If we more fully expressed our creativity,
can we generate the solutions that would fulfill the world’s need for taking?
Creativity’s fundamental purpose is to generate new life and new growth.
So, if we mastered our creativity, can we also generate new life and new growth?
Is this what our creativity is designed to do?
What would happen:
- if we increased our creative capacities,
- if we increased our value of creativity,
- if we increased our knowledge about creativity?
What change can Creatives create when they increase their creativity?
Creatives tend to share a vision.
Many Creatives share a vision of and drive to create a better world for ourselves and the future of life on Earth.
The vision has elements of social and ecological justice that lies in
- regeneration,
- self-sufficiency,
- sustainability,
- social equality,
- healing, and
- a thriving ecology.
Feeling called to bring our gifts, interests and passions to this shared vision, we have lots of ideas for ways to contribute such as:
a business, a movement, a point of view, an exhibition, clothing or jewellery, a house, a film, music, an event, a community, a piece of writing, an art work, a philosophy, a program, self-sufficiency, an alternative way of trading, a policy, furniture, a school, an ecos, a book, a village, a food forest, a new sport, technology, a gift, a story, a resource of somekind…
a change, a solution, a lifestyle, a difference… an idea or ideas we want to, need to, feel called to CREATE.
What is an Impact Theory?
An Impact Theory is a theory of change.
It says…
“We are on Island A but it’s not good, and we see Island B which is a lot better, and we think we have the boat that might take us there”.
It has three parts:
- the recognition of a present condition we feel called to change (Island A),
- a vision of how the condition can be when it’s in full health (Island B), and
- the undertaking of the creative process to generate (manifest, create) that change (the boat).
Do you have an impact theory too?
1. Recognition of a condition we feel called to change.
Island A.
With the worsening problems within our:
- inner and outer,
- personal and impersonal, and
- home, local, national and global conditions,
and given creativity:
- changes conditions by generating new life and new growth… wellbeing,
- is our main problem-solving tool,
- has a transformative, change-making nature and power, and
- is the #1 sought-after skill-set,
SoC believes it’s safe to assume our creativity is suppressed. Under-utilised.
This is highlighted by the call for more, increased, greater, better creativity, from sectors such as industry, science, ecology, economic, education… even politics!
Therefore, SoC recognises two conditions it is called to change…
- the world’s need for taking, and therefore,
- the world’s suppressed creativity.
Scales of Justice
As we decrease our creativity, we decrease social and ecological justice.
2. A vision of how the conditions can be when in full health.
Island B
What might life look like if we were increasingly giving… expressing… our creativity?
Our society and ecology would reflect our increasing creativity.
We would see an increase in the generation of new life and growth such as regeneration, restoration, renewal… recreation.
We would see our work embodying creativity itself, such as creativity’s three functions:
- reciprocity,
- resourcefulness, and
- response-ability.
The vision… the prophesy of creativity… is of a more just society and ecology, of (r)evolution, reaching new heights by going above and beyond where we’ve been before.
The vision consists of the creativity of many people because each creator is different.
Our visions are dependent upon our creative natures, for example, our gifts, our callings, our talents and interests, our passions,
and every Creative has their own Impact Theory…
- a recognition of a present condition(s) they feel called to change,
- their vision of how they see the condition can be when it’s in full health, and
- their personal journey with the creative process to generate that change (manifest, create… make seen).
Scales of Justice
As we increase our creativity, we increase social and ecological justice.
3. Undertaking the Way of Creativity… the creative process, to create change.
The Boat.
The undertaking of creativity to generate (manifest, create) change (new life and new growth) is the undertaking of most Creatives, as well as SoC.
Our creativity… our creative way, is what gets us from Island A to B.
Consider it a boat to travel on between islands.
In SoC’s case, our boat is the Subject of Creativity… the learning about it and doing it. Creatology.
Creatives often ask, “How do I create Island B?” or, “Can I create Island B?”
while focused on the Island but overlooking the boat.
Once in the boat, all Creatives find themselves shipwrecked, or sharks circling, or running out of wind at one point or another.
It happens to us all.
That’s why SoC has created the creativity boat.
Once we learn how we create, we always know how we create… how to then travel from Island B to and Island C and beyond to Island Z,
whenever we choose.
What is SoC’s Impact Theory process?
The School of Creatology is a social education experiment with the intention of increasing Creative’s creative capacities so they can create positive social and ecological change.
Therefore, SoC’s Impact Theory is measured using a social-sciences approach, based in an arts-based research method.
It is measured in terms of personal and impersonal social and ecological impact within the measurement framework below.
Purpose of Measurement
To collect information about the impact of learning Creatology has on a person’s or group’s ability to create personal and impersonal positive change, SoC measures:
- the integrity of Creatology and its methodology, as well as
- the impact of it on participants’:
- creative learning journey, and
- creative outcomes.
Process of Measurement
SoC has three questions for inquiry:
- what value (negative to positive) is experienced by participants as a result of undertaking Creatology studies,
- what value (negative to positive) is created by participants as a result of undertaking Creatology studies, and
- what might have been the outcomes on the participants and their work if they did not undertake Creatology studies.
To do this, SoC collects the following information from its participants.
SoC teaches Creatology via:
- social media (small amounts),
- newsletters (mid amounts), and
- the full curriculum (in the online Creatopia Village and Creatology Intensives)
so participants across these three domains are asked:
- at the beginning of their journey with SoC (when identified),
- during their journey, and
- at the end of their journey
to anonymously or publicly share via writing, images, music, or any form of artifact:
- a description of their personal and impersonal conditions they seek to change (Island A),
- a description of their personal and impersonal vision they seek to create (Island B),
- a description of their creative journey (their Boat), and
- a description of their creative outcomes (the Island they created).
Participants of the full Creatology Award are also asked to complete two scales
- the Satisfaction of Life Scale upon enrolment, and
- a scale that reflects self-evaluation and evaluation of Creatology upon graduation.
These descriptions and scales focus upon the:
- wellbeing and satisfaction as a global measure of progress,
- steps taken to empower personal creativity,
- ways the creative work undertaken applies to a purpose and context, and
- ways the creative work adds (or negates) value to the changing of the chosen condition,
and include:
- regular self-evaluations of their integration of creativity concepts learnt during classes, and posted in their school’s social profile through media such as journaling, photos, graphic mapping, writing, etc, and
- project progress logs.
The Satisfaction with Life Scale by Ed Diener, Robert A. Emmons, Randy J. Larsen and Sharon Griffin (as noted in the 1985 article in the Journal of Personality Assessment), is online, involves five questions, takes around one minute to complete, and is done before a project is embarked upon and after.
SoC assesses this data and our findings are shared with the participants in the school, maintaining anonymity of the participants whose experiential data SoC collects.
All of this information will contribute to the evolution of Creatology and its methodology, classes, community, communications, and participants’ learning journeys and project outcomes, to ensure the integrity, and impact, of the Subject.
As social proof of the benefits of studying creativity grows, SoC aims to see Creatology included in secondary school curricula for students in Years 9-10 (aged 15-16) in years to come.