Liminal space (Press & Play) in the curriculum leads to more meaningful creative concepts
Changemakers –the persons that enable new visionary futures – need to be reflective as well as creative contortionists: in other words they need to have a creative and flexible habit of mind. To help students of the bachelor Creative Concepts for Communications develop this habit of mind Fontys Academy of the Creative Economy introduced Press & Play; time for Incubation and Inspiration, two necessary elements that influences our creative mindset. In order to let creativity flourish – and with it the creative leadership necessary to move in the liminal space between action and responsibility – Rhodes developed the 4P-framework (product, person, process and press). Creativity is a matter of valuable ideas and a creative process, but the characteristics of the person and the context they operate in are evenly important. During our Press & Play sessions we manipulate the context to enhance the creative development of the students (person), by introducing them to serendipity, the inspiration or insights we tend to get by seeing, hearing or experiencing something that is not part of the process we are in ourselves. During Press & Play our students are invited to move out of the mode of result-oriented work and enter the world of doing ‘nothing’, that is: taking the time to listen, feel, wander, converse and experiment with that what is. After one year of Press & Play our students feel more at ease to move into the unknown and start with questions instead of assumptions, which also result in more meaningful creative concepts.