Summer Camp as a Force for 21st Century Learning: Exploring Divergent Thinking and Activity Selection in a Residential Camp Setting

This study investigated change in divergent thinking (DT), an indicator of creative potential, at two gender-specific residential summer camps. Additionally, this study examined whether the change in DT varied by gender and by the type of activities campers self-select. Quantitative methods, using a quasi-experimental design was used in order to understand differences in camper scores. A total of 189 youth, 100 girls, 89 boys, between the ages of 9 and 14 years participated in the current study. Participants were administered a modified version of Guilford\u27s (1967) alternate uses task, a measure of DT, in which respondents were asked questions such as name all of the uses for a brick or name all of the uses for a plate before the camp session started, and then again at the end of the two-week session. Results indicate overall mean significant increases in DT across all scoring methods of fluency, flexibility, and originality. Participants who self-selected one or more artistic activities (e.g., drama, arts and crafts, dance) had significant increases on the tasks as opposed to participants who did not select any artistic activities (e.g., basketball, baseball, archery). Finally, girls significantly increased across all scoring methods, whereas boys slightly increased in fluency and flexibility but not in originality. These results indicate residential summer camp may provide a creativity benefit for youth in attendance, especially those who participate in certain activities. Practitioners should use this study to understand their own programming in terms of creativity, activity offerings, and camp cultur

Emotional creativity and real-life involvement in different types of creative leisure activities

The role of emotional creativity in practicing creative leisure activities and in the preference of college majors remains unknown. The present study aims to explore how emotional creativity measured by the Emotional Creativity Inventory (ECI; Averill, 1999) is interrelated with the real-life involvement in different types of specific creative leisure activities and with four categories of college majors. Data were collected from 251 university students, university graduates and young adults (156 women and 95 men). Art students and graduates scored significantly higher on the ECI than other majors. Humanities scored significantly higher than technical/economic majors. Five creative leisure activities were significantly correlated with the ECI, specifically, writing, painting, composing music, performing drama, and do-it-yourself home improvement. Keywords: Creativity, Emotional Creativity, Emotions, Creativeness, Affect, Feelings, Leisure Activities, Creative Ability, Artistic Creativity, Creative Thinking, Creativeness, Aging, Cognitive Deficits, Performance. MeSH Headings: Emotions, Creativity, Leisure, Leisure Activities, Hobbies, Recreation, Affect Affective Symptoms, Creativenes

Between the ideal and the reality: The human body through the eyes of European artists

The human body has always been one of the most important subjects for European artists. But the way it is displayed in art has varied in different epochs. In ancient Greece, a canon was constituted that proclaimed an ideal vision of the body, derived from the rules governing the universe. This idealization of the human body, neglected in the Middle Ages, was re‑established in Renaissance and Classicist art. However, Renaissance artists also created another image of the human body by borrowing from patterns mainly found in nature, and started to depict their models not in an ideal but rather in a more natural shape. The new non‑ideal forms of art that appeared in Mannerist art made the artists develop a much wider artistic language, which brought into being a variety of individually interpreted artistic representations of the human body. It preceded similar phenomena which became widespread in the twentieth century. Thus, the human body was not always displayed in art as strong, healthy and beautiful. On the contrary, the martyred bodies of Christ and the saints, as well as the depictions of aged, tired or ill people, also carried enormous artistic expression. A distinct problem has occurred with the ways in which corpses have been presented in art. The review concludes with a reference to the contemporary trend called Body‑Art that involves various artistic activities, such as happenings and performances, where the human body is itself used as a significant work of art

The Art of Community: Creativity at the Crossroads of Immigrant Cultures and Social Services

These are case studies that give credance to the belief that respect for one's own artistic traditions is critical to the acculturation process. The essays contained here offer clear and shining examples of how paying attention to culture and creativity can build self-confidence, nurture a productive and valuable citizenry, and even save a life. Through these stories, we begin to see that encouraging the practice of cultural traditions and participation in arts activities will help newcomers spread their wings and fly

Artistic activities and creativity in argentinian school-age children

Este trabajo pretendió evaluar si la realización de actividades artísticas influye en la creatividad. Se evaluó a 301 niños de 8 a 14 años de edad. Se estudió la creatividad desde una evaluación multicomponente, utilizando diversas técnicas (sociograma, test y escalas) y diferentes informantes (pares, padres y el propio niño). Los resultados encontrados indican consistentemente que los niños que realizan actividades artísticas obtuvieron puntuaciones más elevadas en la creatividad evaluada desde: la producción de dibujos (prueba de figuras del Test de Pensamiento Creativo de Torrance), la valoración parental y la autoevaluación de la personalidad creadora del niño (Escala de Personalidad Creadora hetero y autoevaluación de Garaigordobil, 2004), y la evaluación realizada por sus pares (Sociograma “Compañero Creativo” de Garaigordobil, 2004).This work intended to assess whether performing artistic activities influence Creativity. To this end, 301 children aged 8-14 years were assessed. Creativity was studied from a multicomponent assessment, by means of diverse techniques (i.e., sociograms, tests and scales) and different informants (i.e., peers, parents and the child himself/herself). The results consistently indicated that children who perform artistic activities obtained higher scores in Creativity assessed by: the creation of drawings (figural test of the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking), parental assessment and the child’s creative personality self-assessment (Creative personality scale hetero and auto-evaluation version, Garaigordobil, 2004) and peer assessment (Garaigordobil’s Sociogram “Creative peer”, 2004).Fil: Krumm, Gabriela Liliana. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Saavedra 15. Centro Interdisciplinario de Investigaciones en Psicología Matemática y Experimental "Dr. Horacio J. A. Rimoldi". Grupo Vinculado CIIPME - Entre Ríos - Centro Interdisciplinario de Investigaciones en Psicología Matemática y Experimental "Dr. Horacio J. A. Rimoldi"; Argentina. Universidad Adventista del Plata. Facultad de Humanidades, Educacion y Ciencias Sociales; ArgentinaFil: Lemos, Viviana Noemí. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Saavedra 15. Centro Interdisciplinario de Investigaciones en Psicología Matemática y Experimental "Dr. Horacio J. A. Rimoldi". Grupo Vinculado CIIPME - Entre Ríos - Centro Interdisciplinario de Investigaciones en Psicología Matemática y Experimental "Dr. Horacio J. A. Rimoldi"; Argentina. Universidad Adventista del Plata. Facultad de Humanidades, Educacion y Ciencias Sociales; Argentin

Playing outside the box:transformative works and computer games as participatory culture

The main purpose of this study is to examine the creative fan community as a paradigm of participatory culture, from a computer games perspective. A review of relevant literature is used to examine transformative works and the related subculture in its many diverse forms. The produced discussion seeks to respond to a number of questions, such as: What exactly constitutes transformative work, what is the legal status of such work, and how can it be improved? To what extent do transformative works constitute a part of the play experience and enjoyment of games? Does participation in associated creative activities influence, shape or redefine the aforementioned experience? Can transformative works be appreciated as valuable artistic pieces on their own merits, outside the communities in which they are produced? Does the existence of the transformative work benefit the wider gaming culture from an artistic, financial or other point of view

Bringing arts interventions into care settings

Artistic and creative activities are increasingly recognised as tools to support people with dementia. They can share these activities on equal terms with everyone else and the arts can help them to overcome the barriers they often face through cultural participation and social engagement. Participation in artistic activities provides mental stimulation, exercises existing skills and offers new learning experiences

Heads Above the Grass

Today it is imperative that we acknowledge the brutality, intolerance and biased actions of the past. Thus by lifting our heads above the tall grass we can move forward to personal affirmation and progress. This progress can be represented by the educational and artistic exploration of complex issues of our society. In the field of art education we can articulate the progress by welcoming the creative activities of all vectors of youthful life and culture. Through this acceptance a wealth of experiences can be deposited to actually create more understanding and an enriched learning atmosphere. Once the multi-form stories of life are truly received we must then reverse the flow and generate an out-pouring of concepts, emotions and offerings back to society. The return of these artistic gifts may be in the form of workshops, lectures, critiques, dance, theatre, music, public art, visual art exhibitions and other boldly inclusive expressions

Kinkon biobib: life and work of Dom Sylvester Houedard

Bio-bibliographical essay on British Benedictine monk, scholar, translator, concrete poet and artist Dom Sylvester Houédard (1924–92). Based on scarce published materials and primary sources, this chronology emphasises artistic over religious and other activities, and public over private ones. It lists events where Houédard had an active involvement (group and solo exhibitions – focusing on UK based ones, and those where a catalogue was published; talks, readings and performances – including recordings; collaborations), significant artworks, monographic publications (broadsheets, print folders, cards, pamphlets, monographs, exhibition catalogues, anthologies) and serial publications (articles and magazines)

The Cultural Lives of Californians: Insights from the California Survey of Arts and Cultural Participation

Over the past two decades, numerous reports indicate that national rates of arts attendance have been declining. This downward trend is reflected in both survey data and in the day-to-day experiences of many nonprofit arts organizations. In California, attendance rates -- as defined by traditional measures -- have also declined. And yet, there is a sense that the arts and culture are flourishing as never before, with a renewed vigor and excitement. How do we understand this apparent contradiction?The trend in attendance figures, however, does not reflect Californians' participation in a wide array of arts and cultural activities. People's participation in arts and cultural activities, especially in ways that allow them to develop or release their own artistic impulse, is extensive -- and perhaps nowhere more so than in California.At the same time, California's cultural landscape is undergoing massive changes, affecting the ways people encounter, experience and engage with art. These changes include California's demographic shift to being a so-called "majority-minority" state and rapid technological advances that offer new opportunities for artistic expression and access. These changes pose challenges and exciting new opportunities for how artists and organizations create and share their expertise and work. But to understand these changes and their implications for the nonprofit arts field, a broader, more nuanced, more complete understanding of how Californians participate in arts and culture is required.The California Survey of Arts & Cultural Participation is a tool we developed to ask a wide range of questions about what Californians do to engage with arts and culture