations. Their inspirations can help someone get out of a dangerous situation or just help them move forward in general.

I have learned that when people live in a large city with thousands of people, it is harder for them to make lasting relationships. A lot of people that live in a city often find themselves alone. This can lead to irrational behavior or thoughts and often results in suicide. I think it’s important for a person, not just in a city, to have a few close friends that live somewhat close by. The support of others plays a huge role in our lives and can be beneficial for a person.

If people treat their community as a home and the people in it as a family then they will respect it more. They will take care of their environment more and treat others with respect. They might volunteer in the community and organize local events for people in the area. This will also allow people to interact and develop their relationships with one another. It could strengthen relationships and create new ones. This would be especially good for children in the area. It is important for adults to be involved as well but I think children have a lot more free time than adults especially in the summer. If a group of people organized an event for children in the summer it may help keep them off the streets. This could be extremely beneficial for their future and the future of the community. If bonds are created at a young age and taking care of one’s community is stressed, then children will grow to work with and appreciate one another. They will have something to cherish when they are older. These lessons will also help them in other areas of their lives.

Establishing the thought that community is like a family will be really beneficial for all communities. If you think of others as your family you will create a deeper bond. I think it could help if you encounter problems with another person, because you couldn’t just walk away from them if you get into a fight. It might make you work harder at your relationship and can create a lasting relationship. I have come across many people so far in my life. I think if we all had the idea that we were family I would have had longer relationships with certain people. I think everyone needs support and every community needs love. I think there aren’t enough safe places in the world especially in the inner city.

Occupy Wall Street set to "Lawless" by Andy Palmer

2011-10-26T12:53:00.002-04:00

From Eileen Boisseau
Creativity + Social Change
University of Connecticut

This is my son Andrew's (Andy Palmer and Grub Street Writer, a progressive folk rock band) latest artwork. I thought it was pretty amazing (of course) and that our class would appreciate this timely, creative message.

Occupy Wall Street montage with musical support by Andy Palmer (“Lawless,” from Palmer’s Sometime Around). Grub Street Writer performed at Occupy Denver on Saturday, October 22nd, in an effort to support the movement’s core message of fundamental change to the regulation of our financial industry being critical.

Lyrics:

They have no idea
No clue
What we're gonna do
There's been a breach
Down by Broad Street
And it's a hackneyed coup

Stay silent
Be quiet
Little man little man
You're a proxy mind in a
Proxy time in a
Proxy land

And they move the world how they want to move
Lawlessly move how they want to

Are we cursed?
Or just the first
Ones to wonder
Who's been played the fool?
Not you, aw, yeah you
And all the others

The huckster steals
Golden years
And nails them all to the Wall
Merchant men,
Storm the den
And Borough through the Hall

To move the world how you want to move
Lawlessly move how you want to

Got an idea?
Got a clue?
What you're capable of
Rise up
You're done
With little man matters

And you'll move the world how you want to move
Lawlessly move how you want to

What percent are you?

2011-10-26T08:38:00.002-04:00

From Matt Kilburn
Creativity + Social Change
University of Connecticut

Hi All ... I found this link while looking at OccupyWallStreet stuff. You can put in your salary and see where you fall in the 99%. Interesting and scary at the same time.

http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2011/10/19/what-percent-are-you/

Commentary: On We Are the 99 Percent

2011-10-26T08:22:00.002-04:00

By Charlene Folston
Creativity + Social Change
University of Connecticut
10 October 2011

After visiting the "We are the 99 Percent" website, I have a new found respect for all of the people that are involved in this great movement. I applaud them for taking a stand on behalf of all of us and demanding that changes need to be made very soon. While reading all of the testimonials i felt the sense of urgency and how people desperately need help for them and their families. I fully support everyone that is occupying Wall Street now. I am also glad that it is a growing movement that continues to spread throughout the country. This is something that is overdue and I do believe that it will bring a positive change. I guess it is because i do not pay very much attention to the news unless it effects me directly, but I never realized that there were so many out there like me that are suffering and struggling to make ends meet. I know that there is something that the government can do to help all of us. They need to step in and make some drastic changes. There are too many in need and they cannot continue to sit back and not take responsibility. That is why I think it is important for as many people to get involved as possible.

This article has also been an eye opener for me personally. I have not realized how often I take the life and the things that I have for granted. I am always focused on the next thing I am getting for myself when I should be trying to help someone that is in need. I never really paid much attention to the jobs crisis because I have a job but I realized that all of the things that people are going through now can just as easily happen to me when i least expect it. Most people cannot save because they are living paycheck to paycheck and I am constantly spending money on frivolous things that I do not need. This site really make you take a look at your own life and think of ways that you can help make a difference.

Commentary: On Occupy Wall Street, Ron Paul and Federal Bailout Money

2011-10-26T08:13:00.005-04:00

By Thomas Norman
Creativity + Social Change
University of Connecticut
10 October 2011

Commentary on "Ron Paul and Occupy Wall Street Should Jointly Call for Full Public Disclosure of All Fed Bailout Money," The Hill's Pundits Blog, October 10, 2011

The ongoing protest on Wall Street and other towns in America seems to be rooted with a frustration and a desire for “change”. After reading the article regarding full public disclosure of fed bailout money, I was overcome with anger and frustration. How was it possible that we could be fooled so easily and led astray from our God-given common sense. Congressman Ron Paul has been a strong advocate of full disclosure of where and who the monies were allocated to. The fact that we still are unaware of “ALL” banking institutions and corporations that received funds, only adds fuel to a burning fire that has heated the hearts and collective minds of so many frustrated American citizens. I clearly recall the fall of 2008 and the fear mongering that existed, and how so many Americans were afraid to lose their homes, their job, and retirement funds due to the crisis. The media did a great job of perpetrating these fears on the public through daily newscasts and newspaper publications of the economic crisis. Each day we were glued to the TV to see just how far the stock market had plunged that day, and with each dip in value, so did our confidence and trust in the system began to dip as well. I remember former President George Bush coming on live TV to address the nation and to basically inform the American people that if their elected officials did not pass the proposed TARP bill, we would see an economic collapse more devastating that the Great Depression. His solemn, yet affective tone seduced and convinced many Americans and congressman to get aboard with what the administration was trying to push through congress. He was also rumored to have had a closed meeting with top senators and threatened marshal law if the bill was not passed. Sounds like a dictator to me. Sounds like a government operating as an imperialistic regime who was willing to do anything to achieve its aims.

I remember shortly after the bill had passed, many congressman wanted a full disclosure of where the monies were sent and to whom. I remember the former chairman of the fed explaining to a panel of senators and curious elected official that the fed was above reproach, meaning they did not have to disclose any information regarding where the monies were allocated. It was at that moment that I realized something was not right and we were being duped as a society. How in the face of a national emergency, and basically the taxation of the public to pay for a bailout that was not created by the public, should the public not know where their money had gone? How is that answer even possible within a democratic structure of government? The answer is its possible because we as a people for so long have empowered certain elected officials to manage our lives and make decisions that at some given point and time cost our collective society.

However, what the government did not take into account was the perseverance, courage, and intelligence of its people. We are now witnessing a growing movement of persons who are not willing to throw away a future. They are not willing to throw away a dream. A dream that has existed in their hearts and minds. A dream that they are ready to see manifested into a reality. They no longer want to be enslaved in a system to only benefit’s the 1% of wealthy Americans. They want their slice of the American pie that seems to be getting smaller by the day. This American pie is being consumed by the few privileged Americans who believe the pie solely belongs to them and whatever crumbs are left over, should be giving to us, and that we should be appreciative for these for crumbs. The protests that are taking place was only a matter of destiny. From the Arab Spring movement that shattered the will of so many middle eastern regimes, to the European Union protests that invaded London and Ireland, to the shore of the mighty American empire, we are seeing the developed of a movement of people unafraid to voice their frustrations with the powers that be. We are witnessing a movement that will forever stamp this period of time and define the very near future. I hope the movement continues to grow and that more Americans will find the time to join the energy that is being fed at these certain points of the earth. If one could stand atop of the world and look down upon these protests, they should be moved to action with a relentless passion and desire to bring about change. What’s more realistic and convenient is that we can witness the movement in our cities. We have an world wide web of information to obtain. Its what we are willing to do with this information. Our fellow citizens are risking their lives in a way to bring about a change for each of us. Its starts with one and ends with all. I want to be apart of the collective all to show the elite that this land and all its resources belongs to us too. The days of feeding off us will soon come to an end. I truly believe a change will transpire from these protests. I’m just not sure if the change will benefit the people, or give those who have the power, more power.

Commentary: On We Are the 99 Percent

2011-10-26T08:08:00.000-04:00

By Elizabeth Matte
Creativity + Social Change
University of Connecticut
11 October 2011

After reading the “we are the 99 percent” article my heart sunk into my stomach. I felt saddened and disgusted for these people. But I also didn’t feel alone anymore. I feel like I can relate to a lot of these people. I haven’t really opened up to much in this class but I think I may now.

I recently had a baby and I’m now a single mother. I was working a good job making good money. Then I got pregnant after being told I would never have children. I was a nanny for three children but the family didn’t want me bringing my child to work with me. So my boyfriend (at the time) and I decided I would stay home with the baby. Daycare, well in our area, is basically his whole pay check. So it would be pointless to put my child in daycare and I really didn’t want to do that when I was watching someone else’s children. About a month after my son was born my boyfriend and I broke up. There were a lot of reasons why but I know one reason was because he was so stressed out about having to provide for all of us. So now I am out of a job, living back home and alone. I have an associate’s degree but after coming to UConn I will have student loans I will eventually have to pay off. So I will join that group of students that are in debt. I honestly didn’t realize how bad things were until after I broke up with my son’s father. I don’t know if it was because I was working a great job, making good money and was pregnant, but I had no idea. I had no idea that there were like no jobs out there because I didn’t have a need to look for a job. Now that I need money I’m finding that the only jobs out there are low paying. (This is a kick in the stomach after being paid so well) And if I got a low paying job all my money would go to daycare, so what’s the point? I’m fortunate enough to having parents that can help me out, but my father was planning on retiring in a few years and I don’t know if he can. I feel horrible because I have a son t take care of and my family has to help me out. I don’t feel like it’s their duty to help support him but that’s how it has to be. My son’s father isn’t really around and barley helps support him. I told my parents I’d rather not go to school so I could work (a second or third shift job) but my family is pushing me to go. I’m worried that, like most people out there, I will have all these college degrees, no job with thousands of dollar loans to pay off.

One of the stories that really struck me was one of a girl that said she had some degrees and was out of work. I guess she was trying to get a job and they told her she was over qualified and inexperienced. I found this really interesting. My mother had the same problem. She retired from an insurance company after working there for like 20 years. She took an early retirement because her boss was basically harassing her and the company didn’t do anything about it. She really couldn’t afford to retire so she tried getting another job at another insurance company but they wouldn’t hire her for a position she wanted, because she was over qualified! I had never heard anything like that and thought it was an excuse. But after see that girl’s story it made it real. I didn’t know you could be overqualified for a job. Wouldn’t that make a person more applicable?

I definitely agree with the people are courageous enough to go stand up to the people on wall-street. But I also feel like it’s not enough. I’m trying to be hopeful and positive for everyone and myself. But I feel like the government and corporations’ have dug such a deep hole that they won’t be able to get us out of it. I don’t know how it could be fixed. I think it’s easy to say “oh just cut back corporate costs, or cut the bosses pay”, but that is really unrealistic. The people that are in charge are simply that, they are in charge. I think they feel that if you don’t like what you’re getting paid they will find someone else. I feel like everyone is made out to be replaceable. And these bosses and companies don’t care about their workers. This same situation happened at my father’s job. He works at Pratt and Whitney and they recently (a few months ago) had big layoffs. They had to lay hundreds off because the CEO’s and people in charge didn’t want to take a pay cut. It was so sad to hear when my dad told me. My dad didn’t lose his job but people he knew did. There were people that had a family that had worked for the company for over 10 years. I’m sure they will be over qualified for the jobs they apply for.

As I was typing this paper, I started chatting with my dad about this article. He was explaining tome and telling me his opinion on it and I also agree with him. He said that the people that are occupying wall-street should be at the White House and protest their policies because it’s their issues and they can do more about it. My dad was saying that Kudlow (who I can’t stand) talk’s about it on his show. I guess he has been covering it a little every night and will continue to cover the story.

Commentary: On We Are the 99 Percent

2011-10-26T08:04:00.002-04:00

By Eileen Kennedy Boisseau
Creativity + Social Change
University of Connecticut
11 October 2011

It was difficult to read the old English and interpret clearly what Benjamin Franklin was talking about. I believe that he was saying that those who are in power should use that power wisely and justly in their dealings with fellow citizens. But as Mr. Franklin says, there are also those forms of government that would turn things into a “tyranny”, and I think one in which the current government might becoming guilty of. In order to correct this, the general population should be entitled to education and therefore more wisely and fairly be involved in running our own country.

I am stunned to hear of the hardships facing so many. It was even more difficult to read these stories about my fellow citizens who want nothing more than a job and to provide for themselves and their families, and is being denied this opportunity. It is appalling that so many in this powerful democratic nation of the United States are struggling just to get by. I am stunned to read the words of my neighbors and their hardships. I am heartily saddened to know of friends and neighbors either living paycheck to paycheck or standing in lines months on end looking for that elusive job.

These are not people who are bemoaning that they are owed something. These are responsible individuals who would be happy if only they have the opportunity to have a job or have that job back and pay their own way. It is a fair expectation in a country as fair as ours – at least it used to be. People’s dreams have been shattered and people’s good faith efforts been stifled by lack of or outright denial of opportunity and lack of the government caring for their citizens. Losing homes, jobs, retirement savings and paying exorbitant prices for an education are not acceptable.

One gentleman defined the America of today as “corporatocracy” – an apt description if we interpret this to mean an America representative of and driven by corporate greed and denying the workers any share of profits. This description sounds tragically correct.

Commentary: Occupying My Mind

2011-10-20T21:46:00.001-04:00

By Julie Bauereis
Creativity + Social Change
University of Connecticut
18 October 2011

Commentary on OccupyWallStreet.org

I find the Occupy Wall Street movement fascinating! Obviously, it is completely inappropriate that the banks have such enormous political and economical control over the country as they do. This movement has been a long time coming; and I feel that more and more people are coming on board with it. Americans are angry to be losing their homes, their jobs, healthcare, benefits, retirement, etc. Though, when looking at most countries throughout the world, even with the economical situation as it is in the US, we are still living pretty well. Our culture believes, and I agree, that all that is being taken away from us, is our right. It is not for the 1% to take away. In our front yard we have a sign posted amongst our Halloween decorations that says "We Are The 99%: The Middle Class Is Too Big To Fail." I believe that if Americans unite, and stay peaceful and level-headed, we can accomplish what we want for a country. As a liberal from Texas, I have been frustrated for years about partisan separation that seems to be nothing more than absolute anger and hatred for one another. I lived in a small town and worked at the only Planned Parenthood within a 300 mile radius, and had to vote against Bush in a Pentecostal church. I literally had people walk by me as I stood in line that whispered "Sinner!" in my ear as they passed. I LOVE the fact that we can ALL stand together and fight for an issue united. It's not about religious morals or taxation; this is about American livelihood.

Artist Lily Yeh on Using Art to Transform and Build Community

2011-10-19T11:28:00.000-04:00

This week for the Fall 2011 Creativity + Social Change class, we read "Warrior Angel: The Work of Lily Yeh" by Bill Moskin and Jill Jackson, a paper on hartist/activist/educator Lily Yeh's methodology of using art to transform and build community. Below is a presentation by Lily Yeh at the Bioneers conference, where she spoke about and shared examples and pictures of her work. She has a new book out, as well, called Awakening Creativity: Dandelion School Blossoms, which documents her methodology as implemented at the Dandelion School in Beijing, China, a school for the children of migrant workers. I am honored to be interviewing Lily on Creativity in Play at 12 p.m. EDT on Thursday, November 10. Listen live or download the podcast after it airs.

Video streaming by Ustream

From Collage to What Next

2011-10-19T11:13:00.001-04:00

Patterns, images, metaphors and connections from the Fall 2011 Creativity + Social Change class, responding to the collective collage they created in response to "What if we ...?" and "Wouldn't it be nice if ...?" questions about how to link their personal creativity beyond themselves to the community and society. We used the collage as a planning process tool a few weeks ago. The following Wordle was created from ideas they shared as they talked about the images they contributed to the collage.

Commentary: On #OccupyWallStreet Anger

2011-10-15T14:53:00.002-04:00

By Eileen Kennedy Boisseau
Creativity + Social Change
University of Connecticut
11 October 2011

Commentary on "Occupy Wall Street: What Are They So Angry About?" Huff Post, October 9, 2011

That’s a good question and it seems it has been taking a little while to define the answers, but if we sit back and listen, we can hear the message. I liked the opening statement that clearly defines the frustration level that those Occupying Wall Street are at: “they are mad as hell and not going to take it anymore”. In fact as the article brings out, a great many of us are disgusted with the economic challenges most of us – yes, I’d have to say 99 percent of us are experiencing.

I think Occupiers on Wall Street is providing visibility and effectively speaking out against the outrageous greed of many of the Wall Street banks and big businesses. According to this article and a quote from Clinton, there are “20 million people officially out of work”, not including the unofficial number which brings it even higher, and that is staggering. As Ben Bernanke states, this would qualify as a “national crisis”. This would also explain the outraged numbers of people squatting at Wall Street and the countless more nationwide.

I appreciated both the short and longer histories that Monika Mitchell included in this article to remind us in understanding or reminding us how we got here. After the 2008 Wall Street crash, the government provided the Toxic Asset Relief Program in the hopes of saving the banks and infusing them with the funding to turn around and provide reasonable loans to the American people. Instead, they held onto those funds and by doing so, further crippled the economy. And it’s taking a long time to find accountability; if we ever can accomplish that fully.

So, the government is broke and wants to now draw off the hard-working people futures by underfunding Social Security. It gets more and more outrageous and intolerable.

The longer history recalls the American people’s democratic spirit and resolve to create the land of equal opportunity culminating in the American Revolution over 200 years ago. I liked Ms. Mitchell’s quote related to that: “desperate people do desperate things”, and another from Janis Joplin “freedom’s just another work for nothing left to lose." The activists of OWS are basically saying just that, because they have no jobs to lose.

There was some defense in this article about Wall Street not being entirely at fault. The mortgage securities market is blamed; but I contend that had the bankers or government securities regulation been monitoring them, this recession could have been avoided. So now as the leaders of the “private equity firms and hedge funds” recognize, due to the lack of “capital and credit…”, “everyone is sitting on cash”. So funds are apparently stuck at the top and simply put, need to get unstuck.

Discussions need to happen soon and I think the “Occupying Wall Street” movement is the “in your face, I’m not going anywhere until that happens” catalyst that just might be bring that to fruition. We need to bridge the gap between the 1 percent and the 99 percent. We can reshape democracy and make it more equitable. We can be imaginative and create more workable solutions if we keep an open mind, and keep in mind that we all need to take more responsibility for each other in this local and in the national community.

Commentary: On Deepak Chopra’s Message to #OccupyWallStreet

2011-10-15T14:48:00.002-04:00

By Juliet Kapsis
Creativity + Social Change
University of Connecticut
12 October 2011

Commentary on "Deepak Chopra’s Message to Occupy Wall Street and Beyond," Washington Times, October 10, 2011

As Deepak said in the shared group meditation at #OccupyWallSt, “Go beyond anger as that comes from fear. Go towards compassion…. Ask yourself, how can I be the change that I want to see in the world?”

Humans have been creating concepts of greater beings for thousands of years. The Greeks imbued their gods and goddesses with human traits such as anger, jealousy, and desire. I thought of what I’ve read of the Trojan War, how when things were just about to fizzle out and the fighting stop, the gods and goddesses were able to get things going again. They did this by inciting the emotions of the human chess pieces that were playing out the chess game on the battlefield, in the city strong-hold, and everywhere else. Anthony Robbins, the motivational speaker, has said that if you can get yourself to experience the right emotion, you can get yourself to do anything. And what if you – or a god/goddess or your parents or an advertisement – can make you feel the “wrong” emotion? An emotion that brings up fear, anxiety, judgment or uneasiness is what I am referring to with the label of “wrong."

Managing our emotions is essential to remaining conscious, calm and aware. This is a gift we give to ourselves and others. It is not simply a small thing we do – because this practice imbues us with the strength, clarity and desire to tap into our full potential and discover what it is we were meant to do here in physical form. Our emotions can be manipulated by societal memes as tradition, where we are told this is how things have always been done and that we are obligated to carry on. These are not our bags to hold anymore. If something is heavy, it is not meant to be brought forward. Rikka Zimmerman, a transformational life coach, says that the truth will always make you feel light and a lie will always make you feel heavy. Check in with yourself and see where your truth lays – one that is part of the recognition that we are all connected.

What we are experiencing here is not simply an economic revolution – this is only what is happening now. We have been experiencing a spiritual revolution. Here in the West, with the gifts of meditation, yoga, and other philosophies, we are blessed to receive these gifts. Noam Chomsky, in a talk he gave to academics at Princeton University earlier this year, spoke of the responsibility that intellectuals have to humanity – to speak the truth. I see that this speaking the truth is a responsibility of us all, specifically those in the West. Speaking the truth is part of this spiritual revolution. Susan Campbell, Ph.D. and self-transformation author wrote: “Once we face our own true feelings and beliefs, we can start to act on them, bringing our behavior, relationships and professional lives into alignment.”

Take action in your own life by loving, accepting and forgiving yourself. Practice waking up in the morning and saying, “Today is a judgment-free day”. How free will that allow you to feel, to be judgment-free for just one day? That experience will trickle over into another day and another – until you are filled with a knowing that you are loved, just as you are here and now. The practice of releasing self-judgment allows you to see and be yourself with others in your life. Facing your fears inspires them to face theirs – when we are not choosing fear, but love, we move towards healing and new frontiers.
Question yourself and your thoughts. Rikka Zimmerman recommends a three-day thought cleansing where for three days you ask yourself “Who does this thought belong to?” after each of your thoughts. It is miraculously light feeling to realize that most of your thoughts do not belong to you, they were given. Ask your friends what is new and good? What is making them smile today? Ask people what makes them deliciously happy? What thrills them to their very core? We can fall into a place of focusing on what is not going right – there’s always something to talk about in this realm. And just as there’s never any lack of the negative stuff, as we are in an all-abundant Universe, there’s equally never a lack of the positive stuff. Of this fact, I am positively positive about!

Thank you for sharing the meditation from Deepak!

Commentary: On #OccupyWallStreet as Mob

2011-10-15T14:44:00.001-04:00

By Karen Faass
Creativity + Social Change
University of Connecticut
11 October 2011

Commentary on "Don’t Confuse “Occupy Wall Street” as a Protest, It’s a Mob," Mail Online, October 12, 2011

I chose this article to bring another perspective into the mix of “Occupy Wall Street.” I do agree that people have the right to speak up about what is happening in our economy and the impact it is having on all Americans, especially college-age students. There is no denying, after reading many articles this week, people are struggling and there seems to be no light at the end of the tunnel.

However, now that “Occupy Wall Street” has made a stance and has been noticed around the country in many major cities, they now must be careful this “occupation” does not turn into a “mob scene” where the true meaning of the occupation is lost. Making this “personal” by marching up the individuals’ homes, I don’t believe, was a wise choice. “Occupy Wall Street” is definitely “personal”, as it affects the well-being of so many individuals. The movements’ statement that the economical affairs of our country are in need of repair and needs to be addressed is the focus. Crossing the line of a peaceful statement and showing up on the property of individuals’ homes outside the boundary of the demonstration could have a negative outcome and the cause could lose its momentum.

This might be the time to organize thoughts and ideas as to where this occupation is heading…to now have a goal of how to proceed. It seems part of the crowd is turning into a “Woodstock”…camping out…walking around dirty…areas of the park becoming filthy…I feel this will greatly impact any serious discussion of why they came to Wall Street in the first place.

The article brings up a point that “Occupy Wall Street” aligns themselves with the Tea Party. This group is a movement for the people. While the groups do share concerns that are similar, the Tea Party movement is organized and does work within the democratic system. One difference between these groups indicated in the article was that “Occupy Wall Street” does not want to work within the political system and there is no or little organization within the group. The Tea Party has had organized rallies where the area in which they gathered was left cleaner when they left.
Unions have backed the occupation and some say this is no different than the union strikes of the seventies. President Obama has said nothing regarding this event, not even asking the people to leave.

No one knows where this will end. Now that they have the attention of many, can they now begin to focus on where to go from here and begin a new chapter in working for a better America?

Commentary: On #OccupyWallStreet Policy

2011-10-15T14:39:00.001-04:00

By Marco Vernacatola
Creativity + Social Change
University of Connecticut
11 October 2011

Commentary on "Occupy Wall Street Shifts From Protest to Policy Phase," Los Angeles Times, October 11, 2011

The "Occupy Wall Street" movement, up until recently, has been dismissed by, well, almost everyone. The protesters, often described as hippie-like, appear to have no goal in mind, no end game for how this whole movement will turn out. However, as the movement picks up steam, more and more intellectuals and organizers are attaching themselves to the group, turning what was once a disorganized group of outcasts into a force to be reckoned with.

As this article describes, "Occupy Wall Street" is ready to move on to it's next phase, which is the policy-making phase. The media and establishment reaction to the growth of this movement is starting to show hope for actual change in how the financial aspect of this country is handled. A point this article makes is that "Occupy Wall Street" is a distinctly progressive movement, which before now, was not represented in the media in very many shapes or forms. This movement, in the words of the author of the article, "will help give concrete form to a political narrative that so far has remained abstract in the public mind: That the financial industry has so far gotten a pass on its responsibility for the 2008 crash and escaped sufficiently stringent regulation, while government assistance to banks and Wall Street firms has left consumers in the dust." (1)

The idea that the financial system is being exploited by the major players who participate in it is something that is often voiced when two people discuss our nation's financial problems. The ironic thing about it though, is that at a time when our nation needs financial reform the most, movements like the Tea Party spring up instead, wanting less regulation and reform. For progressives, "Occupy Wall Street" is the cavalry that almost arrived too late. As they enter the stage in their development where actual policy making may become the end result, it offers a beacon of hope for people desperately searching for an answer that doesn't consist of simply replacing everyone currently in office.

The "Occupy Wall Street" movement is also bringing to the forefront the inequality between the rich and the poor. According to the article, "in 1980, the average income of the top 1% was about 30 times that of the lowest 20% of households; in 2006 it was more than 100 times that of the lowest quintile." (1) While these figures aren't new, "Occupy Wall Street" is broadcasting them to the world in a big way.

I feel "Occupy Wall Street" may become much bigger than its detractors expect, or want, it to get. It has become one of the few voices for the disappointed and discontent, and has gone from just a group of "lazy hippies" to a movement of like-minded people of all backgrounds wanting to make some sort of difference, even if it means taking on this nation's giants.

Commentary: On Wall Street March to Millionaires' Homes

2011-10-15T14:33:00.001-04:00

By Michelle Hypolite
Creativity + Social Change
University of Connecticut
11 October 2011

Commentary on "Wall Street Protesters Plan 'Millionaires March' to Tycoons' New York City Homes," Fox News, October 11, 2011

I decided to go to Fox News to seek out an article to see how the "other side" was reporting about the protest and the individuals involved. Many members of the Republican Party have called the protesters un-American, radical, and even criminals so I was pleasantly surprised to see that this article was unbiased and didn't paint the negative picture that has attempted to undermined the protest. The article talks about the protesters plan to march from the Wall Street Headquarters to the homes of some of the wealthiest New York residents who live on the Upper East Side. The march is to draw attention to the tax breaks that wealthy citizens receive in comparison to the average resident of New York State. The article also states that celebrities are coming down to Wall Street to show their support. Russell Simmons and Kanye West made an appearance and tweeted about their visit, drawing more attention to the protesters and the cause.

I'm completely elated about the protest and the support that it is receiving. For awhile I was concerned that the media was not giving it coverage but the protesters refused to be ignored. I had a feeling that certain media outlets and politicians would do their best to discredit the participants and use methods of propaganda to make the protesters seem radical. It's refreshing to see the Democratic Party embrace the protesters and defend them publicly. It's easy to go off the record and say how you feel, but when I hear people like Nancy Pelosi and Robby Mook (director of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee) encourage Americans to stand up to billionaires and speak against their individual and corporate greed.

This movement is right on time. I was involved in the grassroots movement in the Hartford area one summer signing up residents to vote with Connecticut Working Families. We went to the poor-working class areas in New Britain and even held a protest rally at Nancy Johnson's office. This was the same election year that she was defeated by Chris Murphy and lost her seat in office that she held for about 18 years. It was a pivotal moment for me and it was my first taste of making a big difference by doing simple things like going door to door and reminding everyday people that they can make a difference by coming out to vote. I had the same experience for the 2008 presidential election and though I'm not a fan of politics or politicians, I have an understanding that it is better to be at the table that in a corner complaining about how everything is wrong. The occupy wall street movement has refueled my fire and I'm ready to dive on in! In my woman's studies class our group project is to have an Occupy Uconn event and I'm so excited. The time for change is now and it is an ever evolving concept that we can never allow to lose steam and go cold.

Commentary: On New Haven's Occupy Movement

2011-10-15T12:31:00.000-04:00

By Kathy Glass
Creativity + Social Change
University of Connecticut
11 October 2011

Commentary on "New Haven's 'Occupation' Takes Shape," New Haven Independent, October 11, 2011
The article about New Haven's Occupation highlights some interesting facts about how such a movement is being fulled and shared within communities. It seems that the organizers and occupiers are using various tactics to "get the word out," namely door-to-door canvasing and speaking at churches and stores. In addition, the "Rock-upy New Haven" effort has been conceived to include local bands in the movement and to help spread the message. Most recently, a member of the group created a website specifically for the New Haven movement (http://www.free-haven.org/). All of these various forms of communication seem to spur the movement and spread the message to the people. It's clear that this Occupy movement, like many others, is not only about the political, social and economic positions it presents, but also about uniting a community of citizens and opening up the lines of communication that may have been closed or inaccessible before. If nothing else, this movement is giving people a platform for communication and change rooted in community.

Commentary: Occupy Wall Street and Insurance Companies

2011-10-15T12:27:00.000-04:00

By Will Carnes
Creativity + Social Change
University of Connecticut
11 October 2011

Commentary on "Next Occupy - Wall Street-Run Health Insurance Companies," HuffPost, October 11, 2011

I found this article pretty interesting because health insurance companies such as Aetna and Cigna were brought up in the discussion. I live in Farmington, Conn., and these companies are a ten minute drive away. I have actually done an internship at Aetna a couple of summers ago and met with the former CEO Ronald Williams. After reading this article I had a completely different outlook on the company that I spent a summer working for.

I was unaware that Aetna and other health insurance companies were “profit machines” for Wall Street. I didn’t know rates were going up and less care was being provided. In my intern program I was under the impression that programs for more health care coverage were in the making. I don’t think I was being lied to but I had no idea that the CEO’s of these companies were pocketing an abundant amount of money for themselves and Wall Street. It’s hard for me to pay attention to these facts because I am still under my parents insurance, so I don’t actually pay anything. After watching some of the videos from Occupy Wall Street website, I remember one woman being interviewed in particular. She was saying most Americans are for the movement but as long as they are living comfortably in their homes they are not actually going to come down and protest, they are going to let someone else do it. She went on to say that the people who don’t have health insurance, or a job, and are in financial trouble are the people that have to stand up to Wall Street and make a change. When I think about the future it’s scary because one day I will have to pay for my own insurance. “We've got 9% unemployment, falling wages and a declining standard of living, and these guys are taking raises that stagger the imagination.”(Ethan Rome)

I think its going to be hard to break this corporate greed. I’m all for what the protestors are doing but what if they were put in the positions of theses greedy CEOs. Would they give away their bonuses to help the poor and middle class gain health insurance? In the article it mentioned CEOs received 1 billion in compensation in a 10 year period. Does anyone really need that much money? So the question is ..If these CEOs were to donate the billions of dollars they make, how would it be distributed out? Who would the money go to first? That’s the one issue I have with this movement on Wall Street. Things are not going to change in one day. At what point do the protestors know when they win? Will bills be passed right away and the economy taken out of recession? My opinion is no.

The important idea is maybe one day things will change because all these people protested. Maybe one day we will have a true democracy where the people who keep this country running have a voice in what decisions are made. Maybe one day we will sniff out the greed and keep it out. All we can do is try and hope for the best.

Commentary: On The 99%

2011-10-15T12:20:00.002-04:00

By Jen Pradhan
Creativity + Social Change
University of Connecticut
12 October 2011

When I went on to the website for We Are The 99%, I was mesmerized (for lack of a better word) at everything that people had put up about themselves to take a stand. I was very moved and intrigued all at the same time to keep going. I almost felt morbid, but the sad truth is that its so real. I was flipping through the channels last night and Chelsea Lately (10/11/2011),touched upon how the media was focusing in on the young adults that are out there for sex and food rather than on the bigger picture. Why are they focused on the negative and hiding behind what’s really going on? Instead of standing by and supporting and making a change, the newscast picked the most unnecessary thing they could to report on.

What’s truly sad is that there are millions out there who are only going by what the news is telling them. I was one of those people that took the situation at face value, wondering to myself… “why are you complaining since you choose the job and the career you wanted. You made your bed and you have to lay in it.” I wasn’t thinking about all the other factors such as having a family to support, kids to feed, health deteriorating, debts and foreclosures that are going on with these individuals.

Reading and seeing the pictures of each one of the individuals was a reality check. Not everything is merry and not everybody has control of what they are doing… even if they do have a nice paying job or think they are getting by. One thing I am learning from all this is you think you are ok now but tomorrow you can get into a car accident that can take you from your “comfortable” world (with enough in the bank for a rainy day) that you live in to one that’s going to have you feeling helpless and lost. It’s depressing.

One thing that astonished me was an article that I came across on facebook. When I read it at first, I was agreeing and telling myself …”oh well, this individual should’ve known better. Its sad, but pick something better. It’s a land of opportunity.” But today I went back to read some of the comments that were left by the people that agree with the article just as I had. And I was shocked and disappointed to revisit the article.

The comment below saddened me the most:

obamas1goodyear: 10/08/11 18:13

A few years ago, I attended an open house at a fairly prestigious, and very expensive, university with my daughter who was evaluating various colleges. One of the programs we attended was a panel discussion featuring four or five of the students who were attending the school. During the student introductions, one girl on the panel proudly announced that she was majoring in Women's Studies. After the program adjourned I asked my daughter what she thought that particular girl was going to do with a degree in Women's Studies. She said, "Probably live with her parents." My guess is that she is one of the Wall Street protestors.

The problem is not student loans. It is what students do with the loans. If you are going to borrow and invest $200,000 in a college education, you better learn something useful.

It made me wonder if the mother thought of America like we all or once did –“ the land of opportunity.” Its people like the young individual that was going to major in women studies… that once stood up for women’s rights a while ago when no one believed in us (females) to be equals. Its because of individuals who went for what they believed in to make a change that Obamas1goodyear is able to voice her opinion at all.

I am glad I chose to go over this website ... it’s the tragic truth that I believe everyone should hear and know. Because each one of us can relate and should be proud to be part of the 99% and stand up for our rights.

Commentary: On Occupy Wall Street and Leadership

2011-10-15T12:13:00.002-04:00

By Eileen Ahlquist
Creativity + Social Change
University of Connecticut
12 October 2011

Commentary on "What Occupy Wall Street Demands of Our Leaders," Washington Post, October 11, 2011

I am only just learning (more) about Occupy Wall Street. I am not much of a news-watcher, because I feel that the media is constantly buying into and feeding fear. I am someone who is more focused on immediate surroundings and what I can do to directly affect who and what is around me. However, I have been feeling a little ignorant and out of the loop of this major event. After reading the article “What Occupy Wall Street demands of our leaders”, it summarized a little more about what is being cried out for – hope, economic opportunity and the need for acts of bravery, integrity and responsibility from our leaders. The article also mentions the denial of the “American Dream” to young people. But, I extend that point and include ALL people. I am in my forties, not necessarily the “young” generation anymore. Like many others, I am in a process of career change, back in school, and I am treading the thin ice of creating school debt while the economy just seems to keep failing. As a self employed person who has been hit by the change in economy and being a student trying to monitor the debt I am enslaving myself to, it is starting to make me feel a little immobilized.

Also, I agree with other points of the demands that say we have to protect jobs in America and more importantly, highlighting the real problem of too much power in the corporations. How is it that there needs to be some kind of attention to the fact large companies can hoard money & not divest and continue the flow of economy? As a student in social work classes, it is frustrating to notice I am in a community of people learning how to help and serve the world, while leaders are not displaying commitment to guarding the quality and integrity of lives as much as they are committed to guarding dollars. Social Workers are people who become professionals to serve the needs of people, to promote justice, protect dignity and worth of people and it feels like we are being sent to battle our leaders who really don’t care to see real change for people… they just keep enough band-aids around to keep people in their places. The great vision of this country seems to lie more in its people, not in its leaders.

I am waking up and claiming: I AM THE 99 PERCENT! While my business has remained with some consistency, the trickle of work is slow and “just getting by” seems to feel like a blessing when I look around me. I am in the process of furthering my education and shifting into a new career, but have reservations if the job will be there when I am ready. I own a small house and every month, I have gratitude that I was able to pay the mortgage. Sometimes, when the responsibility feels too large, I don’t even have the option to sell, because I would not sell it for what I still owe on it ... so, sometimes it can be immobilizing. However, as Occupy Wall Street has grown and continues to spread, the hopelessness can start to shift. First, having connection and unity with others feeds the spirit and then feeling some restoration of power as people band together and demand what is needed. I am grateful to be learning more in-depth about what is going on in this movement and I am grateful for the people who have spent their time and energy getting this message going. If the pulse continues, it can continue to wake up and inspire people like me, who have been feeling untrusting of the future yet lacking power. The more voices, the louder the message ... and the more people, the more power.

We Are The 99% - #OccupyWallStreet

2011-10-05T15:48:00.000-04:00

Mothers, Fathers, Daughters, Sons, Sisters, Brothers, Students, Doctors, Lawyers, Cops, Black, White, Latino, Asian, LGBT, Straight, Young, Old, We Are The 99%.

Filmed By: Kristopher Rae
Edited By: Kristopher Rae & Nicky Eyebrows
Music "We Are Your Friends" - Justice & Simian

Nobody Can Predict The Moment Of Revolution - #OccupyWallStreet

2011-10-05T15:44:00.004-04:00

"We want to share insights into the formation of a new social movement as it is still taking shape in real time. The video was shot during the 5th and 6th day of the occupation. This idea to occupy the financial district in New York City was inspired by recent uprisings in Spain, Greece, Egypt, and Tunisia which most of us were following online. Despite of the corporate media's effort to silence the protests, and Yahoo's attempt to to censor it in e-mail communication, the occupation is growing in numbers and spreading to other cities in the US and abroad. ... Please forward our video to likeminded people via email, facebook, twitter - and make the voices of dissent circulate. ... Find the latest news, learn how to participate and support: occupywallst.org"

Creativity at Heart of Society ... An Irish Presidency Vision

2011-10-05T09:38:00.003-04:00

By Steven Dahlberg

Why I Should Be President ... The Irish Times recently asked the seven candidates hoping to succeed Irish President Mary McAleese to outline why they believe they would make a good president.

In a statement of a mere 700 words, Labour Party candidate Michael D. Higgins put creativity at the heart of his vision for society, citizenship and development. Higgins also is the former Irish Minister for Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht.

The vision I am offering is of inclusive citizenship in a creative society, as we build a real Republic that makes us proud to be Irish in the world.
Everyone has a contribution to make – whatever their religion, capacity, origin, orientation or income – and inclusion also means shared responsibility, to each other and to generations yet to come. As president, I would also promote a creative society, combining the best of tradition with the spark of innovation and opening up possibilities in every area of life from education to science to business.
I would encourage creativity in practical ways, something I did as Ireland’s first minister for the arts in the 1990s, establishing TG4 and a network of local arts venues, and helping transform Irish film from an €11 million into a €186 million industry.
I see the same potential today in creative industries from games development to artisan foods. However, creativity is, most importantly, a vital part of citizenship and needs to be supported from the ground up, in our communities and schools. As president, I would encourage access to art, music and self-development for every child.

Rare is a politician who truly understands -- beyond lip service -- that the creative imagination, ideas and engagement of every citizen is the raw material that builds community, develops the economy and shapes the political process. Higgins, whose self-description includes "poet," deeply understands that developing and expressing one's creative self in society is how one meaningfully engages in learning, work and community. He is a prime example of this personally.

Would that the 2012 United States presidential campaign season would include such a dialogue ...

What role does/should creativity play in engaging U.S. citizens in society? How does Michael D. Higgins' vision inspire you? Is there any connection between such a vision for a creative society and what is happening with #OccupyWallStreet?

Sir Ken Robinson Live Friday at 12EDT

2011-09-09T07:34:00.000-04:00

As we celebrate our one-year anniversary this month on “Creativity in Play,” we are pleased to welcome back our very first guest – Sir Ken Robinson. Sir Ken is one of the leading thinkers on the role of creativity in education, work and society. His TED Talks have been viewed by millions and millions of people who care about making education a more-meaningful experience, as well as how creativity can engage people in purposeful learning, work and life. He is the author of The Element and Out of Our Minds. How has Sir Ken inspired your thinking about creativity and education?

Plus, we add theme music to the show today -- "Kindergarten," composed and performed by one of our previous guests, Jonathan Batiste.

The Creative Brain: Tonight on Charlie Rose

2011-09-05T09:52:00.000-04:00

Tonight a rebroadcast of the Charlie Rose Brain Series Episode Twelve: the Creative Brain (10/28/10), a discussion about creativity with artists Richard Serra and Chuck Close, neurologist Oliver Sacks, Ann Temkin, chief curator of painting and sculpture at The Museum of Modern Art and Eric Kandel of Columbia University . [September 5 , 2011 - Charlie Rose - More]

Irish Poet in Creativity Workshops in Arts and Ideas Fest

2011-06-13T10:50:00.001-04:00

The International Centre for Creativity and Imagination will be hosting Anne F. O'Reilly, a poet from Dublin, Ireland. O'Reilly's readings and performances will be featured in three experiential creativity workshops during the International Festival of Arts & Ideas in New Haven, Connecticut.

The public is invited to register now for the "Unleash Your Creativity" workshop series, which includes the themes of "Embodying Creativity: Engaging Creative Collaboration Through Movement and Play" on June 18, "Creativity in the Workplace: Engaging Creativity, Design and Innovation in Organizations" on June 21, and "Composing a Creative Life on Purpose: Engaging Meaning in Life and Work" on June 25. Details and registration information can be found online at <http://www.appliedimagination.org/artidea>.

The workshops will help participants explore their creativity, learn tools for new ways of thinking and problem solving, find alternatives, get unstuck, discover others who value creativity, and engage creativity in the workplace. O'Reilly will use her own poetry, as well as others', as a tool to help participants explore and understand the creative process and their own creativity.

In her book, Sacred Play: Soul-Journeys in Contemporary Irish Theatre, O'Reilly writes: "The truly liberating space is that of play, which can turn the world upside down, and enable a new imagining."

In the "Embodying Creativity" workshop on June 18, O'Reilly will share how play creates the space for creativity and transformation in individuals, in organizations and in communities. Participants will experience several play- and movement-based explorations of personal and group creativity with facilitators leading the Pilobolus method, InterPlay, the Alexander Technique and Developmental Transformations.

O'Reilly also is the author a book of poetry, Singing from the Belly of the Whale and a CD of her poems, "Breathsong." For more than 30 years, she has been teaching and facilitating workshops in spirituality, creative writing and sacred poetry. She was a senior lecturer in religious studies in St Patrick's College Drumcondra until 2008, when she took early retirement and began working as a performance poet, celebrating the healing and transforming power of poetry. She brings to this work many years' training with voice, poetry by heart, sacred clowning, drama and meditation. O'Reilly's participation in the Festival is supported by Imagine Ireland, an initiative of Culture Ireland celebrating a year of Irish arts in America 2011.

Additional facilitators in the "Unleash Your Creativity" workshop series include Renee Jaworski, Pilobolus dancer and associate artistic director; Lisa Laing, Certified InterPlay Leader; L'Ana Burton, director of CDC Creative Dance Continuum and teaching artist for the Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism; Rachel Bernsen, Certified Teacher of The Alexander Technique; Carol Pollard, associate director of the Yale Interdisciplinary Center for Bioethics; Dorie Shallcross, author of Intuition: An Inner Way of Knowing; Lisa Furman, artist and associate professor, Albertus Magnus College; Evie Lindemann, assistant professor/clinical coordinator master of arts in art therapy program, Albertus Magnus College; and Alice Forrester, executive director, Clifford Beers Child Guidance Clinic.

===

The "Unleash Your Creativity" series is curated by Steven Dahlberg, who heads the Connecticut-based International Centre for Creativity and Imagination and teaches "Creativity + Social Change" at the University of Connecticut. The centre is dedicated to applying creativity to improve the well-being of individuals, organizations and communities.

The series is presented by the International Centre for Creativity and Imagination, Albertus Magnus College, the Yale Interdisciplinary Center for Bioethics, AIGA Connecticut, and Connecticut Creates, in partnership with International Festival of Arts & Ideas. Additional support comes from Imagine Ireland.

The mission of the International Festival of Arts & Ideas is to create an internationally renowned festival in New Haven, Conn., of the highest quality with world-class artists, thinkers and leaders, attracting and engaging a broad and diverse audience celebrating and building community and advancing economic development.

Experiential Creativity Workshop Series at Arts & Ideas Festival - June in New Haven, Conn.

2011-06-13T08:51:00.000-04:00

The International Festival of Arts and Ideas will feature “Unleash Your Creativity,” a series of three, experiential creativity workshops. The Festival runs from June 11 to 25, 2011, in New Haven, Conn. The workshops are June 18, 21 and 25.
The workshops will help participants explore their creativity, learn tools for new ways of thinking, find alternatives, get unstuck, discover others who value creativity, and engage creativity in the workplace. This series links the creativity of others with an in-depth opportunity to (re)discover and engage one’s own creativity and its applications to organizations and society. Full details about each workshop and its facilitators, along with registration information, can be found online (register here) or by email. The three workshops include:

At Albertus Magnus College: “Embodying Creativity: Engaging Creative Collaboration Through Movement and Play,” 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sat., June 18. This workshop features facilitators from Pilobolus Dance Theatre, InterPlay Connecticut, Clifford Beers Child Guidance Clinic, and the Alexander Technique, as well as Irish poet Anne O’Reilly who will explore how play creates the space for creativity and transformation. No previous dance experience is necessary to participate in this day, but be prepared to move. This workshop is $99 and includes the all-day workshop, lunch and a ticket to Susan Marshall Dance Company’s “Adamantine” at 5 p.m. on June 18. MORE
At Yale University School of Art: “Creativity in the Workplace: Engaging Creativity, Design and Innovation in Organizations,” 12 to 4 p.m. on Tues., June 21. This workshop features AIGA Connecticut President Rich Hollant, International Centre for Creativity and Imagination Director Steven Dahlberg, and Irish poet Anne O’Reilly. This workshop is $99 and includes the half-day workshop, a reception, Paul Bloom’s “Ideas: How Pleasure Works” lecture at 5:30 p.m., and a ticket to Jack Hitt’s “Making Up the Truth” at 8 p.m. on June 21. MORE
At Albertus Magnus College: “Composing a Creative Life on Purpose: Engaging Meaning in Life and Work,” 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sat., June 25. This workshop features facilitators who will lead hands-on experiences – in arts therapy, education, creativity, art, spirituality and intuition – that will help participants engage their creativity on purpose and for purpose. This workshop is $99 and includes the all-day workshop, lunch and a ticket to David T. Little’s “Soldier Songs” at 5 p.m. on June 25. MORE

O’Reilly is a special guest from Dublin, Ireland, whose readings and performances will be uniquely featured in all three workshops. Her participation is supported by Imagine Ireland. O’Reilly is the author of the book, Sacred Play: Soul Journeys in Contemporary Irish Theatre; a book of poetry, Singing from the Belly of the Whale; and a CD of her poems, Breathsong.

Additional facilitators include Renee Jaworski, Pilobolus dancer and associate artistic director; Lisa Laing, Certified InterPlay Leader; L'Ana Burton, director of CDC Creative Dance Continuum and teaching artist for the Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism; Rachel Bernsen, Certified Teacher of The Alexander Technique; Carol Pollard, associate director of the Yale Interdisciplinary Center for Bioethics; Dorie Shallcross, author of Intuition: An Inner Way of Knowing; Lisa Furman, artist and associate professor, Albertus Magnus College; Evie Lindemann, assistant professor/clinical coordinator master of arts in art therapy program, Albertus Magnus College; and Alice Forrester, executive director, Clifford Beers Child Guidance Clinic.

The “Unleashing Your Creativity” Series is curated by Steven Dahlberg, who heads the Connecticut-based International Centre for Creativity and Imagination and teaches “Creativity + Social Change” at the University of Connecticut. The centre is dedicated to applying creativity to improve the well-being of individuals, organizations and communities.

The series is presented by the International Centre for Creativity and Imagination, Albertus Magnus College, the Yale Interdisciplinary Center for Bioethics, and Connecticut Creates, in partnership with International Festival of Arts & Ideas.

The mission of the International Festival of Arts and Ideas is to create an internationally renowned festival in New Haven, Conn., of the highest quality with world-class artists, thinkers and leaders, attracting and engaging a broad and diverse audience celebrating and building community and advancing economic development.

Fest Best Bets: Creativity Workshops and Yo-Yo Ma

2011-06-10T12:50:00.001-04:00

What might happen when a designer, an educator, an arts therapist, a bioethicist, an Irish poet and a dancer come together to share their approaches to creativity? An explosion of opportunity for YOU to "Unleash Your Creativity" during this experiential workshop series -- named by The New Haven Register as one of five "Fest Best Bets," along with Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble.

The series is comprised of three separate-but-related workshops that will help you explore, develop and apply your creative thinking and imagination in life and work. The workshops are on June 18, 21 and 25 during the International Festival of Arts & Ideas in New Haven, Connecticut. People from all backgrounds and types of work are invited to come and experience these interdisciplinary sessions.

Few would dispute the importance of imagination, creativity and innovation in education, work and society. Yet, the challenge lies in how to best tap into people's creative thinking abilities and channel that creativity to learning better, working smarter and building community differently.

Creativity is a mindset that EVERYONE - not only artists - can cultivate. This series is designed to address the HOW of creativity. The workshops will provide practical, concrete tools for understanding your own creativity, as well as how to engage others' creativity. You will learn how to remove the blocks that keep you from applying your imagination, how to think in new ways, and how to put creative ideas into action.

***

Embodying Creativity: Engaging Creative Collaboration through Movement and Play
Saturday, June 18, 2011
9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Albertus Magnus College

More Info | Register Now

"Movement" allows us to see things in new ways. It changes our perspective. It engages our bodies in learning and thinking. When we move with others, we are challenged to collaborate. Movement is a great metaphor for the entire process of creative thinking, which is a cyclic, moving process.

This workshop will help you deepen your creativity through facilitated movement and play experiences. It is open to everyone -- whether you routinely ignore your body's creativity or you are an experienced dancer. No previous dance experience is necessary to participate, but be prepared to move.

We will be led by:

    * Pilobolus Dancer and Associate Artistic Director Renee Jaworski on "The Pilobolus Creative Workshop"
    * InterPlay leaders Lisa Laing and L'Ana Burton on "Diving into the Deep End of the Creative Pool … or Dipping Your Toes in to Test the Waters: Exploring the Practical Tools of InterPlay to Unlock the Wisdom of Your Body"
    * Certified Alexander Technique Teacher and Artist Rachel Bernsen on "Freedom To Change: A Workshop in the Alexander Technique "
    * Clifford Beers Child Guidance Clinic Executive Director Alice Forrester on "Introduction to Developmental Transformations: Exploring the Use of Improvisation and Movement in Personal Growth"

Plus, the day will be introduced by Anne O'Reilly, poet and author of Sacred Play: Soul Journeys in Contemporary Irish Theatre. Anne joins us from Dublin, Ireland, with support from Imagine Ireland.

Sign up now! Registration includes a ticket to the International Festival of Arts & Ideas performance of Susan Marshall & Company's Adamantine.

Creativity in the Workplace: Engaging Creativity, Design and Innovation in Organizations
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
12 to 4 p.m.
Yale University School of Art

More Info | Register Now

Creativity, design thinking and innovation are among the most important tools that organizations can deploy for surviving and thriving in today's complex, global environment.

Organizations such as Google, 3M and Apple routinely are touted as the most creative workplaces. Yet EVERY organization can learn how to better tap into and unleash creativity in every individual.

This includes how to foster environments that support rather discourage creative ideas, how to enhance creative abilities in individuals across all departments, and how to apply creative processes for group collaboration and problem solving.

This workshop will engage you in the creative process through design thinking, poetry and applied imagination. It will help inspire personal creativity for organizational innovation in everyday work. You will learn practical techniques for real-world application.

Facilitators include:

    * International Centre for Creativity and Imagination Director Steven Dahlberg
    * Poet and Author Anne O'Reilly
    * AIGA Connecticut President Rich Hollant

People from business, education, nonprofits, government and other sectors are welcome to participate.

Sign up now! Registration includes a ticket to the International Festival of Arts & Ideas "Ideas: How Pleasure Works" lecture by Paul Bloom and performance of Jack Hitt's Making Up the Truth.

Composing a Creative Life on Purpose: Engaging Meaning in Life and Work
Saturday, June 25, 2011
9 a.m. to 4 p.m
Albertus Magnus College

More Info | Register Now

    "We have to realize that a creative being lives within ourselves, whether we like it or not, and that we must get out of its way, for it will give us no peace until we do." -- M. C. Richards

Creativity is a pathway into connecting our talents, passions and motivations to do what we love and what we are good at. Creativity helps us IMAGINE new possibilities, CONNECT with our purpose, and ENGAGE with others to make that purpose real.

Creativity is part of what makes us fundamentally human. When we have opportunities to discover and express that part of ourselves that makes us unique, we find joy and happiness and fulfillment. Sometimes we lose touch with this capacity. But it's not lost. It's still there - waiting for us to engage it again.

This workshop includes several hands-on/mind-on experiences for exploring your personal creativity, discovering meaning and purpose, and applying creativity to link your purpose to your life and work.

Facilitators include:

    * Albertus Magnus College Associate Professor and Artist Lisa Furman on "Community Weaving: Transforming Space with Hanging Art"
    * Albertus Magnus College Assistant Professor Evie Lindemann on "SoulCollage®: A Process for Exploring Purpose" and "The Mandala and the MARI"
    * Author of Intuition: An Inner Way of Knowing, Doris J. Shallcross on "Creativity, Intuition and Spirituality"
    * Yale University's Interdisciplinary Center for Bioethics Associate Director Carol Pollard on "The Language of Drawing"
    * International Centre for Creativity and Imagination Director Steven Dahlberg on "Composing a Creative Life on Purpose"
    * Author and Poet Anne O'Reilly on "Freeing What Waits Within"

Sign up now! Registration includes a ticket to the International Festival of Arts & Ideas performance of David T. Little's Soldier Songs.

***

Help us spread the word about this exciting creativity series! Please forward this email, share the details on Facebook and Twitter, post the link <http://appliedimagination.org/artidea/> on your websites, and include it in your enewsletters. Thanks for your interest and support - and we hope to see YOU on June 18, 21 and 25! Don't forget to register now!

The Unleash Your Creativity series is presented by the International Centre for Creativity and Imagination, Albertus Magnus College, Yale Interdisciplinary Center for Bioethics, AIGA Connecticut, and Connecticut Creates, in partnership with the International Festival of Arts & Ideas. Additional support provided by Imagine Ireland.

Is Creativity a Bad Trait for a Senior Leader?

2011-06-10T08:19:00.001-04:00

Thinking outside the box could keep you out of top management, this paper warns. Because of conflicting stereotypes about creativity and leadership, supporters of the status quo -- not the creative types -- are seen as more effective. [10 June 2011 - strategy+business - More]

Creativity, Play, Engagement, Learning and Games ... with Aaron Dignan

2011-05-24T13:18:00.000-04:00

Just had a really great interview with Undercurrent's Aaron Dignan, author of Game Frame. Lots of important implications for how we create/design engaging learning and work. We explored why we are so attracted to things like games, what a "game-like mindset" is, the difference between liking something and wanting something, the connection between boredom and flow, the importance of storytelling and narratives, how play is different (similar to!) addiction, and why engagement and gaming approaches are so important (and mostly lacking) in education. Check out the interview and let us know how you are applying game and mindsets to your learning efforts and work design.

Dahlberg to Moderate Teachers College Imagination Conversation

2011-05-23T11:51:00.002-04:00

Teachers College Presents an Imagination Conversation, a Project of the Lincoln Center Institute, during its "Creativity, Play and the Imagination Across Disciplines" Conference

Join invited guests - including the creator of Imagination Conversations, Scott Noppe-Brandon - and explore with us the importance of imagination and creativity in education, gaming, design and the arts. Bring YOUR "imagination story," too! Now more than ever, we must nurture imagination in our schools, create environments for innovation in workplaces, and build cultures for creativity in our communities. Lincoln Center Institute is fueling the development of imaginative thinking through the Imagination Conversations, a series of moderated public panels being held in all 50 states. These bring together leaders from an array of fields to explore the importance of imagination in their professional lives and society. The Conversations are leading to a national gathering, America's Imagination Summit, at Lincoln Center in July. Learn more about Imagination Conversations at www.imaginationconversation.com.

1:30-3 p.m., Friday, May 27, 2011 – Teachers College, Columbia University

Guests Include:

Scott Noppe-Brandon, Executive Director, Lincoln Center Institute; Co-Author, "Imagination First"
Jonathan Batiste, Jazz Musician; Music Curator, National Jazz Museum in Harlem; Actor, HBO's "Treme"
Donald Brinkman, Program Manager, Games for Learning, Digital Humanities, Digital Heritage; Microsoft Research
Suzanne Enser-Ryan, Interim Education Director/Head of School, Teacher and Docent Programs, The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum
Magdalena Gomez, Co-founder and Artistic Director, Teatro V!da
Michael Lofton, Education Director, Pilobolus
MODERATOR: Steven Dahlberg, Director, International Centre for Creativity and Imagination; Vice President of Innovation, Future Workplace; Faculty, University of Connecticut

Reinvesting in Arts Education: Streaming Live May 6

2011-05-05T08:18:00.001-04:00

Arts Education Partnership announces the live stream of the "Reinvesting in Arts Education" session at its annual forum this week.

Through the generosity of the National Endowment for the Arts and The President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities, we are excited to announce that we will be able to offer a live webcast of the plenary session at the AEP Spring 2011 National Forum.

Reinvesting in Arts Education
Introduction: Melody Barnes, Domestic Policy Adviser to President Obama and Director, White House Domestic Policy Council
Overview: Mary Schmidt Campbell, Vice Chair of the President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities, Dean of NYU Tisch School of the Arts
Panelists:

Kaya Henderson, Chancellor, DC Public Schools

Forest Whitaker, Actor and Member, The President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities

Ted Leonsis, Founder, AOL, and Entrepreneur

Moderator: Gene Wilhoit, Executive Director, Council of Chief State School Officers

As a part of fulfilling President Obama's Arts Policy Platform, at this session the President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities (PCAH) will announce and publicly release its report Reinvesting in Arts Education: Winning America's Future Through Creative Schools . The culmination of 18 months of research, meetings with stakeholders, and site visits all over the country, this report represents an in-depth review of the current condition of arts education, including an update of the current research base about arts education outcomes, and an analysis of the challenges and opportunities in the field that have emerged over the past decade. It also includes a set of recommendations to federal, state and local policymakers. Drawing from the findings in the report, the panel will discuss from various perspectives how to build new allies for arts education and how to link arts education outcomes to the larger educational and economic debates that are occurring around the country.

For more information about the AEP Spring 2011 National Forum, please visit www.aep-arts.org/forums/DC2011.htm

To watch the webcast live at your computer simply follow the link below:
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/reinvesting-in-arts-education

Creative Environments: Best Cities for Young Artists

2011-04-25T10:14:00.001-04:00

Where have all the young artists gone? Well, they've been priced out of Melbourne, New York, Barcelona, and all of those other city enclaves that promised low-rent and lots of encouragement. But new art communities are popping up every day on unexpected parts of the globe. Creative hubs, city-funded projects, and lots of public works are just some of the perks these locations offer to young artists who seek refuge. [22 April 2011 - Flavorwire - More]

Dahlberg to Moderate Lincoln Center Imagination Conversation in Massachusetts

2011-04-20T13:46:00.001-04:00

I'm looking forward to moderating another Imagination Conversation this Tuesday in Springfield, Massachusetts, at the Bing Arts Center!

Lincoln Center Imagination Conversation at Bing

The “X” Main Street Corporation will host an Imagination Conversation at the Bing Arts Center, 716 Sumner Avenue, Springfield, Mass., on Tuesday, April 26. This event, Envisioning A Vital Springfield, will connect Springfield with the nationwide effort to engage communities in proactive, creative consideration of our future possibilities. It is intended to begin an ongoing series to encourage the development of imagination and creativity as tools to prepare Springfield for an increasingly competitive future.

The Imagination Conversations, a project of Lincoln Center Institute and a part of the Lincoln Center 50 Years celebration, run from the fall of 2009 to the spring of 2011. The panel discussion is listed on the Lincoln Center Institute’s website:
http://www.imaginationconversation.org

Many of the Conversations are hosted by state governments, businesses, and cultural leaders. They feature diverse groups of panelists with distinctive perspectives and draw a wide range of audience members from the public and private sectors. Moderators facilitate the conversations, some of which reach viewers nationwide via live and archived streaming video. This two-year initiative will culminate in America’s Imagination Summit, to be held at Lincoln Center, New York, in July 2011.

Imagination, the ability to visualize new possibilities, is a prerequisite for success in the 21st-century global economy. America has long been at the vanguard of creation and innovation, but an economic downturn and increased worldwide competition mean that we cannot take our position for granted. Now more than ever, we must teach imagination in our schools and nurture it in our communities.

The Imagination Conversations respond to this need and prepare us for the future by:

Building national awareness of imagination as a vital tool in work and in life.

Sparking dialogue about imagination across the professional spectrum.

Leading to the creation of an action plan to make imagination an integral part of American education.

The Bing Arts Center will record the conversation, which also will be available for live viewing online:
http://www.lvestream.com/bingartscenter

The moderator is Steven Dahlberg of the International Centre for Creativity and Imagination. The panelists are: Ron Ancrum, President of the Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts; Josh Bogin, Director of Springfield’s Magnet Schools; Magdalena Gomez, Executive Director of Teatro Vida; Michael Jonnes, Executive Director of the Springfield Symphony Orchestra; John Judge, Director of Development for the City of Springfield; and Robert McCollum, former member of the Springfield School Committee and community activist.

The event is by invitation only due to space and seating constraints.

Join Creative Protest: 1,001 Chairs for Ai Weiwei

2011-04-19T08:27:00.001-04:00

PROTEST: A Chair a Day to Free Ai Weiwei! Build a miniature chair at The Aldrich or create one at home; post it here.

The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum invites you to join an international movement to encourage the release of Ai Weiwei, the Chinese conceptual artist who was taken into police custody in Beijing this month on suspicion of "economic crimes." The miniature chairs and posted photographs will be incorporated into an installation which will be on view in the Museum's Atrium until Ai’s release. The call coincides with sit-ins scheduled for Chinese embassies and consulates around the world this Sunday. Participants in the protest will bring chairs and sit down outside Chinese government buildings -- referencing an installation titled Fairytale: 1001 Qing Dynasty Wooden Chairs, which Ai made in 2007 at Documenta in Kassel, Germany. There, 1,001 late Ming and Qing Dynasty wooden chairs were arranged around the exhibition and 1,001 Chinese citizens were recruited on the Internet to volunteer to live in Kassel during the show.

MORE:
<http://www.aldrichart.org/education/aiweiwei.php>
<http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/04/world/asia/04china.html?_r=1>
<http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/?s=Ai+Wei+Wei>

POST YOUR CHAIR TO ALDRICH FACEBOOK PAGE:
<http://www.facebook.com/#!/Aldrichart>

McKinsey on Sparking Creativity in Teams: An Executive's Guide

2011-04-14T13:01:00.001-04:00

Senior managers can apply practical insights from neuroscience to make themselves -- and their teams -- more creative. ... Although creativity is often considered a trait of the privileged few, any individual or team can become more creative—better able to generate the breakthroughs that stimulate growth and performance. In fact, our experience with hundreds of corporate teams, ranging from experienced C-level executives to entry-level customer service reps, suggests that companies can use relatively simple techniques to boost the creative output of employees at any level. The key is to focus on perception, which leading neuroscientists, such as Emory University’s Gregory Berns, find is intrinsically linked to creativity in the human brain. To perceive things differently, Berns maintains, we must bombard our brains with things it has never encountered. [April 2011 - McKinsey Quarterly - More]

Write a Haiku on How We Can Improve Education - Edutopia

2011-04-05T20:22:00.001-04:00

April is National Poetry Month and Edutopia magazine is having a contest, asking people to "write a haiku on how we can improve education." A reminder: Haiku poetry type is a Japanese poem composed of three unrhymed lines of five, seven, and five syllables. A couple of my submissions:

Creativity.
It's where it's at, yo!
Let's think about it.

move move move move move
multiple intelligence
imagine, what if

Imagination.
It's where it all starts, you know?
Nurture it and thrive.

What's your haiku on how we can improve education?

Want Innovative Thinking? Hire from the Humanities

2011-04-05T19:17:00.001-04:00

Tony Golsby-Smith writes in a Harvard Business Review blog post, "Want Innovative Thinking? Hire from the Humanities," that

our educational systems focus on teaching science and business students to control, predict, verify, guarantee, and test data. It doesn't teach how to navigate "what if" questions or unknown futures.

He suggests that:

People trained in the humanities who study Shakespeare's poetry, or Cezanne's paintings, say, have learned to play with big concepts, and to apply new ways of thinking to difficult problems that can't be analyzed in conventional ways.

he says humanities people bring can help with the following workplace challenges: complexity and ambiguity, innovation, communication and presentation, and customer and employee satisfaction.

Part of the challenge of creativity and innovation in organizations is that people say that creativity and innovation matter, but then get stuck with how to practically engage current employees in developing, unleashing and applying their imagination, creativity and ideas for innovation. We've done the convincing that creativity and innovation are important; the gap we need to close is how to put such beliefs into practice. This certainly can include hiring people with broader, creativity, humanities-based education. AND it can include developing creative thinking skills in individuals, assessing the climate for creativity and innovation in organizations, helping people understand what creative products and outcomes look like (and how to get there), and applying individual and group processes for creative thinking and problem solving. Business says its wants this. Educators are ready to run with this. Now we need to make space in both arenas for people to (re)discover and constantly apply this part of themselves.

What do you think about the role of humanities-trained people in the workplace? How else can we tap into humanities-based skills, talents and knowledge?

UN Creative Economy Report 2010

2011-04-01T09:26:00.001-04:00

Creative Economy: A Feasible Development Option
A new development paradigm is emerging that links the economy and culture, embracing economic, cultural, technological and social aspects of development at both the macro and micro levels. Central to the new paradigm is the fact that creativity, knowledge and access to information are increasingly recognized as powerful engines driving economic growth and promoting development in a globalizing world. The emerging creative economy has become a leading component of economic growth, employment, trade and innovation, and social cohesion in most advanced economies. Unfortunately, however, the large majority of developing countries are not yet able to harness their creative capacity for development. This is a reflection of weaknesses both in domestic policy and in the business environment, and global systemic biases. Nevertheless, the creative economy offers to developing countries a feasible option and new opportunities to leapfrog into emerging high-growth areas of the world economy. This report presents an updated perspective of the United Nations as a whole on this exciting new topic. It provides empirical evidence that the creative industries are among the most dynamic emerging sectors in world trade. It also shows that the interface among creativity, culture, economics and technology, as expressed in the ability to create and circulate intellectual capital, has the potential to generate income, jobs and export earnings while at the same time contributing to social inclusion, cultural diversity and human development. This report addresses the challenge of assessing the creative economy with a view to informed policy-making by outlining the conceptual, institutional and policy frameworks in which this economy can flourish. [15 December 2010 - United Nations Conference on Trade and Development - More | Full Report]

“Spirit Groove” - Kojo Samuels & Volker Kaczinski

2011-03-30T08:57:00.000-04:00

From "Let the Dance Dance You," Virtual Friday Morning InterPlay:

InterPlay Warm Up - Phil Porter

2011-03-30T08:37:00.000-04:00

InterPlay Warm Up with Phil Porter:

Gretchen Wagner on InterPlay Forms

2011-03-30T08:27:00.002-04:00

Find more information about InterPlay.

One Hand Dance: In this video, Gretchen Wegner facilitates Dorothy Finnigin in doing a hand dance, one of the basic forms of InterPlay.

Hand to Hand Dance: In this video Dorothy Finnigan and Gretchen Wagner demonstrate how to do a hand to hand dance Interplay-style.

Babbling: Gretchen describes the InterPlay form of babbling.

Find more information about InterPlay.

VIDEO: Tarra & Bella / A Match Made in Ele-Heaven

2011-03-30T08:14:00.001-04:00

From "Friendbella!" Virtual Friday Morning InterPlay:

Shruti Box M1

2011-03-30T08:11:00.001-04:00

From "Breathe In Gratitude," Virtual Friday Morning InterPlay:

What Creative Education Could Look Like ...

2011-03-28T22:44:00.002-04:00

Check this out - The Independent Project!

And read the New York Times piece about it ...

Watch it ...

TEDxDirigo - Zoe Weil - THE WORLD BECOMES WHAT YOU TEACH

2011-03-23T10:26:00.000-04:00

THE WORLD BECOMES WHAT YOU TEACH

Zoe Weil is the co-founder and president of the Institute for Humane Education (http://www.humaneeducation.org/) and is considered a pioneer in the comprehensive humane education movement, which provides people with the knowledge, tools, and motivation to be conscientious choicemakers and engaged changemakers for a better world. Zoe created the first Master of Education and Certificate Program in Humane Education in the U.S. covering the interconnected issues of human rights, environmental preservation, and animal protection. She has also created acclaimed online programs and leads workshops and speaks at universities, conferences, and events across the U.S. and Canada. She has taught tens of thousands students through her innovative school presentations, and has trained several thousand teachers through her workshops and programs. Zoe's most recent book, Most Good, Least Harm: A Simple Principle for a Better World and Meaningful Life, won the 2010 Nautilus silver medal in sustainability and green values. She is the author of several other books including Above All, Be Kind: Raising a Humane Child in Challenging Times for parents; The Power and Promise of Humane Education for educators; and Claude and Medea: The Hellburn Dogs, winner of the Moonbeam gold medal in juvenile fiction, which follows the exploits of two seventh graders who become clandestine activists in New York City, righting wrongs where they find them. Zoe received a Master of Theological Studies from Harvard Divinity School and a Master of Arts from the University of Pennsylvania.

Creativity Manifesto

2011-03-23T10:22:00.000-04:00

By Derek Pettinelli
Creativity + Social Change, University of Connecticut
Waterbury, Connecticut

Society places restrictions on people, dictating what they can and cannot do. First and foremost, one must completely disregard such things and concentrate on what they want to do. Rejecting social and societal norms is the first step and also the most difficult one. It’s also important to keep in mind that one should not break any laws or harm others when doing this.
Rejecting societal norms is the first step and this includes the capitalist/materialist obsession of mass consumption. A goal that is purely monetary is not one worth obtaining and self-fulfillment is much more important. If one is satisfied with oneself, monetary compensation will follow, but it should not be the main goal.
One should be a blank slate by this point, which again is easier said than done. This is a stage in which you should acknowledge nothing except the desire to be creative and achieve enlightenment through creative self-fulfillment.
Being creative involves seeking out completely new ways of thinking in order to “rebuild” oneself. New avenues of thought must be explored in order to achieve a higher level of being.
Researching think tanks and progressive ways of thought are one part of the equation, but one must also look into classical ways of thinking by learning about classical psychology, existentialism and philosophy through works such as Aristotle, Nietzche, Socrates, Plato, etc.
The reading and consumption and processing of information is pivotal. One must devote a large amount of their time to not only seeking out new forms of thought, but to disregarding such useless information such as celebrity gossip, as that only serves to cloud the mind and stifle creativity.
Entertainment must be limited, especially TV. Advertisements and marketing are the ultimate forms of quelling creativity, as it is someone else being creative in order to trick and convince the audience into being a consumer.
Institutions of higher learning are an excellent place to express creativity, especially compared to pre-college schooling and the business world.
Random acts of spontaneity serve to further expand the creative mind. Such acts are difficult to think of and will require work until they become second nature. One must also get rid of any social anxiety by detaching themselves from the physical constraints of the real world and expanding their horizons. Being playful is a great way to accomplish this.
Knowing when to take feedback to heart is also important. Some people are negative and only want to bring others down and these people must be avoided.
Creativity comes more naturally to some than others and this should not be discouraging as it can be taught and it’s important to remember that this is a process that is constantly working 24/7 as the mind is the most complex and powerful tool in the universe.
Expansion of the mind is the penultimate form of creativity, when one is in complete control of the mind, the physical world bears little importance. This is referred to as opening of the third eye, which is almost impossible, almost.

Creativity in Pi(-ku)

2011-03-18T09:48:00.001-04:00

March 14 (3/14) was Pi Day (3.14). (March 14 is also Albert Einstein's birthday!) Some celebrate by writing pi-ku -- that, is haiku (17 syllables) about pi and/or a haiku-style poem inspired by pi (3.14, or a three-syllable line, a one-syllable line and a four-syllable line). In my "Creativity + Social Change" course at the University of Connecticut, we begin class each week with a creative thinking warm-up activity. This week, we wrote pi-ku about creativity. Below are the creative outcomes from that experience.

This exercise, of capturing a key idea about creativity in just a few words, is an excellent example of the creative ability of "highlighting the essence," as described by creativity researcher E. Paul Torrance. Highlighting the essence is about identifying what is important or essential.

What's YOUR creativity in pi-ku? Share yours in the comments below!

You and I
merge
image and thoughts.
- Laurie Lukasavage

Let me see
your
creative mind.
- Laurie Lukasavage

Pam and Willy
like
to get silly.
- Chris Filek

Wandering
through
creative minds.
- Chris Filek

Free your Mind
Think
And Then Be Free
- Derek Pettinelli

If You See
Then
You Can Believe
- Derek Pettinelli

Take a Look
See
Outside the Norm
- Derek Pettinelli

From nothing
Flash -
Beauty is there.
- Robert Sireno

Something needed -
What?
Ah-ha it's there.
- Robert Sireno

Apple Pi
Tastes
Most Delicious
Hot
- Ralph Famiglietti

Pi Day is
so
cool. March 14.
- Joan Terry

Creative
work
innovation.
- April Belanger

Love and laugh
Like
Community.
- April Belanger

What is fun?
Fun!
Nothing but fun!
- Shavon Roscoe

An artist
paints
creative waves
- Shavon Roscoe

A picture
drawn
yes, from my mind
- Shavon Roscoe

creating
pie
mix, roll, bake, eat
- Catherine Capuano

Creative
me,
what next for us?
- Steven Dahlberg

Judging much?
STOP!
Yes, and ... Yes, and ...
- Steven Dahlberg

Imagine ...
Why,
what if, what else?
- Steven Dahlberg

Openness.
Think.
Imagine now.
- Steven Dahlberg

Imagine
and
connect, engage.
- Steven Dahlberg

Celebrate Pi Day With Your Own 'Pi-Ku'

2011-03-16T14:30:00.002-04:00

Happy Pi Day. It's March 14 — or 3/14 if you write down the date in the m/d format. And that means it's time to celebrate that mysterious mathematical relationship between a circle's diameter and its circumference: 3.1415926535... Today is also, appropriately enough, Albert Einstein's birthday. So the science-minded among us have two good reasons to celebrate. He was born in 1879 and died in 1955. But back to Pi. Two years ago, NPR's Bryant Park Project noted Pi Day with this report. As they said, Pi Day is when "numbers geeks all over the world bake pies, write 'pi-kus' and recite pi to as many decimal points as possible." A "pi-ku", bu the way, works like this:

— First line: 3 syllables

— Second line: 1 syllable

— Third line: 4 syllables

[14 March 2010 - NPR - More; and More from CNN]

Creativity Manifesto, or A Note to My Young Cousin Regarding Creativity

2011-03-16T10:01:00.000-04:00

By Michael Sciarra
Creativity + Social Change, University of Connecticut
Waterbury, Connecticut

Listen to others' ideas; even, and especially if, you don't like them (the ideas and/or the persons). You may learn something.
Take the time to read/view often-referenced source materials that interest you. It's quite astonishing when you learn that you have a different interpretation than others before you.
Creativity involves risk. The alternative is extinction. Learn how to manage the risks, and you will be rewarded.
Write down and discuss your ideas. This will stimulate other parts of your brain, and lead to additional ideas that were not accessible before.
If someone is critical of your best ideas, don't let this stop you. See if you can find something of use in the criticism, and move on. Remember, there are many more judges than doers in the world (just like in spectator sports), and a positive thought is said to be five times more powerful than a negative one.
Be persistent, and don't make excuses that prevent you from trying. Harland Sanders presented his franchise idea involving his chicken recipe to more than a thousand restaurant owners before he closed his first deal. That's how Kentucky Fried Chicken came about, and Colonel Sanders was in retirement when he started this particular venture.
Find a mentor. Maybe someone who's doing something that you would like to do, or whose style you'd like to emulate. This will be a great way to learn and develop important contacts.
Remember that it's people that make new products, new political movements, and new projects of all kinds work. Put these people first, because without them, the rest won't happen.
Alter any of the above, and add to the list, as you see fit. ...

Creativity Manifesto

2011-03-16T09:55:00.000-04:00

By Robert Sireno
Creativity + Social Change, University of Connecticut
Waterbury, Connecticut

“For all that has been -- ‘Thanks’

For all that can be -- ‘Yes’”

-- Dag Hammarskjold

________

excitement

a thought seeking understanding

emanates

________

creation of thought

excitement . . . What we know of creation had begun . . . time and space have appeared from an invisible pinpoint with unbelievable potential . . . forming the cosmos as it flowed and evolved . . . the thought continues outward, as if a fragrance, seeking consciousness for its realization and understanding.

According to scientist Stephen Hawkins, many times during this evolving process of “Creation,” things occurred by sheer chance, and without them occurring in this exact way, LIFE could not have been possible. Creation, at all these junctures could have easily gone in another direction, and we would not be here to know. What this indicates is that you and I were “purposefully” put in place, at this time, to be a conscious witness and an aid in the development of the thought.

As a species, we can thank our existence to events that have occurred for their adaptive values. Everything has “happened” to bring us to a point in time. We are now at that focal point for realizing our purpose . . . . . the purpose . . . . .

As LIFE evolved on the planet that humans inhabit, adaptation was possible -- conditions were right -- all was ready. From the earliest single cell form to early man, “Creation” was proceeding, the thought was continuing on its intended journey toward realization. Even now the cosmos continues to expand until its purpose is realized.

Humans began early to intuit the fact that there was something beyond their thinking and objective awareness. Evolution had provided them with senses -- hearing, sight, smell, taste, and touch -- to perceive their world. But, “beyond” that . . . what was there . . . perhaps powerful; perhaps eternal; perhaps caring for their wellbeing. Why did this “something” not communicate directly with them ?

They knew there was something our senses couldn’t detect -- but, what was it ? From this question arose stories about what this something beyond reality was. Stories appeared of gods, goddesses, evil, good, caring, not caring. Individuals arose among the people claiming contact with this knowledge -- perhaps precursors ? The thought was there, seeking a time when they would understand, expanding through time and space, until such a time would come and “it” could be comprehended by all.

What we, as humans, could not know was that this preliminary recognition of our purpose for being here was meant not for some isolated individuals or groups, although their sensitivity may awaken us to the presence of the thought, but was meant for us all as “one.” And to take this one step further, it was meant for the entire universe as “one.” As we sense our surroundings in any “moment” -- and I emphasize “moment” -- the thought is there. Whether we are hearing the wind in the trees, seeing the stars, smelling the wild flowers, tasting the fellowship supper, or feeling the rain on our bodies, we indeed perceive the thought in all its strength, in all its beauty -- not recognizing it. “Creation” involves everything.

thought of creation

So why does any of this matter ? What can we do about any of this, but to go on with our lives -- business as usual ? Are we inconsequential ? That’s far from the truth ! The thought that began the “Creation” of all, the thought that “is” all, endowed humans with a special power. Our species, on the planet Earth, have evolved with reflexive consciousness. We are the consciousness for the entire universe, and thus, for the thought. The purpose of the thought can only be realized through us -- and perhaps even at some point “by” us. Is this our purpose ? If we accept this and attempt to understand all the implications of it, how are we challenged to proceed ? What is at stake ? What type of individuals must we become ?

Scientists attempt to understand all that has happened. They see themselves as a product of a past that we can weigh and measure. We must see ourselves as the future, being drawn toward a point that is ahead. Creation is happening forward. We are being pulled, not expelled.

creativity’s call to action

We must begin with “who we are,” concentrating on this moment -- being “in the moment” as much as possible. “Creation” is happening now. Not in the past. Not yet in the future.
We must realize that “Creation” is now centered in us. We are “Creation” personified. Our consciousness and ability to create are the object of the thought’s evolution thus far.
We must maintain a sustainable way of life for all. We must use our intelligence to monitor our every need, now and future. Our thoughts cannot be only self-serving, but must encompass the entire universe. Harmful actions must be controlled. We must think and feel as the Earth Community.
Next, we must leave ourselves open for what the future could hold. We must meet together in groups to exchange ideas, listening to the visionaries among us. But, hearing everyone. Creativity habits and skills should be nurtured from childhood to maturity. Everyone must be involved. The potential of all should be realized as much as possible as one person may have an important key.

These groups should begin as informal social get-togethers for coffee and then these groups should mix or join with other groups. It is important that we learn about and from each other, in enjoyable settings.

There should be brainstorming of all possible “presents” as we see them, and all possible “futures.” The results of these groups should be like listening to a symphony orchestra. Each separate artist’s contribution is necessary in the overall result.
The results of all these meetings that circle the earth should be presented for all to hear. Perhaps the meeting site could be the United Nations.

If we are serious about all this, committed without fear or other blocks, the thought may bring our consciousness to another level. Our purpose will become clearer. Our meaning will be before us.

Creativity Manifesto

2011-03-16T09:37:00.000-04:00

Shavon Y. Roscoe
Creativity + Social Change, University of Connecticut
Waterbury, Connecticut

As a mother:
Methods to get a child (who’s a fussy eater) to eat his/her vegetables instead of the usual “eat your peas or no dessert.” Turn those “peas” into enemy soldiers who must be gobbled up.

As a daughter:
Letting your parents know that they are still needed, and their words of wisdom mean as much to you today as they did when you were a child. Ask for their assistance by reminding them of a similar situation during simpler times.

As a friend:
Being there even when an upset friend protests how much he/she wants to be alone. Suggest a movie or restaurant that your friend has been dying to see or try. Sometimes we just need to take our minds off of what’s bothering us.

As a letter carrier:
Making sure I can communicate with each and every one of my customers on an individual basis. Treating each of my customers uniquely by being sensitive and understanding to their needs will make them more understanding and compassionate to the job I’m trying to perform for them.

Upon discussion, we know that every one of us is creative in some way. In order to do the things I manifest, I will not be able to paint or draw pictures. Instead, I will use my creative edge to get them done in lieu of the usual reactions and responses.

Ralph's Manifesto

2011-03-16T09:25:00.001-04:00

By Ralph A Famiglietti
Creativity + Social Change, University of Connecticut

Waterbury, Connecticut

If you say something that you want to sound important, you ought to have some facts to back that statement up. (otherwise see #4)
Accept the fact that throughout your life you’re going to make mistakes. Some mistakes are going to be tiny and other more profound. And others are going to be titanic and life changing. Some mistakes will go unnoticed and others will be open to all to see. There’s no one right way to deal with your mistakes. That’s something you’re going to have to figure out as you go along.
Don’t be overly impressed with a title. You know, P.h.D. this and Chairman of that. Yeah, show a little extra respect, but not a lot.
Another fact you’re going to have to accept is it’s pretty hard to go through life without lying. The only way to get good at lying is to practice.
No matter what you do, how well you prepare, bad things will happen to you throughout your life. You’re going to get your ass kicked both figuratively and literally. I can tell you advice like, “Trust no one” or “Expect the unexpected” or “Be Prepared.” None of that will help. Here’s what will help after a bad event. Take a walk, pet a dog, talk to a friend or eat some tasty food. Stuff like that.
So as not to depress you too much after #5 I want to say: Good stuff will befall you throughout your life too. No amount of planning or preparation or education will matter. It’s just pure luck. Enjoy it.
You should always have a good joke available for different situations. One for your golf four-some. One for the PTA meeting. One for a waitress. And remember, it’s not the content of the joke, but the delivery of the punch line that matters.
Don’t be afraid to pay for professional services like electrical, plumbing, snow removal and landscaping. It makes sense. I know there’s a great deal of satisfaction and pride that comes with doing a tough job by yourself. Plus you save money. That makes sense too. I guess I’m saying #8 is something that can go either way.
Kids are great but childhood goes by so quickly. Keep being a kid fun. Yeah education and discipline and structure are important but so are video games. Three hours of video games a day is adequate. Forests have been cleared to write books on child raising so there’s nothing I or anyone can say in a paragraph to cover it all. Just don’t screw things up.
Know that a tomato is a fruit but realize that it doesn’t belong in a fruit salad. This statement has nothing to do with tomatoes. It’s about knowledge and common sense. Get it?
Believe me, your memory isn’t that good. No one’s is. Do you know where your car keys are now? Write stuff down. Everything. Keep a journal or a diary, take pictures. Labeling stuff is good too.
Apologies are another tricky thing to work out. Most, but not all the time, they’re necessary. You may owe a guy an apology but he’s such an asshole that your pride prohibits you from saying, “I’m sorry, I was wrong.” That’s a case where you don’t have to apologize. Apologies require just a tiny bit of groveling. A chef would say, “A dash.” Anyway, don’t overdo an apology.
Understand that in life there are certain things that can’t be justified. You can condone an unnecessary war and urinating in public but you can’t condone littering or kicking a puppy. Learn which is which.
Talking about politics will do you more harm than good. Enough said.
“What’s wrong is wrong even if it does you good” and “Happiness comes from comparing ourselves to less successful people and reference groups.” These are quotes from Popeye and Dilbert. Don’t be afraid to watch cartoons and read the funnies.
“You only have one chance to make a good first impression.” I hate people who say stuff like that. Everyone does. It’s preachy and they’re trying to appear sophisticated and better than you. Don’t ever let them get away with it. Immediately do or say something to put them down. People will thank you.
A lot of times, shorter is better. Extending or dragging things out more than necessary will only antagonize people. This manifesto is one of them times. The end.

Community Is ...

2011-03-16T09:11:00.000-04:00

By Chris Filek
Creativity + Social Change, University of Connecticut
Waterbury, Connecticut

I find the best metaphor for community is community as individuals. Before I get into this however, I would like to talk about how different communities are and what a community can be. I live in the town of Cheshire that is, in and of itself, a community. I am also apart of a music community, people who travel all over the country to go to concerts. I am also in a friendship community, a group of really close friends where we talk most everyday and keep in close touch with out friends who have moved away but who are still apart of that community. I am in a community on Xbox in my Madden football league and in Call of Duty with some close friends. I am in a community of students here at UConn Waterbury. Communities come in all shapes and sizes and there is no one singular definition of community.

A community must first and foremost be all about the individuals. If you ever look at a really good movie, each and every character is unique in his or her own way. Take The Godfather, for instance. Sonny was loud, animated and aggressive, while his brother, Michael, was quiet, reserved and relaxed. If a community was all of the same thinking then you end up with a cult or a radical extremist regime like the Nazis. Individualism is very important and is identified with American society. We are probably the first country where being an individual was virtually universally accepted. The idea of community also matters because it can give the individual a sense of self. Although, in my idea of a community, it is predicated around individuals that we also need to have common bonds that keep us together. My community of concert attendees is bonded by our love of either live music in general, or a specific band that is performing. We are all much different on our own but we are bonded by our shared joy of live music.

From living in my hometown for the better part of my life, I can also tell you that community is also a support system. The Petit Family Tragedy took place in our town and now twice a year we do Lights of Hope, once in the fall and another in the summer as a remembrance to their family. The church and Dr. Petit’s family, friends and neighbors have all tried to be there in his time of grief. We put the luminaries up every year and so do all of our neighbors. We never met the man or his family but we are part of this community and that tragedy touched all of us very deeply.

From what I’ve learned about community I can tell you that any community can be successful as long as the people in it legitimately care about each other. If everyone in the town was a hermit then parks would be overgrown by weeds and recreational areas would become extinct. If everyone thought they were the boss then everyone would fight and nothing would get done. A community is a shared experience among individuals and if you get the right group of people it can flourish.

Manifesto (not in order of importance)

2011-03-16T07:11:00.001-04:00

By Laurie Lukasavage
Creativity + Social Change, University of Connecticut

Waterbury, Connecticut

Accept that you’re not perfect. You never will be, so don’t fight it.
Acknowledge that you don’t live in a perfect world. You are here to try to make it better.
Become comfortable in your own skin. It doesn’t matter how thin, heavy, attractive or ordinary you are, the people who matter will remember you for your personality.
Don’t dwell on what you cannot do, develop what you can do.
It’s ok to change your mind/opinion about something. That’s called “growth."
When you solve a problem ... spice it up! Use puppets to act it out.
Money may not mean that much to you, but it’s everything to some people and you will never change that.
Talk to someone you never liked or understood. Try to find out what makes them tick. They will be suspicious of you, but you’ll learn something.
Don’t take mean comments from people personally. Some people were born ornery.
Find humor in bad situations.
Remember when someone does something nice for you. Smile at them often.
Reward others with praise as if they are your own children.
Avoid snooty self-centered people, they’re not part of the human race.
Don’t let others measure your ability. You are infinite.
If you don’t like something, change it. If you do like something, build on it.
Let yourself feel good.
Let yourself feel bad.
Learn to recognize an opportunity. This will prevent them from sneaking past you unnoticed.
Make your own happiness.(Who knows what you really want, better than yourself?)
Forgive yourself and past hurts from others, and then give it to God to tuck it in his pocket.

Creativity Manifesto for Life

2011-03-16T07:06:00.000-04:00

By April Belanger
Creativity + Social Change, University of Connecticut
Waterbury, Connecticut

Creativity and Innovation can be seen in everyone.

Creativity can be seen in any light, by anyone individual.

Hands-on Creativity needs to be seen in all realms of life; personal, work, and education.

Continuity and Creativity are essential for the creativity process.

Creativity can be fun yet it offers structured plans for work and in your life. Example: Offering creativity in other disciplines in school can result in more creativity in the community.

Trust yourself when making judgments in your life.

Confidence and enthusiasm can create new ideas and experiences.

Keep yourself open to new ways of learning and showing your creative side.

Berenice "Bee" Bleedorn -- Celebrating and Remembering a Great Educator, Philosopher, Humanist, Artist

2011-02-24T22:44:00.005-05:00

To my fellow creative dreamers,

This morning I received word that we have lost one of The Great Ones in the creativity field. My dear friend -- our dear friend -- Berenice "Bee" D. Bahr Bleedorn has died. She was my friend and mentor and inspiration and colleague and teacher who got me into the creativity field 20 years ago this fall at the University of St. Thomas. Her passing leaves a (w)hole in the world. When Bee's 2005 book came out, the "book warming" invitation had a poem on it that was written for her by a Metropolitan State University student in the early 1970s. It really states the impact of Bee on us, and the way we should continue to always see the creative potential in others:

SEED WOMAN
By Kathleen Kuehnast

Seed Woman
Sower of human potentials,
Like a chemist
You experiment with possibilities
And mix together the unordinary
Until it becomes extraordinary.

We will always need in this world
Flowers and roots, seeds and ground,
and a sower -- whether it be the wind
Or you.

For those of you on Facebook, several comments have been left. Please add your thoughts, if you would like.

It looks like the funeral will be Tuesday afternoon at St. Joan of Arc in Richfield, Minnesota. Bee's daughters will confirm this on Friday. A full obituary will be in the papers on Sunday. You can also add comments to the online legacy in the Star Tribune obituary listing.

FRIENDS, please plan to come and join us to celebrate Bee's life with us ... most likely after the funeral on Tuesday. Please share this information and invitation with others, and we will update you with the specifics in the next day or so.

With a heavy heart, filled with gratitude for the 20 years of knowing Bee ...

Steve Dahlberg
International Centre for Creativity and Imagination
http://www.appliedimagination.org/

Community as Individuals

2011-02-23T09:12:00.001-05:00

By Derek Pettinelli
Creativity + Social Change, University of Connecticut
Waterbury, Connecticut

Community as individuals is a metaphor that I feel is very relevant as it shows that there is a mass that is made up of smaller parts. Everybody is a part of a community and while many people try and separate themselves into smaller groups, divided by race or class, I think that’s irrelevant as we are all humans and all must work together for the betterment of society. A community without individuals is not a community; it’s just a lot of abandoned space and emptiness has no way of progressing itself unless there are proactive individuals who work together.

Communities include the people in them, because the people make everything else -- the businesses, the parks, the newspapers, the TV news, etc. Without individual people to keep the “wheels turning,” society will grind to a halt and be left barren, in literal and figurative senses. From a basic perspective, people, who are hopefully individuals, are the community, or rather the facet that binds the community together. They are the wheels on the bicycle that allow for movement, forward movement.

Having the idea of community as individuals is a viewpoint that touches base with everybody involved and conversely, everybody who isn’t involved. Individuals are part of a community whether they like it or not -- from a community being a man-made one, with boundaries and taxes, to a community being one of like-minded individuals who, for example, enjoy watching sports. All of these people are a part of a community and the ultimate goal is to have them be active members working for the benefit of the community, instead of passively and even selfishly watching the world pass them by. The idea of community matters because people are a part of something cohesive, something that is bigger than them. It is imperative that people “get involved” and that helps not only promote individuality and creative, progressive thinking, but it strengthens the community.

The implications of viewing a community as a group of individuals is one that puts responsibility on the individual. Taking responsibility for one’s own actions and using that to focus on societal betterment is important, because I think that is what people should be doing. Everyone has an effect on the world around them, whether they like it or not, and that’s why I feel that people should use energy to be pro-active. The golden rule is something that is almost ageless, a ubiquitous sense of “the proper way to act.” Treating others the way you wish to be treated is unfortunately a foreign concept in many ways and viewing the community as individuals helps hammer home that concept, making people aware of their actions and subsequently the consequences that follow.

Changes made as a result of this have overwhelming potential to be positive for the community and thus individuals. Simply being pro-active in such a way that affects somebody else is incredibly important. I firmly believe in the concept of “paying it forward,” where I do good things for people in the hopes that they will reciprocate positive actions for other people in the hopes of creating a butterfly effect of positivity. The greatest change starts with the smallest action and even the smallest acts of positivity have the potential for great ramifications. With this information, one can be proactively positive, which is the best that we can be, because to quote Gandhi: “We need to be the change we wish to see in the world.”

Community is ...

2011-02-23T09:03:00.001-05:00

By Laurie Lukasavage
Creativity + Social Change, University of Connecticut
Waterbury, Connecticut

Communities are smaller groups of people living, working and playing together within a larger one. In each small community, there seems to be an even smaller group of individuals that affect the entire aura or atmosphere within their own community. They are the people who have the ability to express their thoughts and ideas to others, which in turn motivates others to participate. These gifted people have the ability to make everyday seem fun. The mundane everyday life can become spiritual. When a person experiences a transformation in his or his life from a lonely, repressed, methodical existence ... to a creative, vibrant, “in-the-moment” manifestation of joy, then life suddenly becomes exciting and worthwhile. There is instantly much to look forward to. There is now a solution for a void that was created by a need.

My seven-year-old child inside of me makes me feel like ... I want to drive through my own town and be proud that it is my hometown. I want it to look beautiful and safe and clean. I want people to wave to me and say hello as they go about their business. I want to have conversations with people and exchange ideas about where to hang out. Who has the best coffee in town? What’s new within town? Are there any new businesses coming in? Is there any cool music I can go listen to? How about bands? Local plays? Are there any new trails to walk or ride a bike on? Do I have something I don’t want or need anymore? Like clothes, food, old dishes or furniture that someone else would be grateful to receive? I want to hear my comrade’s suggestions or recommendations. Do they know of any places to visit that they’ve seen that I may also enjoy? And, if my neighbor needs help, I want them to feel free to call me.

Every person has the desire to feel connected to someone or something. However, authority figures within society have tried to govern communities through cookie-cutter rules and regulations. Not every answer is a perfect solution or fit for everyone. Sometimes the resolution needs to be modified for it to be the best possible outcome for that individual. When that happens, then the person experiences personal growth.

Many people do share common interest and traditions. If they are allowed to have close interactions with each other and can do so at a common meeting ground, then good things start to happen. Their immediate circle of family and friends becomes larger. During bad economic times, this can be a life-saving event. It’s very difficult to reach out and help others when you feel desperate and downtrodden from economic woes. If you cannot provide for your family, or even yourself, then nothing else seems to matter.

Unfortunately, there are also individuals who create communities out of their own greed and need for control. This kind of community breeds social decay. It pulls down everyone in that community. Everyone, young and not-so young, needs to know that if a friend is pressuring you to do something that doesn’t feel right or that may cause you harm or emotional damage, then no matter how many times you’ve spoken with them, they are not a friend. There will always be people like this among us in society. Gravitate toward the ones that make you feel good. In return, good, caring people will gravitate toward you.

Community as People

2011-02-23T08:54:00.001-05:00

By April Belanger
Creativity + Social Change, University of Connecticut
Waterbury, Connecticut

Community offers many different concepts to people’s eyes to what could be: community as a process, compost, place, creativity, people, individuals, performance, work of art, and a playground (Dahlberg). Most of all, I believe the most relevant concept to be ‘Community as people.’ According to Wikipedia, “Traditionally a 'community' has been defined as a group of interacting people living in a common location” (Wikipedia 1). Over the past few weeks' worth of readings, I have opened my eyes up to many new ideas about what a community means to me. I think now, what communities do I belong to? I’m still unsure of that answer but I know that I want to expand my learning of what kinds of communities are out there and how I can help make them better. The one thing that any community has in common is people. Without having individuals in it to make up groups, sociologically there wouldn’t be communities. Wikipedia states, “In human communities, intent, belief, resources, preferences, needs, risks, and a number of other conditions may be present and common, affecting the identity of the participants and their degree of cohesiveness” (Wikipedia 2). In theory, the perfect community would have all the best creations of a person, cohesion of a group, and creativity. Before this class, I never quite understood the importance that creativity can have on a community and society as a whole.

Presently, close-knit communities aren’t seen as often as they should be. A community to me is made up of people, concepts, dwellings, desires, creativity and cohesion. People within each community represent what it is they stand for and what they see happening for that community. In some of the readings, one person started a community where people were able to express their artistic abilities openly and freely, and for that reason that community lasted. It took one individual's desire to create an atmosphere, a community that people could be themselves in. The type of person you allow in your community can affect it altogether. Every individual in your community should represent what it is you stand for and why that community matters. Every person has a voice and each of those voices should be heard. Who knows ... down the line I could create a community that is invested in helping out animals without homes. To me every animal has the right to food, shelter and water. Hopefully, one day I have the resources to make that happen. The idea that community relies on people would be very important to my project. I would need the help of the city, volunteers and others to make it happen. In our present day society, we need to re-examine what a community is and how we can learn how to create more of them. If one person had an idea and developed it into a community, the changes are endless. We can learn how to be a better society, a safer one, a more-inspired one. In turn, we could become a better self. If you had the power and resources like the president, the possibilities for a strong community could be incredible.

Community as Salad

2011-02-23T08:44:00.001-05:00

By Michael Sciarra
Creativity + Social Change, University of Connecticut
Waterbury, Connecticut

Characteristics of community can be illustrated with many different metaphors, but I have yet to find the metaphor that encompasses all the different characteristics of community that I can come up with. We've all heard of the United States as being a “melting pot,” a community where people of different backgrounds come together and create something new. Perhaps, but I see that all the elements have not combined to become a homogenous new creation. Instead, different people have different points of connection to others in their social group, and those others have still more connections to different others, in a sort of six degrees of separation that unites all of us, through the bridges of language, and traditions of culture, religion, food and so on. These bridges are like the dressing on a salad, bringing together the different elements to form a heterogeneous whole. The elements of a salad, like the people in a community, are different in limited ways, and are more alike than different: we may find vegetables, fruits, nuts, grains and a variety of other ingredients in a salad, but they are all foodstuffs (though I've seen the occasional gold leaf or flower petal in a salad, they were for decoration ...). With community as salad, the participants need to get in the mix ...

Whatever the cultural, religious, genetic, political, etc., background of the people in a society, all of these people are, well, people. I can recognize the differences, rather than denying or acknowledging these differences, while connecting through similarities. When I am making a salad, I don't ask the tomato to become like the cucumber. I check the freshness of the ingredients, and aim to create a balance among the different ingredients. As the available ingredients change, so does the type of salad that I can create. I use what I have available, and make the best salad I can given the available ingredients. As the members of a community change, the community can collectively redefine itself, rather than segregating and pining for what once was. If each community member is able to continuously respond to changes in the community, the community will remain fresh. Of course, the “community as salad” metaphor cannot convey all, or even most of the aspects of community. Unlike vegetables and other such foodstuff, people have the ability and desire to manifest their creative selves. We may submit to governance to avoid chaos, obtain the benefits of cooperative, lawful behavior, and find support through various social programs; however, the new governance is changing. No longer the chefs in the kitchen creating and serving up what they think is best (and not always what's best for the diners), the new governance is a responsive one, in which an unprecedented number of individuals are empowered with a means to influence the decisions of their government.

With access to the internet and other relatively inexpensive and pervasive tools for social communication, the model of social communication is no longer a hub-and-spokes model. I don't need to own a printing press, radio tower, etc. to broadcast my opinions. I can just log on at home or at the library, or pick up my cell phone, and start typing or speaking. It is because of these technological changes that society and government are able to become truly dynamic entities, not attempting to conform to some unchanging, unachievable ideal, but instead constantly changing in response to new input from constituents. Though I chose “community as salad” as my point of departure, I am thankful for all the metaphors for community, because no one metaphor is sufficient to convey all of what community is to each of us.

No one member or sub-group can contribute to a community as much as a group of members can contribute when the opportunity, ability and desire to contribute is present. Opportunity is systemic, and technology has changed the system. Ability is assumed (we each have something to contribute). Desire requires an object. The desire to live in the type of community in which I want to live motivates me to participate in it's creation, along with the supportive belief that I can participate. Thus, far from being an element in a salad, or the chef that creates the salad, I am becoming a member of a new community of thoughtful, vocal, responsive participants, empowered by technology to influence community leaders and connect with other community members to initiate changes to my community.

Community as Belonging

2011-02-23T08:35:00.001-05:00

By Robert Sireno
Creativity + Social Change, University of Connecticut
Waterbury, Connecticut

Thinking About Community ... Community as Belonging
(ideas about the concepts of “Community”)

Looking back over my life, I have used the word community, or heard it used, many times, and seemed to recognize what was referred to each time. First, a community is usually made up of individuals with common interests and/or values -- the Italian community; the scientific community, the Christian community. A community can be made up of individuals of all possible descriptions, backgrounds, hopes, needs, potentials. Or in some cases a specific knowledge is needed.

The community can have a common location -- the East Side, the Senior Center, or in some instances, it can come together at various locations -- People for Change, interfaith organizations. The internet has created a virtual community with an electronic location. Whether this is true community is in question. A community usually occupies space.

A community usually has significant social interaction. Members of a community can relate to one another on certain levels, discussing things, deciding things, enjoying one another’s company, envisioning the future. Members usually follow agreed upon rules for their community.

Bringing all this together I see that community has a definite structure behind it. It is a group of individuals, occupying space in a specific location, and following agreed upon rules to continue their existence as a community.

These individuals have some sort of common interests or values that draws them to the community where they can take part in significant social interactions, possibly envisioning the future.

__________

Why community ? “Belonging” is a human need (see Maslow’s Hierarchy). Human beings are social creatures. We grow as humans through relationship with others and their acceptance of us, and caring for us. Without this relationship, we cannot realize our self-worth and become contributing members of society.

Through our interactions and sharing with others in community we are able to see meaning in our lives and arrive at an understanding of our overall purpose. Our individual lives take on worth as a part of the whole of human existence. We have reason for living. Without this feeling of worth by our citizens, our overall society would suffer from the lack. Future growth and progress would be limited to our governmental city planning and maintenance. There would be no citizen input or even interest. Social Change would be non-existent.

We as citizens must take the initiative to insist on the incorporation of spaces for meeting and community in present and future projects. Places where individuals could fulfill that need as human beings for belonging. Spaces where they could get to know one another and exchange ideas. Through community we would begin to be heard. To create a society in which we can belong. To sculpt society to our own vision and needs.

Community as ...

2011-02-23T08:25:00.001-05:00

By Catherine Capuano
Creativity + Social Change, University of Connecticut
Waterbury, Connecticut

Community Metaphors:

Community as quilt.
Community as cornerstone.
Community as embrace.
Community as power plant.
Community as symphony.
Community as expedition.
Community as vine.
Community as language.

The Role of Beauty in Community Satisfaction - Richard Florida

2011-01-04T09:56:00.002-05:00

"Beautiful Places: The Role of Perceived Aesthetic Beauty in Community Satisfaction"
Richard Florida, Charlotta Mellander and Kevin Stolarick
This research uses a large survey sample of individuals across United States locations to examine the effects of beauty and aesthetics on community satisfaction. The paper conducts these estimations by ordinary least-squares, ordered logit, and multinomial logit. The findings confirm that beauty is significantly associated with community satisfaction. Other significant factors include economic security, schools, and social interaction. Further, community-level factors are significantly more important than individual demographic characteristics in explaining community satisfaction. [3 January 2011 - Creative Class - More]

Commentary: On Creativity and Sustainable Restaurants

2010-12-20T21:37:00.000-05:00

By Lori Sandefur
Creativity + Social Change, University of Connecticut
Media Reviewed:

TED: Arthur Potts Dawson: A vision for sustainable restaurants
If you've been in a restaurant kitchen, you've seen how much food, water and energy can be wasted there. Chef Arthur Potts-Dawson shares his very personal vision for drastically reducing restaurant, and supermarket, waste -- creating recycling, composting, sustainable engines for good (and good food).

The title initially caught my eye because of the two classes that we attended at Billings Forge Community Works in Hartford, Connecticut. After watching the video, I was impressed with Arthur Potts Dawson and his vision for not only sustainable food being served in his restaurants, but also that the restaurant should be sustainable as well.

He puts a lot of emphasis on what he refers to as the Four Rs: Reduce, Reuse, Refuse and Recycle. He also states that, “everything in nature is used up in a closed continuous cycle with waste being the end of the beginning.” He focuses on trying to connect the “community” of London to the rural food growers.

If everyone could practice even a fraction of this at home and at work, think what a tremendous impact this would have collectively on our environment. The hardest part is initially making the commitment, then starting it and continuing it until it becomes almost automatic.

I am going to try to start going to the indoor farmer’s market at Billings Forge on Thursday afternoons. Even if I start out going every other week, I hope that it will eventually turn into a weekly visit. I am also thinking about giving another try at gardening. Again, the key for me is to start small (and manageable). Every bit helps.

2010-12-20T21:28:00.000-05:00

By Maria E. Zapata
Creativity + Social Change, University of Connecticut
Media Reviewed:

TED: Kiran Bir Sethi teaches kids to take charge
Kiran Bir Sethi shows how her groundbreaking Riverside School in India teaches kids life's most valuable lesson: "I can." Watch her students take local issues into their own hands, lead other young people, even educate their parents.

This is an amazing story and I really like the way she is using the word contagious. We need to be contagious with education, setting it up as priority for the new generations. Education is the number one key to succeeding in life.

The kids are spontaneous and they have fabulous ideas and creativity but most of the time we burn those ideas and creativity because we set up a pattern for them, always telling them the way to do things. We need to trust them, letting them explore and follow their curiosity. Like Kiran Sethi said: “ We need to trust the kids. They will take the power and they will do much better."

We have to spread out the creativity, letting everybody use his or her own way, ideas, curiosity and the new world will be better and happier.

"It is possible to organize cities to teach usefulness, social responsibility, ecological skill, the values of good work, and the higher possibilities of adulthood." (Kiran Sethi)

Commentary: On Creativity and Marijuana, the Money Maker

2010-12-20T21:21:00.001-05:00

By Jason Ynostroza
Creativity + Social Change, University of Connecticut
Media Reviewed: TBA

Marijuana. The very word can bring about a heated discussion about drugs, addiction, crime and money. There are reasons that both sides have about the issue that could persuasively convince a group of people to think in their favor. Instead of arguing about why it's a bad drug, we should be arguing about how it could affect a state's economy. People should be fighting over where the extra money could go and how we can use it, not about its effects on a person. If people were really that concerned about a population's well-being, then alcohol and tobacco would be illegal, as well.

I watched two short clips on the economic benefit that marijuana could have on the State of California. There were very interesting facts and figures, but I knew they were biased because of the favor that it showed to one side. Even though the facts were biased, they were very eye opening. Both videos mention the amount of money marijuana brings in to the state's economy from medicinal users alone -- $15 billion with $1.5 billion in returns in tax revenues. This is a lot of money for a state with such a high deficit. Without this money, where would California's economy be right now?

Connecticut, much like Northern California, has plenty of rich farmland. Our state's staple crop was tobacco for a very long time. Why not have those farms converted into pot fields? The video stated that in the rich soil in Northern California grows some of the best pot in the country. If marijuana were to be legalized, farmers would be able to grow there a lot more comfortably. This would save even more money for the state. California spends a countless amount of money on their Criminal Justice system and on the criminals that are caught growing and possessing marijuana illegally. We in Connecticut could have saved more than $119 million if we didn't arrest anyone for pot possession in 2006.

Both California and Connecticut could creatively put the money that they would earn from marijuana back into their state's economy. One of the videos stated that there is a college that teaches people how to grow pot and capitalize on the industry. A college like that could pump out entrepreneurs that can revitalize a struggling economy. Another clip mentioned a sales tax on legalized recreational use can pay for the salaries of 20,000 California teachers. Connecticut could put the money that they would earn into many positive programs in urban areas. They could pay for fuel assistance during the cold winter months. Struggling school districts can get the money they need to revitalize their schools and buy supplies they need. California's over-crowded prison population could be cut significantly if all the pot offenders were given another chance in society.

Marijuana is a money maker. There are no questions about it. If people could just agree on the positive impact marijuana could have on our society then we can move onto the next step of actually making money. That money in turn can start the process of digging this country out of our debt.

Commentary: On Creativity, Music and Technology

2010-12-20T16:39:00.000-05:00

By RJ Sisca
Creativity + Social Change, University of Connecticut
Media Reviewed:

Peter Sassmannshausen/FUNKYSASSMANN - July 11, 2010: Official winner of the Sony Make.Believe Music Experience Competition.
I entered because it was a great opportunity to be creative and to learn how to produce a music video, although this is the first experience making a video whether i won or not it didn't matter, it has been awesome. This was what i had in mind: The 'Creativity Module' measures the amount of creative elements in ones life, in the clip the subject being tested is me. Enjoy!

This video shows how technology can be used to create music -- that one guy creates an entire band using just himself and a computer module. Creating music is a way people expresses themselves. However, there are pros and cons on using technology to create music. Music no doubt has come a very long way in just a short period of time. Although computers are a way of life, it is how we use them to enhance our work or, perhaps, to become more lazy doing the work.

The video shows one guy with many different instruments ranging from keyboards to snare drums. As the music starts, different instruments are used one by one, and the guy uses himself to start playing. As the song goes on, he ends up cloning himself to play more and more instruments. By being able to use a music computer module, the person is able to incorporate different beats, as well as other instruments to create the song. Recording studios, even small ones, use all kind of computers and ways to have one person be the band while recording the song. This seems to be very cost effective and provides more options for creating songs. Yet some may argue that using computers may limit the true creativity of music. In my view, computers and other music modules enhance a singer/songwriter to come up with a unique perspective on the song they are trying to achieve. Also, with the equipment we have today, we are able to take older songs and clean them up. By cleaning up and remastering songs from 50 to 70 years ago, we are able to preserve them, as well as let a new generation of listeners enjoy true music.

What are the cons of using computers to enhance music? Some may argue that the music is not pure or authentic. In the days of Sinatra and Elvis, no one dreamed of the possibilities that music can achieve today. For some people, hearing that snap, crackle and pop on a song takes them back to their glory days. You don't need tens of thousands of dollars to create music -- any person can create music out of anything. Just by clapping your hands or banging on a wall you are able to create music. Yet if you want to be a rock star, you are going to need the digital equipment of some sort.

Again, a lot of people will argue that technology and music limits creativity. I truly think that the technology we have helps bring music together. With the technology we have today, we are able to take singers from different generations and perhaps create a unique duet. Imagine a song being sung by Micheal Jackson and Richie Valens. Two different people that made it big at two different time periods. That's what technology can do with music today. No matter what, there will always be remakes of older songs, but the singers haven't forgot the pioneers of the music world, as well.

Commentary: On Creativity and Motivation

2010-12-20T08:33:00.001-05:00

By Daniela Petosa
Creativity + Social Change, University of Connecticut
Media Reviewed:

TED: Dan Pink on the Surprising Science of Motivation
Career analyst Dan Pink examines the puzzle of motivation, starting with a fact that social scientists know but most managers don't: Traditional rewards aren't always as effective as we think. Listen for illuminating stories -- and maybe, a way forward.

Dan strongly believes in incentive design or rewarding employees for their performance. He explains extrinsic motivation and that it works -- depending on the situation. He references a concept known as the Candle Problem. He describes how motivation is being free to be creative and flexible. It is natural as humans to feel motivated with an incentive. Dan makes a compelling case on why we need to change our ways. He states that some rewards work well for some and not others. Some rewards work well for simple tasks because the mind is concentrated and has a narrow focus while difficult and more complex tasks narrow our minds and restrict possibility. He mentions that the more difficult tasks should not be over looked by keeping our minds restricted and to be open in our peripherals.

Dan believes there is a mismatch between what science knows and what business does. He believes the science of motivation: “As long as the task involved only mechanical skill, bonuses worked as they would be expected: the higher the pay, the better the performance, but once the task called for even rudimentary cognitive skill, a larger reward led to poorer performance.” He claims that this isn’t a feeling or a philosophy, but a fact. He divides the brain and categorizes people such as programmers and accountants as left-brain thinkers, while the right-brain thinkers as more creative. Organizations today outsource left-brain tasks overseas because it is easy to automate these activities, while the right-brain individuals have their own candle problem they are facing. Organizations are based on assumptions that are outdated. The solution is not to do more of the wrong things. “We find that financial incentives ... can result in a negative impact on overall performance.” Management is an invention that doesn’t last. To utilize management is to engage in self direction which works the best. To strengthen a business and solve candle problems, enhance creativity to drive individuals to do things that matter for their own sake. Dan concludes that IF-THEN rewards can destroy creativity. Organizations in the 21st century need to encourage individuals to be themselves. Perhaps the world would be a better place. ...

Overall, the presentation by Dan is correct. He makes a strong, science-based case for rethinking motivation. He does get the big picture right. He says that people would prefer activities where they can pursue three things:

Autonomy: People want to have control over their work.
Mastery: People want to get better at what they do.
Purpose: People want to be part of something that is bigger than they are.

Top management sets the basic compensation and benefits structure. If that isn't perceived as fair and consistent, then natural, intrinsic motivation won't kick in. I personally applied a reward program at work and added a creative touch to it. I had employees compete amongst each other for prizes and as a result the staff was happier and generated more sales. Organizations need to implement a design where it will both benefit the company, as well as employees. If the employees are happy, the business will succeed.

Commentary: On Learning and Creativity

2010-12-14T10:01:00.002-05:00

By Matthew Delaney
Creativity + Social Change, University of Connecticut
Media Reviewed:

TED: Malcolm Gladwell on Howard Moskowitz and the Reinvention of Spaghetti Sauce
Malcolm Gladwell is the best-selling author of "The Tipping Point" and "Blink." In this talk, filmed at TED2004, he explains what every business can learn from spaghetti sauce.

In this video, Malcolm Gladwell talks about his hero, psychophysicist Howard Moskowitz, who is most famous for reinventing spaghetti sauce. Malcolm goes into great detail about Howard's start-up consulting firm and how he was first hired by Pepsi to help find the right amount of aspartame to put into Diet Pepsi for the benefit of sales. Howard found in his studies that there is no "Perfect Pepsi" -- only "Perfect Pepsis," meaning that there are too many variations of preferred taste and preference among people to pigeon hole one perfect type. His findings were immensely vital to the food industry and had an instant impact on how food was created, sold and marketed -- most significantly with spaghetti sauce. However, his true findings were in the diversity of the preferences of Human Kind. As Gladwell states: "Where embracing the diversity of human beings, you will find a sure way to true happiness."

This speech is a wonderful example of how the creative process, in any problem-solving event, can take the solution of a simple problem, on a small scale, and develop it into a possible solution or idea that could spark change on a much greater level. As Biological Matter, we are connected to our surroundings physiologically and every part of our environment is as much a part of us as we are of it. That being said, where as, on a sub-atomic level, the smallest bit of change can start a domino effect that can cause a noticeable change in our lives as we know them, a change in the life of a single person can have the same effect on the world in which we live. As mathematics has proven, any given formula will have the same solution on any scale as long as the ratio of the parts and variables in that formula are constant. Using your creativity to overcome a problem in the smallest form could ultimately become the solution to a problem that could change the world for the better. One might not even realize they have sparked this level of change.

Howard Moskowitz was immersed in his work to find the right flavor of foods. However, his idea influenced Malcolm Gladwell, a well-known writer, teacher and great thinker of this generation. Being a best-selling author and journalist, Gladwell has the ability to reach millions with his thoughts and ideas. In the case of this video, Malcolm is speaking on the ideas of Moskowitz, as well as his interpretations of those findings, to millions. Thus, having an influence and a continuing domino effect on all who view this video. These viewers are influenced by what Gladwell is teaching.

Creativity, along with hard work, perseverance and determination, is vital to the natural progression and evolution of Human Kind. There must always be an embryo status to the creative process and that always begins with an idea. Without an idea, perpetuation of all things will continue. If you want to change the way something is on a grand scale or on a Worldly Level, you must begin with a small lab test. It is the thought that we are too insignificant to make change that hinders our progression. It is the belief that we have no control that damages our social landscape. It is the notion that finds studying the preferences of spaghetti sauce to be insignificant that labels our lives insignificant. Change begins with the creative process. Change begins with you.

"I’m starting with the man in the mirror." – Michael Jackson

Reconnecting Nature and Culture - Webinar Today

2010-11-23T08:51:00.001-05:00

Earthscan invites you to join a free webinar presented by the authors of Biocultural Diversity Conservation and Sacred Natural Sites for an event that explores the important relationship people have with nature and how vital it is for the future of our natural world.

Reconnecting Nature and Culture

Understand the concept of biocultural diversity
Learn how to integrate cultural and spiritual values into conservation, tourism and heritage management practices
Discover how embracing the values of local people can dramatically increase the success of conservation and sustainability efforts, for the benefit of all.

Tuesday 23rd November 2010 17:00 (UK time – GMT), 12:00 (EDT), 9:00 (PDT)
Click here for free registration

Luisa Maffi will introduce the concept of biocultural diversity; and explain the benefits of understanding the linkages between biodiversity and culture for conservation and sustainability. Robert Wild will further the discussion through a focus on sacred natural areas. He will explore the benefits of utilising the connection between these natural areas and cultural values in order to protect landscapes.

Luisa Maffi is co-author of Biocultural Diversity Conservation, she is a linguist, anthropologist, and one of the originators of the field of biocultural diversity. She is co-founder and Director of the international NGO Terralingua. She is based in British Columbia, Canada.

Robert Wild is co-editor of Sacred Natural Sites. An ecologist and social scientist with 25 years practical experience of working with communities at protected areas in East Africa, Caribbean, Indian Ocean and Europe. He is chair of the IUCN's Specialist Group on Cultural and Spiritual Values of Protected Areas, and is based in Scotland.

Who should register? Professionals and academics working in the fields of conservation, tourism and heritage management. Can’t make the date? Simply email Rachel.Butler@earthscan.co.uk with Reconnecting Nature and Culture recording in the subject line and we will send you a link to the archived event.
Receive a 20% discount on a book, too: type EARTHCAST into the voucher code box in your shopping cart when ordering any book. For more information, and to view all previous Earthcasts, please visit http://www.earthcasts.co.uk. [17 November 2010 - Earthscan Ltd]

National Creativity Network Launched in Oklahoma City

2010-11-19T09:40:00.001-05:00

In conjunction with the seventh annual Creativity World Forum 2010 held in Oklahoma City, November 15-17, the National Creativity Network officially launched at a special meeting with Founding Chair, Sir Ken Robinson, on November 15 from 9:00-11:30 am at the Skirvin Hilton Hotel.

For two years, creativity and innovation leaders in the U.S. have gathered with Sir Ken Robinson and leaders in Oklahoma who began a statewide creativity movement, Creative Oklahoma, linking education, commerce and cultural efforts, in 2006. On November 15, representatives from the states of Wisconsin, New Jersey, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Colorado, Massachusetts, Connecticut and New York joined with Oklahoma leaders to announce the formation of a new National Creativity Network, linking statewide and regional creativity initiatives in the United States.

The National Creativity Network will facilitate the exchange of ideas, share best practices, and encourage collaboration among partnering geographic districts committed to creativity and innovation in America across the three sectors of education, commerce, and culture. Network members are committed to the urgent need in the U.S. to nurture and promote the development and expression of creativity and innovation, in education, in business and in the community; ideas and actions so that America can remain a world leader in innovation, discovery, free enterprise, and learning.

“As the pace of change quickens around the world, many communities throughout America are facing powerful economic challenges. In addition to the recession, they include the decline of old industries and the need to generate new forms of businesses and employment. Patterns of community life also continues to change and evolve, causing social challenges,” explains Sir Ken Robinson, Author of The Element: How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything and Founding Chairman, National Creativity Network.

“To face these challenges, we must develop high levels of imagination. Throughout the country there are many regions that are rising magnificently to these challenges. The purpose of the National Creativity Network is to connect these regions so that they can support and enrich each other's work and promote the vital spirit of economic and social innovation across the whole United States," said Robinson.

The National Creativity Network will be based in Oklahoma City with a national board. Sir Ken Robinson is the Founding Chair and George Tzougros, Executive Director of the Wisconsin Arts Board, is the Board Chairman.

NATIONAL CREATIVITY NETWORK BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Sir Ken Robinson, Founding Chairperson, NCN
International Creativity, Innovation, and Human Resources Consultant
California

Dennis Cheek, Ph.D.
Senior Fellow
Foreign Policy Research Institute
Pennsylvania

Steven Dahlberg
Director
International Centre for Creativity and Imagination
Connecticut

Carrie Fitzsimmons
Executive Director
ArtScience Labs
Massachusetts

Jean Hendrickson
Executive Director
Oklahoma A+ Schools/University of Central Oklahoma

Wendy Liscow
Program Officer
Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation
New Jersey

Susan McCalmont
Executive Director
Kirkpatrick Foundation
Oklahoma

Robert Morrison
Founder
Quadrant Arts Education Research
New Jersey

Scott Noppe Brandon
Executive Director
Lincoln Center Institute
New York

David O’Fallon
President
Minnesota Humanities Center

Mark Robertson
Attorney
Robertson & Williams
Oklahoma

Susan Sclafani
Director, State Services
National Center on Education and the Economy
Washington, DC

George Tzougros
Executive Director
Wisconsin Arts Board

[15 November 2010 - Creative Oklahoma For more information, contact: Kathy Oden-Hall, Creative Oklahoma, 405-203-5742, kodenhall@stateofcreativity.com]

Alice Dancing Under the Gallows - Official Trailer

2010-11-03T16:39:00.000-04:00

Commentary: On Creativity and Food

2010-11-03T14:41:00.007-04:00

By Todd Gabriel
Creativity + Social Change, University of Connecticut
Media Reviewed:
TED: Jamie Oliver
http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/jamie_oliver.html
Read Jamie Oliver's challenge: How can we raise kids' awareness of the benefits of fresh food so they can make better choices?
Jamie Oliver explains very simply how most of the food we eat in America is nonnutritious and highly processed. His focus is on children, stating that every new generation will lose 10 years off their lives through obesity because of the bad food they eat. His mission is to raise awareness of the processed foods we eat as adults and feed our children, not only at home but in schools around the country as well as places of work. He wants to get good, local, whole foods back into our homes and schools.

Processed foods are usually made up of two products -- corn and soy beans. These crops are extremely cheap and can be grown in huge quantities in this country. Most large scale farmers in the United States produce three things -- corn, soy beans and animals that can be ground into processed meats, such as turkey (not the kind you eat at Thanksgiving) to make “turkey products” such as turkey bacon, turkey sausage, etc. The corn and soy beans can be refined to make fillers for a plethora of foods. If you look at the label of processed foods, you will find one if not both of these two ingredients in some form, such as corn syrup, corn starch, corn meal, soy protein, corn oil and hydrolyzed corn gluten, to name a few. They are added because it keeps cost down and adds a flavor of one or more of the three things that the food industry has learned we respond to -- sugar, salt and fat. We crave these things, so if they can some how get these things into the foods they sell us in a cheap way than they have succeeded. What they don’t realize or don’t care about is that it is killing us. And not only through weight gain but by using man-made products that our bodies can't metabolize properly and can lead to many unknown effects.

Jamie Oliver states three major things we can do. First, raise awareness about the foods we eat. Second, to get money and resources to the people who will help change the food environments from processed to whole foods. And third, start cooking at home. He states we lost our traditions of cooking real foods at home and passing down to next generations recipes and the know how of cooking. Children are a focus because they can change and stop the cycle before it continues.

I believe in Jamie Oliver’s cause. I personally look at food as a link in a long chain of fundamental change. If we can learn to understand the importance of sustainable, local foods and environments in our neighborhoods it will benefit us greatly in many ways. Jamie is creative in the way he took a passion for food and turned it into a way to change a country or countries for the better. He’s also creative in his execution. For example, he shows the kitchen he opened that took local, healthy food and distributed it to schools using local people. He put into action what he is speaking about. It takes many creative ideas and ways of thinking to be able to change conventional ways. Jamie is demonstrating this here with his food movement.

ART Today in New Haven - SERA Salon: Social Experiments Relational Acts

2010-10-10T10:34:00.001-04:00

[8 October 2010 - By City Wide Open Studios 2010]
This weekend at the Alternative Space, City-Wide Open Studios hosts SERA (Social Experiments Relational Acts) Salon, examining the notion of art as service – in a vacant, fully-outfitted nail salon.

Artspace has cleaned the salon, but left its original trappings – magazines, customer autographs, nail polish tubes, manicure tables and pedicure tables – intact. From 12 pm – 5 pm on Saturday, October 9, and Sunday, October 10, visitors will be able to participate in a series of site-specific experiments, developed by various artists and organized by Ted Efremoff.

One such experiment is “IMAGICURE: an imagination exchange for creative alternatives,” developed by Steven Dahlberg. In IMAGICURE, visitors are invited to to contribute an idea about how to infuse more creativity in education. In his statement to Artspace, Dahlberg adds that, “A salon is inherently a place of social interaction, where ideas are exchanged and community is built….This experience explores creativity in service to self and the community.”

Dahlberg focuses on applied imagination in search of creative alternatives. He is interested in how creativity improves the well-being and flourishing of those who engage in it. He directed an international creativity conference and currently heads the International Centre for Creativity and Imagination.

The project also includes the relational act, WAIT. WAIT engages its participants through a “Take-a-Number” ticket dispenser “Take-a-Number” ticket dispenser, and other permutations of symbolic place holders, that only exist to allow access to a future experience or object. This is a relational act intended to discover, or at least approximate what we are waiting for? What are the philosophical existential implications of waiting? When do we wait? What does waiting feel like?

WAIT has been developed by John O’Donnell. O’Donnell was conceived on Halloween, born on his father’s birthday, and raised in Montana. He lives and works in Connecticut. He has exhibited at the Chelsea Art Museum, the International Print Center in New York, and the Seoul Museum of Art in Korea. John creates installations, videos, performances, prints and works on paper.

Also participating are PRAXIS, the joint project of Delia Bajo and Brainard Carey. Among many other notable achievements and innovations, the pair have previously participated in the Whitney Biennial.

Please join us this weekend to celebrate this unique event. Social Experiments and Relational Acts await you ...

More about SERA ...

Pilobolus on Creativity - LIVE Friday at noon EDT

2010-10-08T00:41:00.002-04:00

Pilobolus' Itamar Kubovy on Connecting the Creative Process in the Studio and the Organization ... on Creativity in Play, 8 October 2010, 12:00 p.m. Eastern ... listen LIVE online at http://www.creativityinplay.com/ or via telephone at +1 347 826 7082. Pilobolus is an arts organization that operates with a principle of "radical democracy" - where everyone's creativity matters. Their challenge to themselves is to reflect that process in not only how they create and perform dance, but in how they run the organization itself as an organic, creative entity. We'll explore what lessons other organizations can learn from the Pilobolus experience, as well as the importance of movement in creativity. Itamar will participate in the
Creativity World Forum in Oklahoma City, November 15-17, 2010. Discover more about Pilobolus at: http://www.pilobolus.com/

ABOUT CREATIVITY IN PLAY: Exploring the importance of creativity, play and imagination across society. Hosted by Steven Dahlberg (International Centre for Creativity and Imagination) and Mary Alice Long, Ph.D. (Play=Peace). Produced by the International Centre for Creativity and Imagination, in partnership with the National Creativity Network. ... 'The creation of something new is not accomplished by the intellect but by the play instinct acting from inner necessity. The creative mind plays with the objects it loves.' – Carl Jung

Making a Mental Athlete

2010-10-06T13:06:00.001-04:00

It Doesn't Take a Genius to Win the USA Memory Championship, Just Practice ... Can you memorize the names and faces of 99 people you've never met before? Or, how about memorizing an entire deck of cards? These are just two of the challenges confronting competitors at the annual USA Memory Championship. Tips on improving your memory from kids competing to be memory champs.The competitors are no smarter than you. But they are athletes -- "mental athletes" -- and 42 of them, ranging in age from 12 to 53, participated in the 10th annual memory competition held last weekend in New York City. [16 March 2007 - 20/20 - More]

Commentary: On Creativity and the Brain

2010-09-27T15:31:00.004-04:00

By Renee George
Creativity + Social Change, University of Connecticut
Media Reviewed:

TED - February 2008: Jill Bolte Taylor's Stroke of Insight
Jill Bolte Taylor got a research opportunity few brain scientists would wish for: She had a massive stroke, and watched as her brain functions -- motion, speech, self-awareness -- shut down one by one. An astonishing story. Brain researcher Jill Bolte Taylor studied her own stroke as it happened -- and has become a powerful voice for brain recovery.

Jill Bolte Taylor is an neuroanatomist who suffered a stroke. She experienced herself having the stroke for more than four hours. She studied herself from the inside out. It took eight years for her to have a full recovery. She wrote a book about her experience and has appeared on several talk shows to tell about her story. I found it very moving. I never realized that the left and right sides of our brain store completely separate information. The right side of the brain is where we make our dreams into reality. We decide what we want and we make it happen. Our thoughts turn into energy and we send that energy out into the universe. The universe gives back to us what are thoughts put out. Our cells communicate with one another and with chemicals in the brain. This is how we process information. The right side of the brain is where we are right now. In the present moment. Jill explains that we are energy beings all connected together. I can relate to this because when I dream of something or I put a lot of thought into something, it manifests. It is the energy carried in the thoughts that I put out and the universe gives me what I ask for. This makes perfect sense to me. The right side of the brain is where everything is peaceful and right and beautiful. It is the side where we have the power to choose. We can choose to be whole beings. We can choose to believe that we are all perfect just the way we are. We can choose to get along with one another and let go of our perceptions and judgments. We are at peace with ourselves and with everyone else.

The left side of the brain is very different. This is the side that lives in the past and lives in the future. This is the side where we catergorize and add details. This is the side where we attach memories, sounds and sights to. This is the side that we build on from when we are children. Every experience is a memory and a story and we file it away. The story reoccurs over and over. Everytime an applie pie is baked a certain memory from childhood may pop up. Everytime we hear a certain song or movie we may recollect a memory or an experience. This can be positive or negative depending on the experience. If there is a tragedy in our past and we don’t deal with it, it will haunt us because our left brain does not forget. If someone hurts us, our left brain tells us not to trust that person. We hold on to that. We can’t let it go. Our left brain won’t let it go. This is how tension and resentment starts. We are not able to let go and this is what Jill talks about. We fill our left brain with BAGGAGE. That baggage gets in the way of us being who and and what we want to be. This is is how we become single, solid and separate from the rest of the world. We are not unified. We are out for ourselves alone. The left side of the brain thinks in language. It affects our relationships. It prevents us from connecting and experiencing joy. It holds on to grudges and stories. It does not let us progress as human beings because our minds are always going with chatter and we listen to it and it controls us. It tells us what to do and how to react. It tells us how to respond and how to feel. It is full of interpretations. I feel it can be our enemy if we let it control us.

I was moved by the closing of this video. Jill shared that we can be loving, beautiful, compassionate people who choose to step to the right of our left hemispheres. She talks about taking back our power and how we are the lifeforce of the universe. We can choose how we want to be in the world. We can let go of the chatter in our minds and just be. We can be that GIANT person where we feel on top of the world and nothing affects us. I found it to be liberating. I found it to be refreshing. I found it to be inspirational and motivating. We don’t know how long we have on this earth. Why are we spending so much energy on things that don’t really mean that much in the scheme of things. We are cells! We are dust living in an orbit in space. Most of what we complain about does not really matter. Do we really need to put so much time into fighting a war and guns and killing? When you put things into perspective, the small stuff seems so trivial to me. This video has helped me realize that if I can let go of the thoughts in my left brain and add to the thoughts in my right brain, I will experience nirvana.

Commentary: On Creative Decisions

2010-09-27T14:59:00.006-04:00

By Simone Maxwell
Creativity + Social Change, University of Connecticut
Media Reviewed:

Exploding Creativity Episode 4 - September 9, 2008: Decision Making and Creativity (click to listen to audio podcast)
You can and will use creativity in decision making, and you will make decisions in your creative pursuits, and depending how you look at it, creativity and decision making look a lot alike.

Who would believe that when you make an intuitive decision it is actually based on creativity? After the decision is made, we often exhaust our brain power, worrying about the consequences for the action we just completed. Not once did I believe that creativity and decision making were interlinked.

According to Bob Sharp on http://explodingcreativity.com/, decision making based on intuition is not irrational, it is creative. So all of us are creative, since at one point or another, a decision was made based only on that knee-jerk feeling we had. Decisions that based on the first thought that enter our brains are actually made because of our life experiences. In the moment the decision is made, we are actually being creative. "Decision" is defined by E. Frank Harrison as a “moment of choice; an ongoing process of evaluation of alternatives with a view to selecting one or some combination of them to obtain the desired end.” I love this definition. It makes me feel like a decision is an accomplishment. Did you know that not making a decision is a decision? I knew this, of course, but actually hearing someone else say it is another thing completely.

It was a complete eye opener to learn that a group decision can be more creative and somewhat easier than when a decision is made alone. I am not sure I agree with this idea. Being the master of my own destiny is easier to manage with me, my decision, and my consequences. Making a choice in a group can have its benefits, however. If all goes wrong, there is someone to share the blame with.

Decisions as a creative process have actually changed my outlook on the whole scenario. I will now take pride in the decision-making process. It is amazing to me that we do something that just comes naturally to us without thinking of the steps we actually take. So today I learned that creativity, decisions and intuition all go hand in hand. It is something that I am happy to say I learned and happy to acknowledge I do daily.

E. Frank Harrison also came up with a decision making process that I am going to place the flow chart below. You can tell me if you agree or not. I am still working my way through them.

Testing Hope - Grade 12 in the New South Africa

2010-09-25T14:25:00.004-04:00

The South African government struggles to remedy inequity and substandard education. Minimize ... DOCUMENTARY: Testing Hope - Grade 12 in the New South Africa ... The South African government has been struggling to remedy years of inequity, particularly regarding substandard education. Testing Hope - Grade 12 in the New South Africa chronicles the lives of young people facing their future in the evolving democracy of South Africa. The film follows four students as they work towards their crucial Matric exams which one student calls the decider. [September 2010 - Colorado Public Television - Find out more about "Testing Hope"]

Watch the full episode. See more RMPBS Specials.

Engaged in What You Love - bell hooks on writing

2010-09-25T11:00:00.001-04:00

It's the birthday of writer and activist bell hooks, born Gloria Jean
Watkins in Hopkinsville, Kentucky (1952). Her father was a janitor, and
her mother cleaned homes for white people. She went to a segregated
school until she was 10. ... She said: "Writing is my passion. It is a
way to experience the ecstatic. The root understanding of the word
ecstasy—'to stand outside'—comes to me in those moments when I am
immersed so deeply in the act of thinking and writing that everything
else, even flesh, falls away." [25 September 2010 - The Writer's Almanac]

Creative thinking to save planet's threatened species

2010-09-18T09:21:00.001-04:00

People using their creative energies in the E-Day Ark can help raise awareness of the plight of some of the world's most threatened species, says Matt Prescott, founding organizer of E-Day. In this week's Green Room, he encourages people to get involved to help give biodiversity a voice. ... Do you agree with Dr Matt Prescott? Can collective creative energy help raise awareness of the plight of the planets most threatened species? [17 September 2010 - BBC (UK) - By Matt Prescott - More]

CREATIVITY NETWORKING: Creativity and Sustainability in Communities ... with Creativity Educator Steven Dahlberg and Community Farmer/Educator David Cherniske

2010-09-16T19:30:00.001-04:00

If you are interested in food, "local" and sustainable agriculture, come and explore the symbiotic relationship between creativity and sustainability. Challenge yourself to think in new ways and imagine new possibilities about food, agriculture and the environment. Explore how creative thinking helps us understand systems, connections and alternatives better as we consider what we eat, how we eat, where food comes from and the impact of all of this on the environment. Led by creativity educator Steven Dahlberg, community farmer/educator David Cherniske and additional guests from local food and sustainable farm projects.

=====================
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2010, 2:00-3:30 P.M.
The Silo at Hunt Hill Farm,
New Milford, Connecticut 06776
$10 to Creativity Networking; open to all.
RSVP to: 860.355.0300 or news [at] appliedimagination [dot] org

Please help spread the word about this workshop by printing and posting this flyer:
http://appliedimagination.org/sept2010.pdf
=====================

MORE ABOUT WORKSHOP LEADERS AND CREATIVITY NETWORKING:

Steven Dahlberg is director of the International Centre for Creativity and Imagination, which is dedicated to applying creativity to improve the well-being of individuals, organizations and communities. He teaches "Creativity + Social Change" at the University of Connecticut, and leads professional development workshops for educators, nonprofits and businesses. He facilitates creative thinking and problem solving sessions, writes about creativity, and contributes to various media about creativity, imagination and innovation. He currently curates a monthly Creativity Networking series in Connecticut and organizes Imagination Conversations in Connecticut as part of a national initiative of the Lincoln Center Institute. He has worked with Yale University, Guggenheim Museum, Yahoo!, Americans for the Arts, Danbury Public Schools, World Knowledge Forum, City of Providence, 3M, Aldrich Museum, State of Connecticut, and Rhode Island College, among other organizations. He helped toy inventors launch a creativity consulting business and taught an undergraduate creativity course for incarcerated men. He is particularly interested in creative education, creative community building, local food and sustainable agriculture, and creative aging. Find more at http://www.appliedimagination.org.
David Cherniske is a community farmer and educator. He is currently collaborating with middle school students on a garden project at the Pratt Nature Center in New Milford, Connecticut. He has a deep interest in integrating age-old farming practices with cutting-edge thinking about farming, agriculture, land and animals. Find more at http://www.prattcenter.org.

The Creativity Networking Series is presented each month by The Silo at Hunt Hill Farm and the International Centre for Creativity and Imagination, both based in New Milford, Conn. The series provides a forum for exploring the many facets of creativity and for discovering other people interested in creativity.
http://www.appliedimagination.org
http://www.hunthillfarmtrust.org

Sir Ken Robinson to be First Guest on 'Creativity in Play' Radio Show

2010-09-14T10:21:00.001-04:00

We are pleased to announce that Sir Ken Robinson will be the inaugural guest on the new Creativity in Play online radio show, which will debut at noon Eastern Daylight Time (-4 UTC) on Thursday, September 23. Hosts are Steven Dahlberg (International Centre for Creativity and Imagination) and Mary Alice Long (Play=Peace). Sir Ken will also be part of the opening session with Daniel Pink at the Creativity World Forum on November 16, 2010, in Oklahoma City. Creativity in Play is produced by the International Centre for Creativity and Imagination, in partnership with the National Creativity Network. [14 September 2010 - International Centre for Creativity and Imagination - More]