The Collective

October 22, 2021

Creativity is defined as “the use of the imagination or original ideas in the production of an artistic work.” But what truly defines creativity? What types of creativity are there? What is the importance of creativity?

You don’t have to be an artist to be creative, the process of creation is a phenomenon whereby something somehow new and somehow valuable is formed. And that mindset means creativity translates into every aspect of our lives and is more important than ever in the business world. But how do we teach this, how can we incorporate it into our leadership and make it part of our daily work routine?

This is where The Collective comes into play. An initiative of Mesa Arts Center, The Collective, is a program that uses creativity to activate leadership skills and enhance innovation across sectors. 

“The program involves the mentorship of 24 select individuals across various sectors. It is a 12-week program with six half day sessions. We have mindfulness and leadership, equitable mindfulness storytelling and videography one on one, throughout the sessions. We will also be talking about self-assessments, building your roadmap to success, making your vision of reality” said Danica Marlin, Program Manager for The Collective.

The Collective brings creativity to the forefront of the conversation by intentionally weaving it into every lesson on leadership, collaboration, failure, problem-solving, and mindfulness.

“I think something that's really important is being creative, requires a community. Creativity as a party of one, is not generally a success. For The Collective, the success story is the community that you get coming out of it” Marlin said. 

Who is the perfect person to apply for The Collective? EVERYONE! If you want to build your leadership skills through creativity and to learn how to make change through creative practice, this program is for you.

“You can be creative in any industry, and that's why The Collective is so important. A lot of times that is the key component to success, especially recently, with the amount of adaptation that we've had to make in the wake of COVID. Creativity has been one of the four top characteristics of a leader if not the singular most important characteristic of a good leader” Marlin said.

The Collective will be selecting 15-24 member to participate in the 2022 cohort. The deadline to apply is November 1, 2021.

Learn more about The Collective

Apply here!

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