Creativity Is Currency – Guest Post by Bibiana Krall
Allow this sentence to sink in.
Think about the beauty and hope connected to: art, music, dance, STEAM and writing. If you are struggling to survive, does creativity, intellectual exploration or art come into play? To be my own Devil’s Advocate I say yes, and no. Recently, I met a piano prodigy who can play classical music by ear, but has no ability to read music. Amazing right?
Is there a connection to problem solving, focus, financial means and the space to dream? Overwhelmingly, I say yes.
For years in the sphere of novel writing, traditional gatekeepers have held court over who gets published. The majority on the shelves is a direct reflection of who owns these influential houses and what the world chooses to pay for and digest.
The pandemic changed how we all relax, share and consume.
In indie/self-publish world, women writers outnumber men, 3-1, but the cash cow is romance, not literary or speculative writing. Is this disparity because women don’t think about important and evergreen topics?
Definitely not, but let’s face it, in a two-person household… ask yourself honestly who takes care of life behind the scenes? Escapism holds the universe together. Who still gets paid less for the same job with the same credentials. Not to mention someone out there who is barely making it, where is their important voice and creativity? Echo, echo.
I won’t ever forget the first museum day I attended in Savannah. For one day a month every museum in the city is 100% free. It was fabulous. People from every walk of life were jamming the corridors and experiencing art together. Incredible. When one has the basics covered, a person can afford books, has time to enjoy them, the freedom to collect art, travel and attempt philosophy or spiritual enlightenment.
Everyone else gets a taste once a month and that’s only if you can make it downtown between one and five.
When you’re barely holding on, there’s no room for anything except, food, clothing and shelter. Mazlow was right on with his pyramid. Not having the space to dream or imagine is a slow death. Apathy is the cyberpunk soundtrack to 2023.
If I ever win the lottery, my dream is to start a non-profit foundation that gives young people from all over the world the financial freedom, time and space to envision a better world. To create a safe and nurturing place where art, science, nature, and creativity come together to try and solve our greatest problems.
Did the visionary our world desperately need go to bed on an empty stomach last night?
Wisdom that could inform and help society turns to dust when the dream is destroyed by real life.
Do whatever you can to support The Arts, and STEAM in public schools. Continue to support new voices. Please push for genuine diversity in every sector, because creativity is currency for a better future for everyone.
By Bibiana Krall, M.F.A. creator of The Aether Series ~ “All heroines, all the time.”
