Collaborative creativity in community settings

Abstract

Collaborative creativity can be a powerful force for social change. In this chapter we examine creativity in community development and collective action. We move away from Western, individualist conceptions of creativity as the celebrated capacity of individuals to generate new ideas, products or processes that break with convention (Sawyer, 2012, p. 273). Instead, we are interested in collaboration where a creative process is focused on a shared purpose of achieving change for groups and societies. At the heart of the chapter are four examples of practice drawn from our direct experiences of creating and researching arts projects within community settings. Creativity in community development and action need not necessarily be arts-based, but in this instance our intention is to illuminate key features of these art-making processes that relate to theories of creativity, collaboration and community.