Who are the creativity influencers inspiring new ways of understanding, defining, and engaging in creativity at this point in the 21st century?
The term ‘creativity influencers’ came into my awareness as a newly minted creativity educator teaching adult undergraduate students in a BA degree completion program at Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, FL.
The course I developed was called: “Creative Process: Awakening Creative Potential for Personal and Professional Growth.” The number of students walking into the first class session self-identifying as ‘not creative’ was alarming to me. I set up my classroom as an ‘evaluation free’ zone so students could feel safe expressing their creativity. Early in my heuristic doctoral research process I had an ‘illumination’ that revealed the term ‘creativity influencers’ (2014).
When I entered that term into the Google search engine, I found zero results. I immediately purchased the URL and launched a Creativity Influencers Facebook page. Discussions about creativity influencers enlivened my classroom, and the conversation soon shifted from “Who are your creativity influencers?” to “How can we all be positive creativity influencers?” With the second question came my biggest insight: “We are all creativity influencers because we are either inspiring and encouraging creativity, or discouraging or killing it.”
The image below shows my personal creativity influencers! -Marta Davidovich
We then asked our contributors the following: Who are the creativity influencers inspiring new ways of understanding, defining, and engaging in creativity at this point in the 21st century? Here is what they shared:
Marta Davidovich Ockuly is a humanistic psychologist, creativity educator, researcher, and influencer with a passion (and process) for awakening, inspiring, and encouraging individual and educator creative confidence with J.O.Y. (just one yes). She is also the founder and C.E.O. of the Creative Potential Institute – a future-focused think tank researching the lived experience of human creativity as well as increasing creative confidence and self-identification with creativity across the lifespan. She also contributes to curriculum development nationally and globally. Direct inquiries to: Marta D. Ockuly via https://www.linkedin.com/in/martadavidovichockuly/
Thank you to each person who shared their personal creativity influencers with us! It’s so important to acknowledge those folks, as well as to realize each of us is always influencing the people around us. For those who have children – consider asking them to share who their creativity influencers are – those people who have encouraged their creativity, and those who have done the opposite!