Is Creativity a Community Interest?

Why is creativity so important?

We know instinctively that the ‘arts are good’. We all wish we could sing, or have the confidence to get up on stage or even just speak in public without feelings of abject terror! We praise our children for their wild ideas and marvel at the way they can become totally immersed in an imaginary game with an imaginary friend. But why is creativity seen as a positive attribute whilst simultaneously being sidelined when it comes to more academic skills? 

What I don’t think most people realise is the transformative power of creativity. Creative

expression is at the heart of who we are. Sylvia Plath famously said 

“The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt”

Surely, then, building a child’s creative capacity naturally builds their self-esteem too. It takes courage to look at something in a new way, or to try something that hasn’t been tried before, let alone to try something for the 37^th time following 36 failures.  

Creating something as part of a team takes courage too, as well as strong interpersonal and communication skills. Sharing, listening, reflecting, evaluating, starting again, critiquing. All of these skills are a vital part of the collaborative, creative process. So now we not only have self-esteem being built, but we’re also fostering positive social and emotional wellbeing.  

This is at the heart of why we do what we do – our vision is a world where creative expression is placed at the heart of children’s education, allowing them to flourish emotionally and socially. Our mission is to provide access to transformational creative arts programmes for children in Southeast Cornwall and beyond, enriching cultural capital and fostering healthy development. Many argue the next generation is in the midst of a mental health crisis, and we've seen that enriching creative programmes can provide a vital antidote.

This is why we’re a CIC – a Community Interest Company, which is essentially a not-for-profit social enterprise. We believe that access to creative development is absolutely in the community’s interest and we meet multiple charitable objectives, most significantly - ‘Cultural Education’ -  

‘to advance for the public benefit the education of children and young people in order to enable them to participate in society as mature and responsible individuals. Supporting them to become successful learners and responsible citizens by working with others to extend the range, amount, quality and scope of formal and informal learning opportunities in the areas of creativity, arts...Empowering them to be involved in the promotion of cultural and learning activities and enhancing their skills, capacities and capabilities...’ GOV.UK 

This year, you’ll find us doing more fundraising activities and applying for more grants as we continue on our journey of transforming children’s lives through creative expression and emotional well-being including an Auction of Promises in a few weeks!