Creativity in Play

We'll explore the idea of "participlay" -- a body-based, social-spiritual approach to connecting people to each other -- with its creator Elizabeth Yochim. Find out more about Elizabeth's work at Participlay and watch her TEDxUSC presentation.

We'll explore how play is changing the context in the community-building work that Jorge Burciaga and Miguel Cortes are doing in Juarez, Mexico, as well as how play is used as a tool in therapy work at the Fred Newman Social Therapy Center in Juárez. 

Jorge Burciaga-Montoya is a founding member of the Fred Newman Social Therapy Center in Juarez, Mexico, teaches in the education department at  the Universidad Autonoma de Ciudad Juarez, and is on the staff of CASA (Centro de Asesoría y Promoción de Juvenil, A.C.), a non-profit with a strong presence in the poor communities of Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, where he is working with high schools to incorporate social-emotional learning.

Miguel Eduardo Cortes-Vázquez is an educatior, therapist and percussionist living in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. We works at CASA (Centro de Asesoría y Promoción de Juvenil, A.C.), where he has led efforts to create play centers and promote play, and teaches community education at the University of Juarez.

We'll explore what will be happening at the 'Performing the World' Conference, coming up October 4 to 7 in New York City, with Rutgers professor of education Carrie Lobman -- and several guest presenters, including Hector Aristizabal, Miguel Cortés Vázquez and Alexandra Sutherland. Carrie will also be collaborating with "Creativity in Play" co-hosts Steve Dahlberg and Mary Alice Long for a "Creativity in Play: Performing a Creative World on Purpose" session at the conference. 

PTW's theme is "Can Performance Save the World?" and will draw several hundred people from around the world who care about how performance, play and creativity. PTW is described as a "marathon 'performance of conversation' with people from all over the world — scholars and researchers; educators, therapists, social workers, youth workers; doctors and other health workers; theatre, applied theatre and other performance artists; social activists and community organizers; business leaders and philanthropists; film, video and media cre­atives; and others." Find out more here.

We'll explore how to integrate your creativity and purpose -- and make a living -- with artist, therapist, and business strategist Lisa Sonora Beam. Lisa is the author of The Creative Entrepreneur: The DIY Visual Guidebook for Making Business Ideas Real.

We'll explore how the Future Problem Solving program is teaching kids creative thinking skills and preparing them to solve future problems today. Our guest is Cheryl Whitesitt, executive director of the Minnesota Future Problem Solving Program. Find out more about Future Problem Solving, created by E. Paul Torrance, here.

We'll explore the role of creativity and innovation in growing businesses and working with clients with "recovering lawyer" Matt Homann. Matt is the author of the award-winning legal blog “the [non]billable hour,” where he shares innovative ways for lawyers and other professionals be better at what they do.

We'll explore the role of play in helping us express who we are at an authentic level in whatever we do and how to feel truly fulfilled in our careers, and lives as a whole ... with Vince Gowmon, founder of Remembering to Play Events.

We'll explore the role of the unconscious mind on learning, memory, creativity and learning with neuroscientist Eric Kandel, the author of the new book, The Age of Insight: The Quest to Understand the Unconscious in Art, Mind and Brain. Kandel mixes science, medicine and art to help us better understand the the human mind and behavior. His work -- including the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 2000 -- explores how the nerve cells in our brains give rise to perception, memory, emotion, empathy and creativity.

We'll explore the intersection of creativity, play and nature with Erin Kenny, director of the Cedarsong Nature School. Find out how the school's mission to provide opportunities for direct experience with nature helps increase awareness of and connection to the natural world in order to foster compassion and empathy for the earth and all of its inhabitants.

We'll explore how to open up the collaborative innovation process in organizations to discover new insights, engage new audiences and find new products. Our guest is David Yaun, vice president of marketing and communications for global industries at IBM. David is part of the closing keynote on "Innovation in the 21st Century" at the Advancing Creative Thinking: Imagination to Innovation Conference in Ridgefield, Connecticut, on April 28.