{"id":1328,"date":"2022-09-29T12:01:28","date_gmt":"2022-09-29T18:01:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.coloradocollege.edu\/emailarchive\/?p=1328"},"modified":"2022-09-30T15:03:49","modified_gmt":"2022-09-30T21:03:49","slug":"creativity-innovation-block-2-newsletter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.coloradocollege.edu\/emailarchive\/2022\/09\/29\/creativity-innovation-block-2-newsletter\/","title":{"rendered":"Creativity & Innovation Block 2 Newsletter"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Reflections on Collaborative Creativity<\/h1>\n
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\u201cForget the myths about historical inventors; the truth is always a story of group genius.\u201d   \u2014   Keith Sawyer<\/em><\/span><\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n
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As the world tries to shrug off the lingering effects of the pandemic and feel its way toward in-person interactions again, many people are reassessing the value of collaboration in their creative lives. We often think of the creative process \u2013 whether we are making art or cupcakes or iPhone apps \u2013 as a solo adventure. Creativity researcher Keith Sawyer calls this the \u2018myth of the lone genius.\u2019 But, as Sawyer and other researchers have shown, in reality, our best ideas are incubated in community with others, whether or not we are aware of it. As Sawyer puts it, \u201cThe mind itself is filled with a kind of internal collaboration, that even the insights that emerge when you\u2019re completely alone can be traced back to previous collaborations.\u201d<\/p>\n

Although the image of the \u2018lone genius\u2019 remains central to our cultural narratives about creativity \u2013  think Albert Einstein, Georgia O\u2019Keeffe, or Steve Jobs \u2013 arguments for collaborative creativity are gaining traction. For example, in their recent book Synchreate: A Guide to Navigating the Creative Process for Individuals, Teams, and Communities<\/em>, authors Melinda Rothouse and Charlotte Gullick identify collaboration as an essential part of the creative process. They write, \u201cCommunity is an essential aspect of the creative process. If we engage with others trying to foster creativity, we are more likely to connect, support, and commit to our own ideas.\u201d The work of sculptor and multidisciplinary artist Senga Nengudi supports this idea. She says, \u201cIt is so exciting to open yourself up in the sense of being generous with yourself, opening yourself up and exposing yourself to something that is totally foreign to you and to grow. Collaboration is about growing in all kinds of ways. That\u2019s the bottom line of collaboration; you are willing to grow.\u201d<\/p>\n

Our Block Two newsletter celebrates the transformative power of creative collaboration with reflections and events.<\/span><\/div>\n