Creativity in Play

We'll explore patterns and perceptions about play in the lives of young children and how adults impact children's play with Payal Mahajan is an international educator based in India. Plus, what role culture plays in making visible the development, problem solving and creativity that flows out of these patterns so that there is a greater tolerance/acceptance/respect for the very natural and necessary trait of living beings - play.

Find more about Payal's work at:

http://www.artoflearning.inhttp://aaryan.posterous.com/

Sir Ken Robinson joins us for a one-year celebration of "Creativity in Play" and will explore with us his take on the current state of creativity in education, the workplace and society. Sir Ken is author of the New York Times best-seller, The Element: How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything, and Out of Our Minds: Learning to be Creative. 

Tweet your questions now to @creativityplay ...

NOTE: The audio of this interview has an echo. An edited version with all of Anne's comments is available here on Vimeo. We'll explore the creativity of poetry and the poetry of creativity with Irish poet Anne F. O'Reilly. Plus, find out more about the Celtic imagination, Celtic spirituality, and how to explore one's creative purpose through poetry. O'Reilly is a performance poet, celebrating the healing and transforming power of poetry. She is the author of Sacred Play: Soul Journeys in Contemporary Irish Theatre and Singing from the Belly of the Whale. Her CD, "Breathsong," was released earlier this year. Find out more about Anne, her poetry and her work online. Anne is leading sessions at the Advancing Creative Thinking: Imagination to Innovation Conference in Ridgefield, Connecticut, on April 28, 2012.

We’ll explore the progress of the Lincoln Center Institute’s Imagination Conversations that have been held around the country, what will be happening at America’s Imagination Summit on July 21 and 22 in New York City, and what the future holds for imagination and creativity in education and across fields. The summit will feature Sir Ken Robinson, Dr. Deepak Chopra, the head of the National Education Association, the chief creative executive of Walt Disney Imagineering, and many others. Our guest is Lincoln Center Institute Executive Director Scott Noppe-Brandon, creator of the Imagination Conversations and the Imagination, and co-author of Imagination First: Unlocking the Power of Possibility.

We'll explore the role of creativity and play in social change, community organizing and social movements, as well as the importance of play in public space. Our guest is Ben Shepard, assistant professor of human service at New York School of Technology/City University of New York. He is the author of several books, including Play, Creativity, and Social Movements: If I Can't Dance, It’s Not My Revolution, The Beach Beneath the Streets: Exclusion, Control, and Play in Public Space, and Community Projects as Social Activism. Find out more about Ben at www.benjaminheimshepard.com.

We'll explore what the creative process looks like and how it works across poetry and therapy with poet and Jungian analyst Naomi Ruth Lowinsky. Her memoir about her pushy muse is called The Sister from Below: When the Muse Gets Her Way. She's written three collections of poems and has a private practice in Berkeley, California.

We'll explore the notion of the "game frame," what games mean to us, why learning should look more like gaming and why work should look more like play. Plus, connections between creativity, motivation and games. Our guest is Aaron Dignan, author of The Game Frame: Using Games as a Strategy for Success, and founding partner of the digital strategy firm Undercurrent. Find more at www.gameframers.com and on Twitter @aarondignan.

Our guest is Piers Fawkes,  founder and editor-in-chief of PSFK, a daily source of new ideas for creative professionals. We'll explore future trends shaping innovation and technology across sectors. Find out more about Piers and PSFK.

Our guest is Carrie Lobman, Ed.D., associate professor at the Rutgers University Graduate School of Education, and co-author of Unscripted Learning: Using Improvisation Across the K-8 Curriculum. We'll explore the role of play, creativity and meaning-making in learning, as well as the popular series Carrie teaches, called PLAYGROUND, which she describes as a "postmodern laboratory for fun and development." Find out more about Carrie.

We'll explore insights into creativity and creative collaboration from jazz improv with jazz musician Jonathan Batiste. Jonathan is a member of a long lineage of musicians from the Batiste family of Louisiana. At 24, Jonathan  performed and recorded with artists across musical genres including Abbey Lincoln, Prince, The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, Jimmy Buffet, Lenny Kravitz, Cassandra Wilson, Ellis Marsalis, Harry Connick Jr., Roy Hargrove and many others. Jonathan also is a music curator at the Jazz Museum in Harlem, where he created and leads the "JAZZ is: NOW!" series. He's currently featured in a role on the HBO TV series, "Treme." Listen to Jonathan's music and find peformance dates here and follow him on Facebook here.