I recently read that reaching a summit is both an end and a starting point, because from the height of a peak the path to the next one becomes visible. This maxim could be applied to social change as a constant, endless challenge, since human coexistence seems bent on generating inequalities that will always need to be fought.
Perhaps what distinguishes the current era from the past is that never before had there existed such widespread awareness of the need to keep that spirit alive. More and more of us perceive the injustices within our reach and do something about it—even if it’s a small gesture. Companies are joining this path in cascading fashion (who knows if out of obligation or conviction), aware that their unquestionable power, well channeled, is a hugely powerful engine of change.
In this whole scheme there are two especially useful elements that, moreover, are tremendously fun: creativity and play. And the best part is that we all arrive in the world with these qualities built in; we just need to exercise them.
The Fundación Juan March in Madrid hosted an exhibition called El juego del arte (The Game of Art)—curated by designer Enrique Bordes—which highlighted, among other things, the effect of creative play on education. For example, late 19th-century pedagogical innovations like Kindergarten (which introduced color and imagination into schools) laid the groundwork for the 20th-century artistic Avant-gardes. In other words, a creative education sparked the effervescent minds that created much of our collective imagination.
Another clear example is the Lego Serious Play program, a smart move by the toy company that is revolutionizing human resources management. Lego pieces are put into play in corporate settings to structure work sessions imaginatively, clearly tapping into the child we all carry inside. Apparently it works. And very well.
In my work as a creative I’ve seen the therapeutic power of creativity many times. When someone uses colors and brushes (analog or digital, doesn’t matter) it awakens areas of the brain where a sense of wellbeing lives, problem-solving, and society’s great unfinished business: faith in oneself. This mechanism becomes especially strong when creativity is used for self-representation. I once heard, while teaching a personal branding workshop: “this isn’t a design class, it’s much more, I don’t know what happens to me but when I leave here I feel better.” It’s truly inspiring to watch the power of the creative in improving how people feel. Even in my “civil” work, I love the “wow, the three wise men have come” look some people get when I help them make their ideas tangible, especially if they feel part of the process. Applied to social intervention, it’s an especially rewarding job, because the goal isn’t the result, it’s the development: the exercise of making a self-portrait with images or words, for example, is in itself what matters, not whether it turns out well or badly. In this playground there are no judgments, only experiences (and if they’re shared, all the better).
There is a large and growing number of increasingly skilled social intervention professionals who use color, light, materials or music to unclog the abilities and opportunities of so many people who start their social journey unfairly behind. Professionals like the members of Las Ciento Volando, specialists in participatory art to boost self-esteem and social cohesion; or the group Te Estoy Poniendo Verde, which runs photography workshops with teenagers to identify problems and solutions related to the green spaces in their neighborhood, so that the City Council takes note. The Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza has a specific program of guided tours led by people with mental illness, which prompts a total shift in perspective for those who approach the paintings from their point of view. The list of examples is huge and growing.
We are all creators (Science says so, not just me), we should never neglect that side of life. It seems the corporate world is quickly approaching a playful and creative concept of work, just as it’s entering, in geometric progression, into defending equality and caring for the environment. Could it be that, at last, a fairer world is more profitable?
While we check how true that intention is, let’s play at creative change, keep using imagination to improve others’ lives (which is, really, improving our own). And, if possible, enjoying the journey, wherever it ends.
Pablo Dávila Castañeda