CREATIVITY ACROSS CANADA INTERVIEWS

Description

In collaboration with Dr. Mary Blatherwick, I was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship in 2019 for a four-month, two-trip visit to University of New Brunswick as an international scholar. This fellowship (which also funds visits by Canadian scholars to the USA) is designed to benefit the host institution and the visitor equally.

I began by giving a presentation at an Atlantic Centre for Creativity conference, helped to update the organization's website, and then worked with ACC members to launch a professional publication titled Creativity Matters.

My second visit to New Brunswick was then delayed due to Covid-19. This raised a question: how could I continue to contribute effectively and sustain momentum?

The Interview Project

With a bit of research, I concluded that the Atlantic provinces were replete with all kinds of creativity, and that interviewing a dozen or so exemplars from various fields would benefit both the ACC and me.

The interviews were done collaboratively. I sent several "start-up" questions to interviewees in advance, so that they could think about the ideas they wanted to share. A freewheeling Zoom conversation followed, generally lasting around ninety minutes. I recorded these conversations, but rather than simply creating a word-by-word transcription, I distilled and when appropriate re-organized the conversation to create the best possible story. Having published over forty interviews in my various books, I had learned that general audience interviews need to be quite focused and very concise--otherwise, the readership drops dramatically. I then sent the draft to my subject and invited them to edit, add or revise as they wished. In some cases, we met again via Zoom, to fine-tune the final text.

Publication

Interviews with entrepreneurship advisor Mark Breen, educator Ian Fogarty, and engineer/author Jeremy Gilmer were included in my 2021 book titled Creative Inquiry: From Ideation to Implementation. I hope to include at least six more Canadian interviews in an in-progress publication titled Being, Thinking and Doing.

And I am honoured to offer the following interviews here. All of them tell compelling stories and offer insights into creativity from distinctive perspectives. Because I was based in Fredericton for my initial Fulbright visit, these conversations highlight creativity in New Brunswick. I was finally able to complete my fellowship at University of Waterloo in 2022 and at the request of departmental chair Dr. Rob Gorbet, completed another fourteen interviews there. They will be published in spring 2024.

In Gratitude

I would like to thank everyone who has participated in this project. In addition to my wonderful collaborators on the interviews, I would especially like to thank Jean Rooney from New Brunswick College of Craft and Design, whose Guest Lecture Series for her Advanced Studio Practice course continues to highlight creativity and inspire students. Many of these interviews evolved from the presentations Jean organized. Designer Olivia Parker has also been a wonderful resource, both through her work on the ACC website and now with her work for CNIC. And, of course, without Dr. Blatherwick, the project would never have been possible. She provided generous support during my initial visit to UNB and continues to offer her insights as well as friendship.

Finally, I would like to thank everyone at Fulbright Canada for their fortitude and inventiveness. Working especially with Brad Hector in Ottawa, I re-organized my travel at least five times from 2021-2022, as we tried the find the best way to finish a fellowship that had been so interrupted. Without the flexibility and resilience of Fulbright Canada, I could never have completed this project.

In a world so beset by conflicts and divisive politics, Canada remains a beacon of hope and a leader in creativity. Thank you so much!