Creativity in Play

We'll explore how to bring "artistry" into one's life and work -- discovering the edge of what we know. Find out why surprise, uncertainty, ambiguity, intensity and change are all disruptive forces that we typically avoid or fear -- yet why they are the essential origin of both creativity and great performance. Plus, we'll talk about what "integrative thinking" is and why it matters for being more creative. Join us with Hilary Austen, author of Artistry Unleashed and adjunct professor at the Rotman School of Business at the University of Toronto. Find more about Hilary here. Hilary 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, and will be leading a workshop there, as well.

We'll explore ways to educate children and liberate adults so that creativity flows again. Play is for all ages, as is exploration and improvisation. Discover the power, potential and possibility of play for children and adults with leading play expert Joan Almon. Joan co-authored the report "Crisis in theKindergarten: Why Children Need to Play in School," is  founding director of the U.S. Alliance for Childhood, and former co-chair of the Waldorf Early Childhood Association of North America. Joan is leading a workshop on "The Power of Play" at the Advancing Creative Thinking: Imagination to Innovation Conference in Ridgefield, Connecticut, on April 28.

Against the backdrop of the Bellevue Arts Museum's "Making Mends" exhibition, we'll explore the therapeutic benefit of art and the sense of hope and perseverance that artists find as they come to terms with traumatic experiences through the act of creation. Our guest is the "Making Mends" curator, Nora Atkinson.

We'll explore the workings of creativity -- from how to bring more of it into organizations to who is creative to how the brain works with creativity. Our guest is Jonah Lehrer, author of the new book, Imagine: How Creativity Works, as well as How We Decide and Proust Was a Neuroscientist. He is also contributing editor at Wired, a frequent contributor to The New Yorker and a columnist for The Wall Street Journal. Find more at http://www.jonahlehrer.com/.

We'll explore the intersection of play, creativity and art through the "Push Play" exhibition at the Bellevue Arts Museum near Seattle, Washington, and the work of curator and artist Linda Ganstrom.The exhibition is shaped through Linda's belief that play is at the core of all forms of creativity and that art is work with a playful attitude. The exhibition looks at the subject matter of contemporary play through the medium of ceramics art.

We'll explore the power, potential and importance of play to generate and restore health and sanity to our world. Our guest, Gwen Gordon, brings stories from her play work with Muppets for Sesame Street, Apple research at MIT Media Lab, Xeroz PARC, San Quentin Prison, and elsewhere.

Berenice "Bee" Bleedorn would have turned 100 on December 22. She died earlier this year, bringing to a close her nearly 50-year career in creativity and education. Today, we'll celebrate not only her life, but why her work matters today and in the future. We'll be joined by one of her daughters, former students and international colleagues to explore the impact of her life and work in promoting creativity across education, business, global issues, sustainability, arts, politics and more.

We'll explore the importance of play for children and adults in learning, healing, working and community-building with Angelique Felix. We'll find out about how the Angelique uses the Reggio Emilia approach in play session to create many possibilities for children to express the way they really are. Learn more about Angelique at www.angeliquefelix.com.

We'll explore what creativity looks like in the personal and performing life of concert pianist Haley Simons. And how that creative life inspired her latest project of developing Creative Alberta -- a Canadian province-wide nonprofit organization that encourages and supports creativity in the multiple arenas of culture, commerce and education.

We'll explore with artist, educator and activist Lily Yeh her work with Barefoot Artists, Inc., to bring the transformative power of art to impoverished communities around the globe through participatory, multifaceted projects that foster community empowerment, improve the physical environment, promote economic development and preserve indigenous art and culture. We'll talk about her new book, Awakening Creativity, about  her work with the Dandelion School for children of migrant workers in Beijing, where she engages students in artmaking to transform a rundown factory into a vibrant school and community center. Find out more about Lily's projects at www.barefootartists.org. Lily is part of the opening keynote on "Disruptive Creativity: How Bright Ideas Can Change Everything" at the Advancing Creative Thinking: Imagination to Innovation Conference in Ridgefield, Connecticut, on April 27.