A Positive Mood Allows Your Brain to Think More Creatively

People who watch funny videos on the internet at work aren't necessarily wasting time. They may be taking advantage of the latest psychological science--putting themselves in a good mood so they can think more creatively.

"Generally, positive mood has been found to enhance creative problem solving and flexible yet careful thinking," says Ruby Nadler, a graduate student at the University of Western Ontario. She and colleagues Rahel Rabi and John Paul Minda carried out a new study published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science. For this study, Nadler and her colleagues looked at a particular kind of learning that is improved by creative thinking.

Students who took part in the study were put into different moods and then given a category learning task to do (they learned to classify sets of pictures with visually complex patterns). The researchers manipulated mood with help from music clips and video clips; first, they tried several out to find out what made people happiest and saddest. The happiest music was a peppy Mozart piece, and the happiest video was of a laughing baby. The researchers then used these in the experiment, along with sad music and video (a piece of music from Schindler's List and a news report about an earthquake) and a piece of music and a video that didn't affect mood. After listening to the music and watching the video, people had to try to learn to recognize a pattern.

Happy volunteers were better at learning a rule to classify the patterns than sad or neutral volunteers. "If you have a project where you want to think innovatively, or you have a problem to carefully consider, being in a positive mood can help you to do that," Nadler says. And music is an easy way to get into a good mood. Everyone has a different type of music that works for them--don't feel like you have to switch to Mozart, she says.

Nadler also thinks this may be a reason why people like to watch funny videos at work. “I think people are unconsciously trying to put themselves in a positive mood”--so that apparent time-wasting may actually be good news for employers. [15 December 2010 - Association for Psychological Science - More]

WSJ: What Makes Kids Creative

Researchers believe growth in the time kids spend on computers and watching TV, plus a trend in schools toward rote learning and standardized testing, are crowding out the less structured activities that foster creativity. Mark Runco, a professor of creative studies and gifted education at the University of Georgia, says students have as much creative potential as ever, but he would give U.S. elementary, middle and high schools "a 'D' at best" on encouraging them. "We're doing a very poor job, especially before college, with recognizing and supporting creativity," he says. Many parents are stepping into the breach by nurturing their kids' creative skills. They are challenging them to generate new ideas or encouraging them to notice problems in the world around them and research possible solutions. By tolerating "wrong" answers or allowing their children to live in a fantasy world for a while, parents can put off the emphasis on skill-building and achievement, researchers say. ... Some parents are signing their children up for programs designed to foster creativity. One such program, Destination ImagiNation. ... Similar programs include Odyssey of the Mind, and Future Problem-Solving Program International. ... Parents also need to refrain from judging kids' ideas, even if they seem crazy or naive. ... It is best to avoid paying too much attention to the outcome of kids' creative efforts, says Dr. Kaufman, the professor. "The more emphasis put on the final product—'It's so beautiful I'm going to frame it and tell my friends about it,' " he says, the greater is "the risk that the kid is going to do pictures for the praise, and not for the enjoyment." Instead, emphasize effort over results. ... Raising a creative child can be taxing. Such kids tend to have above-average "spontaneity, boldness, courage, freedom and expressiveness," Dr. Kim says. So they sometimes behave like little anarchists. [15 December 2010 - Wall Street Journal - More]

Pure Genius [... It Doesn't Come From the Classroom]

In the popular imagination, geniuses are a breed apart. They are capable of insights or artistic creations that no amount of training and effort could produce in mere ordinary folk. You can squander your genius or fail to fulfil it but, ultimately, you either have it at birth or you don't. Four new books about genius all interrogate this powerful myth. At the very least, they show that the soil in which genius grows matters at least as much as the seed, which is why particular cultures produce particular types of genius at particular times in history. This is the implicit message of Peter Watson’s The German Genius and Robert Uhlig’s Genius of Britain, which look at collective as well as individual brilliance. In Sudden Genius? Andrew Robinson goes further in undermining the myths of genius, suggesting that virtually none of the common-sense ideas we have about it stack up. And in The Genius in All of Us, David Shenk claims the idea that genius is dispensed at birth is still based on discredited genetics. ... All four authors converge, however, on two trends common to genius. The first, most apparent in Uhlig and Watson’s books, is that the minds of geniuses almost always first form themselves outside the confines of formal, standard education. The best education money can buy may be good for most but for true, original creativity, it is more of a hindrance than a help. Einstein was not the under-achiever of legend at school but his autodidactic pursuits were more important for his intellectual development and he only came into his own in private study. The second condition of genius is that it does not emerge without tremendous effort. Robinson describes this in terms of the “ten-year rule”, an idea which Malcolm Gladwell popularised in Outliers: The Story of Success. To achieve something truly outstanding requires about 10 years of regular and extensive work and practice. [10 December 2010 - Financial Times - More]

Why Google’s "20 Percent Time" Isn't Stemming Its Brain Drain

The time and space Google gives engineers to work on their own projects used to be the key to luring in PhDs and other brilliant minds. The recent talent exodus suggests it's no longer enough. ... All of which begs the question: Can a company get so large that innovative incentives, like 20 percent time, simply aren’t enough to hold on to the kinds of pioneering, entrepreneurial employees who are the key to helping companies remain on the cutting edge? [29 November 2010 - Fast Company - More]

Reconnecting Nature and Culture - Webinar Today

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]

The Mad Artist's Brain: The Connection between Creativity and Mental Illness

More evidence for the long-suspected physiological link between inventiveness and mental illness ... The popular perception of creative thinkers and artists is that they often also have mental disorders -- the likes of Vincent van Gogh or Sylvia Plath suggest that creativity and madness go hand in hand. Past research has tentatively confirmed a correlation; scientific surveys have found that highly creative people are more likely to have mental illness in their family, indicating a genetic link. Now a study from Sweden is the first to suggest a biological mechanism: highly creative healthy people and people with schizophrenia have certain brain chemistry features in common. A research team at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm studied 13 mentally healthy, highly creative men and women. As noted in the paper published in May in PLoS ONE, other scientists had previously found that divergent thinking, or the ability to “think outside the box,” involves the brain’s dopamine communication system. The Swedish research team used PET scanning to determine the abundance of a particular dopamine receptor, or sensor, in the creative individuals’ thalamus and striatum, areas that process and sort information before it reaches conscious thought -- and that are known to be involved in schizophrenia. The team found that people who had lower levels of dopamine receptor activity in the thalamus also had higher scores on tests of divergent thinking -- for instance, finding many solutions to a problem. Previous work has shown that people with schizophrenia also have lower dopamine receptor activity in the thalamus -- and the scientists suggest in their paper that this striking similarity demonstrates a “crucial” link between creativity and psychopathology. “Thinking outside the box might be facilitated by having a somewhat less intact box,” writes lead author Fredrik Ullén, a cognitive scientist at Karolinska. [22 November 2010 - Scientific American - By Elizabeth King Humphrey - More]

National Creativity Network Launched in Oklahoma City

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]

Ken Robinson and National Thought Leaders to Join “Shaping the Future of Creativity Today” Workshop at the Creativity World Forum

Following the launch of the National Creativity Network on Monday, November 15, more than 50 people from around the country will gather to work on the “Shaping the Future of Creativity Today.” This workshop runs from 2 to 5 p.m. and is part of the seventh annual Creativity World Forum 2010 to be held in Oklahoma City, November 15 to17.

Noted creativity expert Sir Ken Robinson will help officially launch the National Creativity Network from 9 to 11:30 a.m., and then will join the opening of the workshop at 2 p.m. Both events take place at the Skirvin Hilton Hotel in Oklahoma City.

Robinson is author of The Element and speaks globally about the importance of creativity and arts in education, work and society. He will join several other national thought leaders who will help in the first hour of the workshop to set context about creative alternatives that are already happening related creativity across society. This group includes:

• Carrie Fitzsimmons – executive director of ArtScience Labs.
• Jean Hendrickson – executive director of Oklahoma A+ Schools.
• Dan Hunter – arts advocate and policy expert.
• Mary Alice Long – play consultant and advocate.
• Scott Noppe-Brandon – executive director of the Lincoln Center Institute and co-author of Imagination First.
• Scott Rich – assessment specialist at Scholastic Testing Service.

Steven Dahlberg, director of the International Centre for Creativity and Imagination, and Cheryl Whitesitt, executive director of the Minnesota Future Problem Solving Program, will facilitate the workshop, which focuses on:

• Exploring the state of creativity today.
• Engaging creative alternatives about the future of creativity.
• Directly involving participants in creative processes and tools that help move beyond merely advocating the value of creativity to igniting action for change about creativity's role in society.

The workshop is open to all, and seeks diverse participants -- representing education, business, arts, government, nonprofits and beyond -- who all share an interest in applying more personal, organizational and community creativity. The workshop fee is $45 and people may participate whether or not they are attending the Creativity World Forum. More workshop information is available at www.appliedimagination.org/cwf.

More information about the Creativity World Forum is available at http://www.stateofcreativity.com/ and about the National Creativity Network at http://www.nationalcreativitynetwork.org/. [8 November 2010 - National Creativity Network - For more information, contact Kathy Oden-Hall, Creativity World Forum, (405) 203-5742 or kodenhall@stateofcreativity.com]

Dan Pink on Creativity, Motivation, Work, Education and Play

Listen to "Creativity in Play" interview with creativity guru and author Dan Pink. Highlights from Dan Pink's interview about creativity, motivation, education, play and policy:

• What drives Dan? To find out about stuff and to follow his own curiosity.
• How do you motivate people to do creative work?
• If you want to do simple things, if/then motivators work.
• Interesting creative things outside of the U.S.: Role of workplace design in Australia ... how physical architecture can enhance creativity.
• Knowing "why" you are doing things is more motivating.
• Humor is an incredibly important management tool.
• Humor can diffuse difficult situations.
• Humor can be part of bonding.
• On play ... doing things because they are challenging and provide flow experiences. These are crucial for intrinsic motivation.
• Google's "20% rule" to work on what you want is like recess at work.
• The difference between making decisions for instrumental reasons rather then fundamental reasons.
• Policy changes to support creativity? Changes in education, increasing public support for the arts, and public support for research and development.

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

[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

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

Engaged in What You Love - bell hooks on writing

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

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]

Huff Post: Innovation Shifted To China During The Downturn: U.N. Report

It's an unfortunate fact of a downturn: declining corporate cash flows and slumping confidence usually induce firms to file fewer patents and slash spending on research and development. Apparently, China didn't get the memo. As much of the world invested fewer resources in innovation during the global downturn, Chinese firms spent more on innovative efforts, such as R&D and patent and trademark applications, according to a report by a UN agency. On Wednesday, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) said that patent applications in China jumped 18.2 percent in 2008 and another 8.5 percent in 2009. Over the same period, ZTE, China's second-largest telecom equipment maker, boosted R&D spending 44.8 percent. In the U.S., patent filings fell 11.7 percent in 2008 and 2009, while companies like General Motors, Hewlett Packard and Microsoft slashed their R&D budget by more than 20 percent from 2008 to 2009. In Europe and Japan new patent filings dropped 7.9 and 10.8 percent, respectively, in 2009. [16 September 2010 - Huffington Post - More]

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

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

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]

Creativity, Culture and Innovation: finding new links

The very dynamic culture sector, the cultural and creative industries in particular, generates and stimulates considerable potential for creativity which makes it an important actor for meeting the challenges with which the European Union is confronted today. Within the context of the implementation of the “EU 2020” strategy, the goal is to highlight and promote the considerable potential of the cultural and creative industries. The colloquium (8 September 2010 to 9 September 2010) will focus on the innovative aspect of the sector. Cultural and creative industries are gradually being recognised as essential contributors to innovation. The goal is to now create an environment in which these industries can develop their potential to its fullest. It will be a matter of, on one hand, demonstrating that innovation plays a significant part in the development of the cultural sector and that, inversely, culture is a major asset for innovation. In addition, and based on this observation, the goal will be to provide potential ways to develop the cultural and creative industries. Special attention will be paid to the self-employed, micro-enterprises and to small and medium enterprises which guarantee cultural diversity and play a determinant role in the development of the cultural and creative sectors. [September 2010 - The Belgian Presidency of the Council of the European Union - More - Program]

America's 21st-Century Business Model ... Innovation, Business and Immigration

The U.S. will thrive based on its innovative business culture driven increasingly by a diverse pool of immigrants. ...  Current attitudes aren't too kind to the old American way of doing business. In our globalized economy, the most enthusiastically touted approaches are those adopted by centralized, state-dominated economies such as China, Brazil and Russia as well as--somewhat less oppressively--those of the major E.U. states. Yet the U.S. may well be constructing the best sustainable business model for the 21st Century. It is an approach built on the country's greatest enduring strength--an innovative business culture driven increasingly by a diverse pool of immigrants. [31 August 2010 - Forbes - By Joel Kotkin - More]

The Creativity Crisis ... Explored

Stay tuned in the coming days for my new online radio show, Creativity in Play, co-hosted with play expert Mary Alice Long and produced in partnership with the National Creativity Network. First guest on deck ... Po Bronson, co-author of the Newsweek article, "The Creativity Crisis."

UPDATE: Po Bronson has cancelled. Sir Ken Robinson will be the first guest on September 23, 2010, at noon Eastern.

U.S. House Designates "Arts in Education Week" in September

[27 July 2010 - Americans for the Arts] Yesterday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.Con.Res. 275, legislation designating the second week of September as "Arts in Education Week." Authored and introduced by California Representative Jackie Speier (D-CA), this resolution is the first Congressional expression of support celebrating all the disciplines comprising arts education. This is a very positive showing of support for arts education and comes at a key time when Congress is making plans to overhaul federal education policy. Take two minutes to send a message of support for arts education to your member of Congress! The resolution seeks to support the attributes of arts education that are recognized as instrumental to developing a well-rounded education such as creativity, imagination, and cross-cultural understanding. H.Con.Res. 275 also highlights the critical link between those skills and preparing our children for gaining a competitive edge in the global economy. This is an important message for policy makers to acknowledge as they prepare to reauthorize federal education policy. To send a message to your member of Congress in support for arts education, please visit our E-Advocacy Center.  As a House resolution, the bill does not require signature by the President upon its passage. You can read the resolution here.  We salute Rep. Speier and the more than 101 original cosponsors for their support of arts education and for this truly special recognition of the value of culture for our country's students. Americans for the Arts was happy to help provide assistance to Rep. Speier in this endeavor.

Pilobolus on Creativity and Everyday Movement ... at June Creativity Networking in Connecticut

The next monthly Creativity Networking session will feature Pilobolus and their take on creativity and everyday movement. The workshop will be Sunday, June 20, from 2 to 3:30 p.m. at The Silo at Hunt Hill Farm, 44 Upland Road, in New Milford, Conn. Creativity Networking is open to all and admission is $10. For more information or to RSVP, go to http://appliedimagination.org/networking or call 860-355-0300.

Renee Jaworski, rehearsal director and artistic associate for Pilobolus Dance Theatre, will lead the session on "Discovering Creativity Through Everyday Movement," along with Steven Dahlberg, curator of the Creativity Networking series.

Jaworski has performed and taught for MOMIX, Group Motion, and Carolyn Dorfman. She has been dancing, teaching and choreographing with Pilobolus since 2000. 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 also teaches the "Creativity + Social Change" course at the University of Connecticut.

"Some people need to move their bodies to think, while other people think their bodies are incapable of moving," says Dahlberg, host of Creativity Networking. "Yet, we are made to move. It's a fundamental aspect of who we are and what we do everyday. Sometimes, however, we lose touch with this capacity."

The public is invited to explore creativity and movement -- in two parts. First, see Pilobolus perform free at Hartford's Riverfront Recapture stage (riverfront.org/events/performances) at 7 p.m. on June 19. Then, attend the Creativity Networking workshop the following afternoon at 2 p.m. on June 20, in which participants will explore how movement and play can help them tap into more of their creativity and reconnect with their physical selves. The workshop -- led by a master of movement from Pilobolus -- seeks to inspire, provoke and encourage people to enhance their creativity and communication through everyday movement. The session will be part Pilobolus story, part creative process and part experiential ... and is open to everyone, no special skills required.

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

Pilobolus began in 1971 as an outsider dance company, and quickly became renowned the world over for its imaginative and athletic exploration of creative collaboration. Nearly 40 years later, it has evolved into a pioneering American cultural institution of the 21st century. The Pilobolus Dance Theatre is the umbrella for a series of radically innovative and globally acclaimed concert dance companies. Find more at http://pilobolus.org.

==========================
SUMMARY - CREATIVITY NETWORKING:
Creativity and Everyday Movement ... with Pilobolus

SUNDAY, JUNE 20, 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
More at: http://appliedimagination.org/networking
Print and post: http://appliedimagination.org/june2010.pdf
==========================

[Photo above by (c)John Kane.]

Ken Robinson ... TED Part II

Ken Robinson returned to TED earlier this year and talked about the intersection of talents, passion and education.

[May 2010 - TED] In this poignant, funny follow-up to his fabled 2006 talk, Sir Ken Robinson makes the case for a radical shift from standardized schools to personalized learning -- creating conditions where kids' natural talents can flourish. More

As he did in his first TED talk about creativity and education, he sums up in less than 18 minutes key ideas that seem so obvious, yet are so far from the practices we employ in schools and society. Some of Ken's insights from his 2010 talk:

• There is a crisis of human resources -- we make poor use of our talents.
• Many people simply endure what they do rather than enjoy what they do.
• But some people do what they ARE and engage part of their authentic selves.
• Education dislocates people from their natural talents.
• We have to create the circumstances where talents show themselves. Education should be where this happens, but too often it's not.
• Education REFORM is not enough -- reform is only improving a broken model.
• We need not an evolution in education, but a revolution ... to transform it into something else.
  
• It needs innovation, which is hard because it challenges what we take for granted.
• Quoting Abraham Lincoln, Ken talked about "rising with the occasion" and the idea of "disenthralling ourselves."
• Life is organic ... not linear.
• We are obsessed with getting people to college. College does not begin in kindergarten. Kindergarten begins in kindergarten.
• Problem of conformity in education -- like fast food where everything is standardized.
• Human talent is tremendously diverse.
• Passion -- what excites our spirit and energy -- is important.
• Education doesn't feed a lot of people's spirits.
• Education, which is primarily based on a manufacturing model, should shift to one based on principles from agriculture.
  
• Human flourishing is an organic process. We cannot predict the outcome of human development. All you can do is create the conditions under which they begin to flourish.
• Customizing and personalizing education is the answer to the future.
  

And he finished with a poem excerpt from W. B. Yeats about how we spread our dreams before others' feet -- like kids do everyday -- and askied us to "tread softly, because you tread on my dreams."

If you care about the future of children and education and society, show Ken's two TED talks (and this one, too!) to your friends and colleagues and family and talk about how you can begin to act to make positive change in the ways we educate and work. Show these clips in a public meeting at your children's school. Show them in your workplace with your colleagues. Show them at the public library. You'll be amazed who cares about these topics, who shows up and what you might accomplish together. Imagine what if ...

REMINDER - Connecticut Imagination Conversation Tonight in Hartford

* Join panelists for a CONNECTICUT IMAGINATION CONVERSATION on Unleashing and Harnessing the Imagination in Learning and Work *
THE INTERNATIONAL CENTRE FOR CREATIVITY AND IMAGINATION AND THE STUDIO @ BILLINGS FORGE PRESENT IMAGINATION CONVERSATIONS: A PROJECT OF LINCOLN CENTER INSTITUTE
==========================
MONDAY, MAY 24, 2010, 7:00-9:00 P.M.
The Studio @ Billings Forge,
539-563 Broad Street
Hartford, Connecticut 06106
Free and open to the public.
RSVP: <http://www.eventbrite.com/event/665180573>
MORE INFO: conversation@appliedimagination.org or
<http://appliedimagination.org/conversation/>

Imagination Conversations bring together citizens from diverse fields -- including education, business, government, arts and nonprofits -- to explore the importance of imagination in life, work and society. Connecticut has a long tradition of creativity, invention and innovation, but the current economic downturn and increased worldwide competition mean that we cannot take our position for granted. 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. Bring your "imagination story" to the second Connecticut Imagination Conversation on May 24. This conversation is part of a national dialogue -- 50 conversations in 50 states -- sponsored by the Lincoln Center Institute to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. Join moderators Steven Dahlberg, Director, International Centre for Creativity and Imagination, and Janice La Motta, Program Coordinator, The Studio @ Billings Forge, plus invited guests and citizens from across Connecticut who care about the role of imagination and creativity in society. Guests include Sue Sturtevant, Executive Director and CEO of the Hill-Stead Museum, and Marie O'Brien, President of the Connecticut Development Authority.

ABOUT THE IMAGINATION CONVERSATIONS NATIONALLY:
Imagination, the ability to visualize new possibilities, is a prerequisite for success in the 21st-century global economy. The Imagination Conversations prepare us for the future that requires imagination 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 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. Many are hosted by state government, business, 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 in the summer or fall of 2011.

Imagination Conversation to be Held Monday in Hartford; Part of National Initiative

THE INTERNATIONAL CENTRE FOR CREATIVITY AND IMAGINATION AND THE STUDIO @ BILLINGS FORGE PRESENT IMAGINATION CONVERSATIONS: A PROJECT OF LINCOLN CENTER INSTITUTE
* Join panelists for a CONNECTICUT IMAGINATION CONVERSATION on Unleashing and Harnessing the Imagination in Learning and Work *
==========================
MONDAY, MAY 24, 2010, 7:00-9:00 P.M.
The Studio @ Billings Forge,
539-563 Broad Street
Hartford, Connecticut 06106
Free and open to the public.
RSVP: http://www.eventbrite.com/event/665180573
MORE INFO: conversation@appliedimagination.org or
http://appliedimagination.org/conversation/
==========================

Imagination Conversations bring together citizens from diverse fields --including education, business, government, arts and nonprofits -- to explore the importance of imagination in life, work and society. Connecticut has a long tradition of creativity, invention and innovation, but the current economic downturn and increased worldwide competition mean that we cannot take our position for granted. 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. Bring your "imagination story" to the second Connecticut Imagination Conversation on May 24. This conversation is part of a national dialogue -- 50 conversations in 50 states -- sponsored by the Lincoln Center Institute to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. Join moderators Steven Dahlberg, Director, International Centre for Creativity and Imagination, and Janice La Motta, Program Coordinator, The Studio @ Billings Forge, plus invited guests and citizens from across Connecticut who care about the role of imagination and creativity in society.

ABOUT THE IMAGINATION CONVERSATIONS NATIONALLY:
Imagination, the ability to visualize new possibilities, is a prerequisite for success in the 21st-century global economy. The Imagination Conversations prepare us for the future that requires imagination 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 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. Many are hosted by state government, business, 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 in the summer or fall of 2011.

Applied Imagination: Your Ideas for Stopping and Cleaning Up the BP Gulf Oil Disaster

Creativity and imagination probably allowed BP to install this oil pipe in deep waters in the first place. Now, it requires not only BP -- but anyone, in the spirit of open innovation -- to help solve the problem of the leaking oil pipe in those deep waters. What's YOUR idea? Add it below in the comments ...

[17 May 2010 - Fast Company] BP can use all the help it can get in cleaning up the ever-growing Gulf oil spill--even with minor successes this weekend, the oil giant still lacks an immediate solution to stopping the flow of oil altogether. That's why it makes sense to harness the power of the Internet and collect as many ideas as possible from, well, everyone. The UK Guardian did just that earlier today, with exciting results. Below, a selection of promising ideas from the Guardian's solicitation for help. More

The Most Important Leadership Quality for CEOs? Creativity

[18 May 2010 - Fast Company] For CEOs, creativity is now the most important leadership quality for success in business, outweighing even integrity and global thinking, according to a new study by IBM. The study is the largest known sample of one-on-one CEO interviews, with over 1,500 corporate heads and public sector leaders across 60 nations and 33 industries polled on what drives them in managing their companies in today's world. Steven Tomasco, a manager at IBM Global Business Services, expressed surprise at this key finding, saying that it is "very interesting that coming off the worst economic conditions they'd ever seen, [CEOs] didn't fall back on management discipline, existing best practices, rigor, or operations. In fact, they [did] just the opposite." About 60% of CEOs polled cited creativity as the most important leadership quality, compared with 52% for integrity and 35% for global thinking. Creative leaders are also more prepared to break with the status quo of industry, enterprise and revenue models, and they are 81% more likely to rate innovation as a "crucial capability." More

Creativity linked to mental health

[18 May 2010 - Karolinska Institutet via EurekAlert!] New research shows a possible explanation for the link between mental health and creativity. By studying receptors in the brain, researchers at the Swedish medical university Karolinska Institutet have managed to show that the dopamine system in healthy, highly creative people is similar in some respects to that seen in people with schizophrenia. High creative skills have been shown to be somewhat more common in people who have mental illness in the family. Creativity is also linked to a slightly higher risk of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Certain psychological traits, such as the ability to make unusual pr bizarre associations are also shared by schizophrenics and healthy, highly creative people. And now the correlation between creativity and mental health has scientific backing. "We have studied the brain and the dopamine D2 receptors, and have shown that the dopamine system of healthy, highly creative people is similar to that found in people with schizophrenia," says associate professor Fredrik Ullén from Karolinska Institutet's Department of Women's and Children's Health. Just which brain mechanisms are responsible for this correlation is still something of a mystery, but Dr Ullén conjectures that the function of systems in the brain that use dopamine is significant; for example, studies have shown that dopamine receptor genes are linked to ability for divergent thought. Dr Ullén's study measured the creativity of healthy individuals using divergent psychological tests, in which the task was to find many different solutions to a problem. "The study shows that highly creative people who did well on the divergent tests had a lower density of D2 receptors in the thalamus than less creative people," says Dr Ullén. "Schizophrenics are also known to have low D2 density in this part of the brain, suggesting a cause of the link between mental illness and creativity." More - Press Release | More - Article

Community as ...

By Steven Dahlberg
International Centre for Creativity and Imagination

In April 2010, I taught two sessions on "Creative Solutions in the Nonprofit Sector" for a semester-long course in Rhode Island College's Nonprofit Studies Certificate Program. We were fortunate to have two guests visit us in the first session -- Ian David Moss, research director for Fractured Atlas and editor of the Createquity blog, and Stephanie Fortunato, special projects manager for the City of Providence Department of Art, Culture and Tourism. They spoke about creative community, creative class and public policy. For the second session, we met at the great creative community organization, AS200, where the founder and artistic director Umberto Crenca, shared the story of how such an organization came to be and the role it has played in helping transform the culture of creativity in Providence. (He also co-authored an essay, called "Compost and the Arts.")

The students in the course each wrote an essay that started with "Community as ..." and looked at a metaphor for community. How we imagine and frame community matters for how we engage people in community, how we communicate our community work, how we organize, how we manage, and how we do anything related to our involvement with and work in communities. They were invited to think like a seven year old and to try to have original ideas about these various concepts of “community.” They were also asked to think about what, so what, now what … that is:

• WHAT: What does this idea of community include?
• SO WHAT: Why does this idea of community matter?
• NOW WHAT: What implications does this idea of community have? What changes could happen if we adopted this idea of community?

The students' responses to "Community as ..." can be viewed through the "Rhode Island College" tag here. In addition, all of their essays were entered into Wordle to visually show which words and ideas were most prevalent. That image is below and can be clicked on to view a larger version.

On Imagination

"Your imagination is your preview to life's coming attractions." --
Albert Einstein

Support Connecticut 'Creative Economy' Bill - Contact Your Connecticut State Senator NOW

[3 May 2010 - Northwest Connecticut Arts Council - Advocacy] CONTACT YOUR CONNECTICUT STATE SENATOR TODAY to support Creative Economy House Bill 5028. Important Legislation which was introduced by Connecticut State Rep. Roberta Willis, D-64 to foster and enhance the impact of a creative economy in Connecticut was unanimously approved in the state House last week.

House Bill 5028, "An Act Concerning Developing The Creative Economy" calls for a task force that would analyze the impact of a creative economy in Connecticut to boost arts and culture that adds to the state’s economy, tourism and job growth.

Last week this bill passed the House of Representatives and is awaiting action in the state senate. Contact your State Senators and urge them to support the bill TODAY. The session ends May 5th---so action is needed NOW.

• FIND YOUR SENATOR'S CONTACT INFO AT - click HERE.
• Please also URGE YOUR FRIENDS AND COLLEAGUES to do the same today and contact their senator.
• If you have questions about the bill, please contact Representative Roberta Willis and her staff: 1-800-842-8267 or 860-240-8585 or Roberta.Willis@cga.ct.gov or go to Representative Willis' website - CLICK HERE.

Creative Community Workshop - Connecticut - May 17

[April 2010 - The Last Green Valley] Please join us in welcoming Randall Arendt to The Last Green Valley. Mr. Arendt is a nationally recognized expert in creative community design, planning and conservation. His latest efforts focus on helping communities redevelop commercial strips and create new mixed use centers. This workshop will be held in Chaplin, Connecticut, on May 17 at 6:00 p.m. A light dinner will be provided. Space is limited. Mr. Arendt will have advice for small and large communities. His slides show includes examples from many types of communities addressing a large array of issues from aesthetic to transportation to storm water and more. Come learn what your community can do to improve its commercial or mixed use center. For more info and to register, contact Susan Westa, Co-Director, Green Valley Institute, 860.774.9600, ext. 24 or susan.westa@uconn.edu. About The Last Green Valley.

Connecticut Imagination Conversation - Tonight in Hartford

Join us tonight for the Connecticut Imagination Conversation at 6 p.m.
in Hartford! More information and RSVP:
http://appliedimagination.org/conversation

Imagination Conversation Set for Connecticut, April 19 in Hartford

CONNECTICUT TO EXPLORE CRITICAL ROLE OF IMAGINATION AS KEY TO FLOURISHING SOCIETY ... Connecticut Imagination Conversation is Part of 50-State Effort to Raise Awareness of Imagination: Why It Matters and How to Develop It in Our Lives and in Our Communities.

On April 19, 2010, the International Centre for Creativity and Imagination and the University of Connecticut, in affiliation with Lincoln Center Institute for the Arts in Education (LCI), will hold an Imagination Conversation at 7:00 p.m. at the University of Connecticut Greater Hartford Campus.

The Conversation will bring together leaders from an array of fields -- government, business, science, education, and the arts -- to explore the ways they experience and promote imagination in their work and communities. The goal of the Conversation is to present imagination as a key cognitive capacity, one that leads to creativity and innovation; and to help build awareness of imagination as a key skill in work and in life.

It is LCI's contention, as well as that of numerous scientists, government leaders, and educators, that imagination must be taught to children in our schools and nurtured in our communities. Applying imagination is crucial if Americans are to not only compete in the 21st-century marketplace, but create positive, flourishing communities that continually engage every citizen's creativity, imagination and ideas.

The Imagination Conversation will be in the auditorium of the Library Building at the University of Connecticut Greater Hartford Campus, 1800 Asylum Ave., West Hartford, Conn., 06117. The event begins with networking at 6 p.m. and the Imagination Conversation at 7 p.m. More details, along with parking and registration information, are available at:
http://www.appliedimagination.org

The Imagination Conversation is open to the public and will be recorded for broadcast on WNPR's Where We Live on Friday, April 23, at 9 a.m. WNPR's John Dankosky will moderate the Conversation with guests Steven Dahlberg and Scott Noppe-Brandon. Dahlberg is head of the New Milford, Conn.-based International Centre for Creativity and Imagination (ICCI) and teaches "Creativity + Social Change" at the University of Connecticut. Noppe-Brandon is executive director of Lincoln Center Institute and author of "Imagination First: Unlocking the Power of Possibility." Artists John O'Donnell and Ted Efremoff will visually map and document the Conversation while it happens. Students from the "Creativity + Social Change" class, invited participants from diverse sectors across the state, and the general public will also be involved in the Conversation.

This Conversation will focus on the role of imagination in education, creative community and economic development, and creative leadership in organizations. It seeks to build a relevant imagination-fueled agenda for the state to pursue. ICCI will coordinate follow-up action that emerges from this conversation, as well as additional future conversations.

“Creativity and imagination matter in every aspect of society,” says Dahlberg. “Imagination matters for engaging students and teachers in meaningful education. It matters for bringing new ideas into reality to improve the economy. And it matters for helping people express their creative capacities in their work and their communities. We hope to help connect people who want to tap into more of their imagination and apply it for creating positive change across this state.”

Imagination Conversations are expected to take place during the next two years in each of the 50 states. All of the Conversations will be documented and final proposals for nationwide educational reform will be made at a national Imagination Summit in New York in the summer or fall of 2011. At the Summit, Imagination Conversation findings and an action agenda will be presented to public policy makers, educators, legislators and the media in an effort to make cultivation of imagination a key element in our schools.

"Imagination can be described as having the ability to visualize new possibilities and the ability to ask, 'what if ...?'" says Noppe-Brandon. "Developing students' imaginations and teaching them to proceed from imaginative thinking to creative action is vital if they are to meet the challenges of today's world. If the United States is to maintain its position at the vanguard of innovation, it needs a workforce capable of finding fresh solutions to challenges and inventing groundbreaking products and services. LCI understands that imaginative learning in schools will produce such a population."

ICCI is dedicated to applying creativity to improve the well-being of individuals, organizations and communities. It promotes imagination and creativity through public events such as the monthly Creativity Networking series; professional development training for educators and business people; advocacy for creativity topics in local, national and international conferences; dissemination of creativity ideas through writing and commentary in various media; and teaching and guest lecturing at various universities.

The University of Connecticut's Bachelor of General Studies Program encourages imagination, collaboration and democratic participation through its Public and Community Engagement-themed courses in Storrs and Hartford and online.

Having recognized the global importance of imagination early on, LCI has established itself as a leader in the implementation of a method by which imagination is introduced into classrooms and used across the curriculum. Through the hands-on study of works of art, students develop their capacities to think imaginatively and critically, which serve them in all subject areas. With its programs reaching an estimated 390,000 students per year through its partnerships with schools across the U.S. and abroad, LCI is making an impact on the direction of education not just in New York but all over the world.

ABOUT THE HOSTING ORGANIZATIONS:
About Steven Dahlberg and the International Centre for Creativity and Imagination:
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" in the Public and Community Engagement theme at the University of Connecticut. He has nearly 20 years of experience in this field, and has worked with Yale University, Guggenheim Museum, Yahoo!, Americans for the Arts, Danbury Public Schools, UNESCO, Louisiana's Office of the Lt. Governor, New Economics Foundation, Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism, World Knowledge Forum, City of Providence, 3M, Aldrich Museum, State of Connecticut, and Rhode Island College, among other organizations. He has helped toy inventors launch a creativity consulting business, directed an international creativity conference, and taught an undergraduate creativity course for incarcerated men. Dahlberg edits the Applied Imagination blog, authored the foreword to the book, Education is Everybody's Business. He is particularly interested in creative community building, creative education, local food and sustainable agriculture, and creative aging.

About Lincoln Center Institute (LCI):
LCI is the educational cornerstone of Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Inc., and is the model for arts education programs across the U.S. and abroad. Founded in 1975, the Institute is known for its inventive repertory, and brings music, dance, theater, visual arts, and architecture into classrooms in the New York City area, across the nation, and around the world. In more than three decades of outreach, LCI's approach has reached more than 20 million students, teachers, administrators, parents, community members and professors of education worldwide. The number is projected to increase in the next few years, thanks to LCI's highly successful professional development programs and Internet presence.

In What Ways Might Imagination Improve Society?

Check out the 206 ideas generated by my "Creativity + Social Change" students at the University of Connecticut -- and add your own ideas to ways in which creativity might improve society.

Also, plan now to participate in the Connecticut Imagination Conversation on Monday, April 19, in Hartford, Connecticut ... or host your own Imagination Conversation in your community.

The Organization Is Alive

[5 April 2010 - Strategy + Business] To change an organization from within, it helps to understand four basic circulatory systems, analogous to the channels of communication in a living body. ... Over the past 30 years, management thinkers have largely come to accept the idea that organizations are not machines; they are as unpredictable, unruly, self-organizing, and even sentient as any living beings. Gareth Morgan, Arie de Geus, Peter Senge, Meg Wheatley, and others have written eloquently about this. Even those who don’t buy the idea of organizations being literally alive are bound to agree when writers such as Jon R. Katzenbach and Zia Khan (in their book, Leading Outside the Lines: How to Mobilize the Informal Organization, Energize Your Team, and Get Better Results  [Jossey-Bass, 2010]) suggest that hard-nosed, engineering-oriented leaders need to develop virtuosic skill at managing the informal, personal aspects of a company. In other words, although organizations may not literally be alive, when it comes to running and changing them, they might as well be. In that light, the primary organizational challenge facing any business leader is much like the challenge facing a parent: to understand this living entity, placed partly in your care, well enough that the moves you make will lead to productive growth and change. And although there is a body of theoretical work on living systems (including that of Brazilian philosopher Humberto Maturana) to draw on, those writings have little to do with the day-to-day realities of a product launch or a project team. More

ARTISTS IN TRANSITION CONFERENCE / APRIL CREATIVITY NETWORKING

CREATIVITY NETWORKING ... Special Off-Site, Co-Located Program with the ARTISTS IN TRANSITION CONFERENCE IN DANBURY, CONNECTICUT ... Steven Dahlberg to lead a workshop on 'Creative Thinking, Aging and Living: Engaging our Strengths, Living our Purpose'
==========================
SUNDAY, APRIL 11, 2010, 12:00-5:00 P.M.
Westside Campus Center Building, Western Connecticut State University
3 University Boulevard, Danbury, Connecticut 06810
$25/person (Save $15 ... enter "Creativity Networking" in the "how did you learn about the conference?" on the registration form and pay the usual $10 Creativity Networking fee!) Questions? Email artistsintransition@yahoo.com
==========================

Artists in Transition Conference ... for and about artists facing health issues, as well as for non-disabled artists, arts administrators and anyone interested in creativity, diversity and accomplishment.

One of the best gatherings on this topic, with more than 15 speakers and workshops, and outstanding networking opportunities. In workshops, learn more about creativity and aging, maximizing employment opportunities, career transitions, grant writing, health insurance and more. Plus hear from speakers who are artists/performers who are themselves dealing with health issues and disability and are living active, creative and accomplished lives in and through the arts.

• Find more information about the conference and about Steven Dahlberg's workshop.
• Download a PDF of complete conference information, including workshop descriptions.

-----------------------------------------

The Creativity Networking Series is curated and hosted by Steven Dahlberg, who heads the International Centre for Creativity and Imagination and teaches "Creativity + Social Change" at the University of Connecticut.

The Creativity Networking Series is presented by The Silo at Hunt Hill Farm and the International Centre for Creativity and Imagination, both based in New Milford, Connecticut. Creativity Networking is normally held at 2 p.m. on one Sunday each month at The Silo. The series provides a forum for exploring the many facets of creativity and for discovering other people interested in creativity. Through interesting topics and guests, the series seeks to help people rediscover and reconnect with their inherent creativity and explore new ways of expressing it.

Creativity and successful brain aging: Going with the flow

[23 March 2010 - Psychology Today] Creativity and flexible attitudes can promote healthy brain aging ... Scholars have suspected for decades that the aging process is kinder to the creative, active, and flexible mind. Now there is more convincing evidence than ever before to support the importance of keeping an open mind to helping your brain age successfully. In a recent scientific article, psychologists Susan McFadden and Anne Basting point out that "What's good for the person is usually good for the brain." They note that the more diverse the older person's social network, the greater the resistance to infection and disease, and the less the cognitive decline. It's not just the plain fact that you have many friends, but that if you have many friends, the chances are good that you are engaging in a variety of cognitively enriching activities. Even Facebook offers cognitive stimulation. Sure, you may get fed up with the 29th comment on the day's weather from people complaining it's too cold or reveling that it's a warm spring day, but even this virtual set of friendship connections is keeping your brain cells if not your fingers clicking. More

Optimism Boosts the Immune System

[23 March 2010 - Association for Psychological Science] Feeling better about the future might help you feel better for real. In a new study, psychological scientists Suzanne Segerstrom of the University of Kentucky and Sandra Sephton of the University of Louisville studied how law students' expectations about the future affected their immune response. Their conclusions: Optimism may be good for your health. More

Creativity in the Classroom Workshop at The Aldrich - Monday

CREATIVITY IN THE CLASSROOM
A creative education workshop for teachers, administrators, and parents ... with Facilitator Steven Dahlberg, Director, International Centre for Creativity and Imagination
==========================
MONDAY, MARCH 22, 2010, 4:00-6:30 P.M.
The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum
258 Main Street, Ridgefield, CT 06877
$30 (members)/$35 (non-members)
.2 CEUs available
Register online:
http://www.aldrichart.org/events/?id=642
==========================

CREATIVITY IN THE CLASSROOM
Creativity includes -- and is more than -- the arts. Creative thinking is a twenty-first century skill that applies to all subjects, all grade levels, and all ages. It is a skill that prepares students and adults for a rapidly changing world, where complex problems do not have pre-defined, easy solutions. Creativity involves creative and critical thinking skills that can be taught, practiced, and applied in all curriculums. In this workshop, you will:

• Explore what creativity is, who has it, and how to unleash more of it.
• Think about thinking ... and learn how to think in new ways.
• Learn and practice applied creative thinking skills.
• Discover styles and types of creative thinking within the creative process.
• Connect creativity to the classroom.

ABOUT THE FACILITATOR
Steven Dahlberg is head 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 works with the Public and Community Engagement program at the University of Connecticut, where he teaches the "Creativity + Social Change" course. More info at:
http://www.appliedimagination.org/

REGISTER NOW
For registration and further information please contact:
Suzanne Ryan
Museum Educator
The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum
seryan @ aldrichart . org
203.438.4519

Ken Robinson ... Again on Creativity and Education

[15 March 2010 - The Bonnie Hunt Show] Sir Ken Robinson shares what isn't working with our teaching system in schools.

Carnegie Mellon research provides insight into brain's decision-making process

[11 March 2010 - EurekAlert! - Carnegie Mellon University] Replaying recent events in the area of the brain called the hippocampus may have less to do with creating long-term memories, as scientists have suspected, than with an active decision-making process, suggests a new study by researchers at Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Minnesota Medical School. ... "Based on these observations, we have to rethink what is the role of replay for memory," wrote neuroscientists Dori Derdikman and May-Britt Moser of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in a commentary also published in the March 11 issue of Neuron. They suggested that replay in the hippocampus may prove to have a dual role -- both for memory consolidation and for making cognitive maps of the environment. More

Creative Leadership Capacities ... From the Connecting Creative Communities Summit

Steven Dahlberg, Director, International Centre for Creativity and Imagination, asks in the "Building Your Capacity: Creative Leadership in the Creative Sector" session at the Connecting Creative Communities Summit on March 11, 2010:

Creativity matters in all aspects of society, work and life. And it matters for how we lead. Creativity motivates people to do what they love and are good at. Likewise, as Teresa Amabile, director of research at Harvard Business School, and one of the leading creativity researchers, says: “When people are doing work that they love and they’re allowed to deeply engage in it – and when the work itself is valued and recognized – then creativity will flourish. Even in tough times.” Yet, sometimes our organizational cultures and practices get in the way of allowing creativity to be cultivated and expressed. Creativity also engages employees in meaningful work. Engaged employees lead to engaged audiences, customers and clients in our organizations. The Gallup Organization says: “Engaged employees [– that is, those who work with passion and feel a profound connection to their organization –] are far more likely to suggest or develop creative ways to improve management processes. They’re also far more likely to find creative ways to solve customer problems or to involve their customers in creative service innovations. Leaders who want to drive growth through innovation should first create an environment that welcomes new ideas – and should make engaging employees a key component of that strategy.” Gallup has also found that 71% of the workforce is not-engaged or actively disengaged in their work, meaning 71% of the workforce is either under performing or actively undermining their work. Therefore, we must ask ourselves:

1. What do we do to help employees intentionally develop and apply their creativity?
2. What does “creativity” mean to me as a leadership practice?
3. How do we develop creativity in our employees … or, how do we help our employees imagine “what if, what else, why not”? What processes do we use to harness and apply more creative thinking, imagination and ideas in our organization? How do we engage our employees? How do we help them connect to their purpose? How do we motivate our employees to do what they love and are good at?
4. What gets in the way and blocks creativity WITHIN our organization and its employees? What deliberate actions do we take to create a culture for creativity WITHIN our organization?

Danbury Students Collaborate With Artist for Aldrich Museum Installation

More than 320 students and staff at King Street Intermediate School in Danbury, Connecticut, recently fingerprinted themselves to begin a collaboratively produced art installation for The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum in Ridgefield, Connecticut.

Artist Sandy Garnett is working with KSI students and their art teacher, Doreen Cherniske Colonna, to incorporate an individual fingerprint contribution from each student and staff member into a final piece. Garnett, who is based in Norwalk, Connecticut, has been producing fingerprint-based artwork himself for more than 20 years. Through his Fingerprint Project, he explores contemporary identity through sculpted and painted fingerprints, human silhouettes and signatures.

"The Fingerprint Project is one of the cornerstones of my professional fine art career," Garnett says. "I have collected thousands of fingerprints from which I have made hundreds of fine art objects during the past several decades. I have always been interested in a large group Fingerprint Portrait installation, so the project at King Street Intermediate School has been an exciting project for me."

Earlier this month, Garnett led several groups of 60 to 150 students in creating their own inked fingerprints on paper. Next, Colonna will enlarge each student's favorite print into an abstract image, which the students will then transfer onto small pieces of Plexiglas. Garnett will combine these more than 300 pieces into a single installation, which The Aldrich will exhibit in early April as part of its DrawOn! project.

The purpose of DrawOn! is "to bring people together through something as basic as drawing, while at the same time fostering new and imaginative ways to draw." The public is encouraged to participate in DrawOn! events scheduled throughout Connecticut and beyond, from March 27 to April 10, with a culminating family event on April 10. For more information, visit www.aldrichart.org/events.

"I love the collaborative aspect of this project," says Colonna. "Between the kids, the professional artist and the museum. I also love that EVERY student is included. It is a true 'fingerprint' of our school."

This is the second year in a row that Colonna has been invited to exhibit her KSI students' artwork as part of DrawOn! at The Aldrich. Last year, students not only created works on various shapes of cardboard -- thinking beyond the usual rectangle "box" they often draw on -- they also drew on two teachers who wore full-body white Tyvek suits.

"This project has been fun because I never did anything like this in my life," said one KSI student while working with Garnett earlier this month. A student last year said, "I liked DrawOn! the most because it made me think you can make art on anything."

Garnett is a self-taught, multidisciplinary artist who has sold more than $1.8 million of artwork. He also writes, illustrates, sings and records. His children's books have recently been published, and an independent film producer put Garnett's first written and recorded song, "Busted Wing," in a film about climate change.

"It is important to have visiting artists like Sandy," says Colonna. "The kids get to see someone who went through school and came out the other end still doing what they feel passionate about -- and making a living at it.

"It is also important for those kids who have tremendous talents in areas that are not always as highly valued in education nor reflected in standard test areas. These students see that their talents are not a waste, that they can use those talents, and that they should not give up or let anyone take those talents away from them."

DrawOn! is a community-based project of The Aldrich, which encourages everyone -- not just artists -- to engage in drawing. On anything. With anything. This practice is not so much about drawing a "perfect piece," or about the final product, but about the creative process itself. It is also about the community building that happens when people draw and create together. It is a fun and playful activity that can help people rediscover their creative talents.

The King Street Intermediate School Fingerprint Project for DrawOn! is also part of an on-going initiative to integrate more creativity into the classroom at KSI. The staff is working with Steven Dahlberg, head of the International Centre for Creativity and Imagination, to help teachers both teach for more creativity and teach more creatively.

"The Fingerprint Project is great example of how creativity engages both students and staff in meaningful work," says Dahlberg. "Students were invited to create something unique and original and will have the rare opportunity to see their creative expressions displayed publicly in a major art institution. This is inspiring, not only to the students, but to their teachers and parents and the community, as well."

The public can hear more about this project and DrawOn! and meet Garnett, Colonna and Dahlberg at Creativity Networking at The Silo at Hunt Hill Farm in New Milford, Connecticut, from 2 to 3:30 p.m., Sunday, March 14. Find out more at http://www.appliedimagination.org/.