About MakingSpace
MakingSpace was established in January 2009 to explore the creative process and to investigate the possibilities for its broader application. The principal idea is that creativity is an inherent human quality, accessible to all, and that when put at the heart of all activity, offers immeasurable potential for the individual, the organisation and for society at large.
MakingSpace is a ‘making’ space based on Eel Pie Island, it is the title for a new workshop programme designed to investigate and develop creativity and it is a project of enquiry unfolding in these pages through reading, dialogue, site visits, research and exchange.
MakingSpace came out of discoveries made through applying myself to an artistic practice as a sculptor (see Professional Practice) with a realisation that the core skills employed in the creative process have the potential, if understood and applied, to have a far reaching impact for development and change.
A further principal for MakingSpace is that real understanding comes only through experience. MakingSpace therefore combines research and theoretical enquiry with practical art-making in order that insights be gained ’first-hand’. It is from this first hand experience, that the artist, in order to be original, must then develop, for creativity comes not from a higher authority but by an engaging and understanding the ‘authority of the self’.
‘Developing Creativity is the premise for making the most of what is learnable but not teachable. It is at the heart of innovation and creating a sustainable society, an antidote to the uniformity produced by globalisation.’
Andrea Salzburg, 2007 Reggio Emilia
MakingSpace has become the vehicle for researching the intrinsic nature of creativity, for developing creative skills, for making connections with others and for finding ways to apply the creative process.
I invite you to MakingSpace.
Sarah Preece