Do You Have Ten Seconds?

By Mary Lou Raposa (themlfox)

Then try to answer these two questions:

What is creativity? How can we be more creative?

Difficult, isn’t it? To answer it properly we need more time.

I’ve pondered about it for weeks. Then, one night, I sat with my family to watch an episode of The Bear. Carmen Berzatto, the main character, talked to a captive audience of a group counselling session. Through knife calluses and beatings from workmates, the kitchen hewed him to a hardened chef. Yet, somehow, amidst all that he found a place where he was “okay”. Eventually, he learned what cooking meant, which ingredients worked well together. Inside he found confidence that saw competition in any newcomer he met.

“I feel like I could speak through the food,” he said, “like I could communicate through creativity.”

The line stood out to me, mostly because of how true it was. It’s one of the things that define “creativity”. No creative venture is ever truly meaningless. Artworks, for example, are often creative outlets against grave injustices by the powerful or boiled over emotions by the broken. Even something seemingly inconsequential as the architecture of an opera house says as much as art or literature. It’s the same for music, movies, prints, or food. Creatives understand that expressing creativity is communicating what we feel, observe, and fight for. It’s a commentary on the human experience.

*Sydney Opera House* by Patty Jansen from Pixabay

In the everyday, the meaning of creativity diminishes. Our vibrant colours dull under the harsh light of the negativity that surrounds us. It has become increasingly difficult to express creativity and to appreciate its necessity in a world that persists on silencing anything that is unique.

Which makes events like Creative Industries Day vital. Fostering creativity requires a place where like-minded people can gather, communicate, and exchange ideas. Industries and communities that support creative ventures is always the best step towards keeping creativity alive for as long as we’re around.

So, come down and meet leading industry professionals and organisations that sponsor and support creative projects in the City of Sydney. There will be workshops and presentations to help further creative skills and guide future creatives to understand their unique contribution in the community.

And to answer the question of “how can we be more creative”, I say this: being more creative can be as simple as allowing ourselves to be vulnerable through mediums that speak to us. It’s not necessarily doing more or being different. A heartfelt, honest creation can help creativity thrive as well as popular and daring works can.

Featured image: Creative Industries Day Pattern