Swimming With Ideas: What Happens to Creativity in the Wake of a Disaster and the Waves of Pro-Social Recovery Behaviour That Follow?

Abstract

Abstract. Creativity that is driven by a need for physical or economic survival, which disasters are likely to inspire, raises the question of whether such creativity fits with conventional theories and perspectives of creativity. In this paper we use the opportunity afforded by the 2010-2013 Christchurch, New Zealand earthquakes to follow and assess the creative practices and responses of a number of groups and individuals. We use in-depth interviews to tease out motivations and read these against a range of theoretical propositions about creativity. In particular, we focus on the construct of "elite panic" and the degree to which this appeared to be evident in the Christchurch earthquakes context. Bureaucratic attempts to control or limit creativity were present but they did not produce a completely blanket dampening effect. Certain individuals and groups seemed to be pre-equipped to navigate or ignore potential blocks to creativity. We argue, using Geir Kaufmann's novelty-creativity matrix and aspects of Teresa Amabile's and Michael G. Pratt's revised componential theory of creativity that a special form of disaster creativity does exist.Keywords: Christchurch, creativity, disasters, earthquakes, elite panic, resilience.Creativity Studies, 2018, 11(1): 10-23 11The need to adapt to the post-disaster environment, and to compensate for what has been altered or lost, generates a different form of creativity. In the absence of a known theory that fits with what was observed during this study, we have amalgamated two models. We use Kaufmann's (2003) routine/novel task taxonomy, which allows creativity to be recognised by degrees in relation to whether novelty resides in the stimulus, the response or both. Amabile's and Pratt's (2016) updated componential model of creativity, which includes the importance of the affective nature of meaningful work, is also applied to assist in clarifying the nature of creativity that took place in Christchurch's post-earthquakes setting.Abundant need can result in an abundance of unusual solutions to problems. Amusing and tolerated in "normal" times, a proliferation of the unique and imaginative in an already unsettling environment is likely to eventually be feared by those who find change unwelcome and threatening. Fritz (1996) and Rebecca Solnit (2010) provide support for the proposition that a creative "paradise" can be found in "hell". However, this moment or period is typically followed and curtailed either by "elite panic" responses in government and emergency management agencies or by the prior conditioning of ordinary individuals which encourages them to regard creativity and creative responses as inherently dangerous or threatening in some way.In this paper, we begin to answer the following questions: 1. Can creative activity and output produced in a post-disaster setting be categorised as "creative", independent of its adaptive capabilities or support role in resilience? 2. To what extent did the appreciation and enablement of creativity suffer from the presence of "el...

Creative ventures and the personalities that activate them in a post‐disaster setting

“…The circumstances allowed and supported individuals and groups to take chances. In a post‐disaster setting, it seems that adherence to past norms can waver, leaving a less regulated and recognizable environment in which entrepreneurs can activate ideas and exploit the wealth of opportunities that arise (Cameron et al, ).…”

“…Those who are comfortable on society's fringes, who may even consider themselves ‘outsiders’, are perhaps preadapted for action after a disaster. They are more comfortable than others when things are not ‘normal’ (Cameron et al, ).…”

“…Institutions are widely believed to be “the repository of common knowledge and the embodiment of accepted practice in society”; they try to remain stable and generally resist change (Kalantaridis & Fletcher, , p. 201). Cameron, Montgomery, Moore, and Stewart () explain that disaster‐induced institutional change can result in two radically different responses. Those who were comfortable with the status quo and existing boundaries prior to a disaster can become disorientated and consequently unsettled by the unknown.…”

How Times of Crisis Serve as a Catalyst for Creative Action: An Agentic Perspective

“…Some crises are experienced at personal level (e.g., the diagnosis of a life-threatening disease), organizational level (e.g., a business facing bankruptcy), and still others are experienced on a societal or global level (e.g., . Although crises can be deeply troubling and anxiety provoking, they can also serve as an important catalyst for creative action and innovative outcomes at and beyond the individual level (Solnit, 2010;Cameron et al, 2018;Cohen and Cromwell, 2020;Leontidou, 2020). Moreover, these creative efforts can occur at individual, grassroots, and broader social levels.…”

In Pursuit of Everyday Creativity

“…For example, one recent qualitative study of Dutch local governments found considerable evidence of civil service employees implementing creative solutions to solve local problems, such as finding “tailor‐made solutions for citizens” within the context of existing rules and regulations (Kruyen & van Genugten, in press). Another qualitative study documented and analyzed instances of citizens who generated and implemented creative solutions to a myriad of problems following the devastating earthquakes of 2010–2011 in Christchurch, New Zealand—solutions as diverse as a shopping complex in upcycled shipping containers, a bar in a bus, and an automated outdoor dance floor on vacant land (Cameron‐Agnew, Montgomery, Stewart, & Moore, ).…”