Reflections on the Dream Switch exploration = How Can Creativity Power Communities in Gloucestershire?

We came together in April 2021 to ask each other, and explore collectively; How Can Creativity Power Communities in Gloucestershire?

As an artist/collaborator I joined the Dream Switch in April, with my “CG brain” only slightly engaged, ready to embrace the experiment that we had created. I work with CG on creative communication and the network, so this event was a timely breathing space for me, and for the others.

Using feedback from those who joined us, and notes from other people that we work with, I have been tasked with bringing it all together and reflecting…

With our work we often find ourselves explaining large concepts with lots of words, many gestures and a miriad of other tools. So we were grateful to be joined by creators with different “hats” on; as speakers, as listeners, as contributors - and of course, a mixture of all of these “hats”. We’ve heard that many of us experienced the Dream Switch in many different ways, and we hope that the collaborative and experimental nature of the event sparked some connections; and will continue to do so.

Firstly, this is a huge heartfelt thank-you to everyone who came, and contributed in all of the different ways. We’ve appreciated hearing your responses, and it helps us to grow exciting ideas with Gloucestershire for the future.

Sally Byng (chief executive of the Barnwood Trust) joined us as our keynote listener - listening deeply and reflecting on what was said, to draw out key themes from the day. When the event was wrapping up Sally reflected back the themes and concepts that were voiced, and heard, by the whole group, and summarised ideas that feel important within our communities.

Imogen Harvey-Lewis shared creative nuggets for us to play with, and captured our conversations in her visual way. This was another experiment within the Dream Switch, and one which we hope you will all continue to enjoy.

There was such a wealth of ideas shared in the event, and we would love you to watch the whole video when you can. However, here are a few “soundbites” to describe the things that power our creative practices and hopes, drawn from all of the conversations :

“The idea of feeding and nourishing”, “Importance of confidence and support”, “Importance of Value”, “Exploration and play” “Passion”, “Energy”, “Resilience”.

We’d also like to share some thoughts on how we can nourish creativity, which Sally brilliantly captured from our conversations.

The importance of :

“encouraging and not judging”
“the process is as important as the product”
“creating that space”
“not fulfilling other people's expectations”
“just linking : that if something could be possible, then take the leap. Don't close that down too quickly. Just go for it.”
“Finding what's strong and maybe weird inside of you that you want to fulfill.”

The concept of “finding your weirdness” resonated with a large number of people, when there was a resounding nod and powerful “hmmmm!” in the room. We also did a little happy dance when one participant told us afterwards “One of my main notes from the event was ‘EMBRACE YOUR WEIRDNESS!!!’ as I loved that sentiment and often need to be reminded of it.”

Sally also reflected on how we had spoken about :

“The importance of the early inspiration of possibility, and that seemed to be a theme in all four of [the talks]. Those could be big possibilities or just very small possibilities, but something, interestingly, each person [speaker]went back to some early, very early, sense of potential.”
“It seems to be really important to be able to find, tune into and stay true to something strong inside of yourself that wants to come out in whatever form that is and again we've heard that from lots of different people.”

There are multiple meanings of creativity, and Sally helped us to notice that one “definition of creativity you use in Create Gloucestershire, which is the ability to create or make something original of value. What we heard is that can be anything, absolutely anything, and the importance of saying to yourself ‘I am a creative person’.”

Another reflection that a creator shared with us and which struck a cord is; “Community support (both emotional and practical) is so important as creativity rarely happens in isolation. Also, having the time to explore without pressure to perform or have an outcome.”

One other thread of thought in our Dream Switch conversations, and from listening to people afterwards, is on the topic of “who is missing from this conversation?”;

how we can affect change,
how we can ensure “freedom to collaborate”,
how we can acknowledge the “societal stereotypes” and the systems that can be restrictive.

So as creators and facilitators of creativity, we noticed valuable questions about the gaps in how our communities are powered, and how we can move forward; individually and collectively.

Imogen Harvey Lewis: Creative Underpinning

One piece that Imogen Harvey-Lewis produced in the Dream Switch, which particularly resonated with me was “Creative Underpinning”. In a way it answers the question; “How Can Creativity Power Communities in Gloucestershire”? With the underpinning of support, sense of value, space, play, thinking and doing things differently, linking with one another and recognising potential.

Since the Dream Switch I’ve felt empowered to doodle more, embrace my creative brain (rather than fight it), and to ‘mind map’ all the challenges and tasks I face; creative, technological and social. So whatever the tasks are for the day, they’re now in pretty clouds with colour-coordinated pens.

Imogen’s task of ‘creating our storylines’ really made ideas pop in my imagination, and I’ve found myself running with the idea and using it daily. I hope you find some inspiration to find “the thing” that powers your creativity!

Kazz Hollick

You can search for #GlosDreamSwitch to see responses, and use the hashtag to share your response : we’d love to see what you created.

Watch (or re-live) the event here!

Watch Imogen at work and find all the talks given by the speakers as well as reflection on the event in this film.

Speakers

Shalize Nicholas- Founder and Designer of Madia & Matilda, joined us and talked about the people that have supported her and the values that have helped underpin the growth of her sustainable fashion business in Stroud.

Dawn Barnes runs the Venture Play Ground in White City Gloucester talked about how important the support of the venture was to her growing up and why her team designed and home delivered thousands of food and creative packs during Covid to the local community.

Tomas Miller -Co-founder and Director at Millar + Howard Workshop talked about his personal anchor (a 70s surf film!) into creativity and the impact of working a particular place - Stroud - with its history of invention and rebellion that inspires him.

Sam Guglani talked poetically about vital importance of bringing the whole person into being and talked about how he combines science and art and beauty into his daily work as an oncologist.

Halima Malek describes what it felt like to be at the event - “like a sprinkle of glitter …”

Dreaming Artwork

Here’s a gallery of just some of the pieces that Imogen Harvey Lewis created during the event. If you would like to buy a print you can email Imogen directly with the name of the print you would like, and you can find more of her work at www.imogenharveylewis.co.uk.