Creativity and art as a force for change
When Mid Sweden University celebrates its anniversary, art also gets to take place – as an expression, a meeting place and a source of inspiration. At the end of October, a number of activities were carried out – workshops, lectures and a large exhibition in Ismagasinet in Sundsvall.
Under the name "The Art Hub", the initiators want to start a process where education and visual art can be a light in the darkness and inspire creative creation.
Seventeen artists connected to the university participated in the exhibition at Ismagasinet. They showed their interpretations of the theme "Creative force fields" with different techniques and materials - and the opening was well attended.
"The idea of the Art Hub is to create a place where art, education and academia meet and inspire each other," says Lena Sjödin Roman, artist and one of the initiators of the Art Hub. Art can be a counterforce, a way of understanding and dealing with the world we find ourselves in. It is about reshaping the view of reality.
The program continued with three exciting lectures on the theme of art and science.
"We see a great benefit in cross-pollinating art and science," says Edith Andresen, researcher at CER and part of the Art Hub. Art can help us interpret the world, create value and movement. Through art, we can train our ability to see what is not yet obvious, which also applies to research.
Roberto Verganti together with moderator Anna-Sara Fagerholm.
One of the lecturers was Roberto Verganti, professor and director of the Center for Art and Innovation at the Stockholm School of Economics. He said that the view of innovation is about to change. From being about problem solving, i.e. identifying a problem and solving it, to being about meaning-making that requires reflection, emotional engagement but at the same time opens up for new perspectives, ways of thinking and patterns of action.
"At CER, we have for many years conducted research, developed and conducted courses on innovation, change management and entrepreneurship," continues Edith Andresen. We have seen a need to identify practices that can unleash creativity. Meeting and creating relationships in a different way than before is especially important when individuals from many different cultures are to work together.
Art initiatives occur in several different places and in several different ways in our time. The School of Business, Economics and Law is one example, but Industrifonden's latest Venture Summit also invited artists and business people to explore creativity as an engine of change.
"At CER, we think it is important to continue to look at how creativity can become a factor for innovation, attraction and create new opportunities for our region.
Contact
