Discovering and Navigating the Law of Creativity

This editorial from Adama Sanneh, CEO of Moleskine Foundation, was published in Folios vo..6, titled “The Law of Creativity. On Decanonisation, Alchemy, and Wisdom.”

Edited by Lwando Xaso.

In 1963, President John F. Kennedy delivered a eulogy in honour of poet Robert Frost, hailing him as ‘the deepest source of their national strength.’ In his tribute, President Kennedy shared powerful insights on the profound intersection between poetry, democracy, the arts, and our shared future. Poignantly, Kennedy said:

‘When power leads man towards arrogance, poetry reminds him of his limitations. When power narrows the areas of man’s concern, poetry reminds him of the richness and diversity of his existence. When power corrupts, poetry cleanses, for art establishes the basic human truths that must serve as the touchstones of our judgment.’

Setting aside for a moment the paradoxes inherent to any president of a superpower, Kennedy’s words can be salvaged and repurposed for the meaning they carry. That meaning is that creativity is an indispensable part of a healthy democracy and that it is the driving force behind sustainable and equitable progress.

In other words, our ability to construct a plural, just, enduring, and common future hinges on our desire and capacity to cultivate creative environments where criticality and imagination can flourish.

These words by Kennedy were spoken more than 60 years ago, yet they still sound so dramatically contemporary, even appearing futuristic, or even fantastical, especially coming from a president. Should these words and the truth they espouse, not be commonplace by now? Why do the vast majority of our governments and public and private institutions not reflect or even acknowledge this intuitive truth? What are we missing? How can we normalise what has been relegated to a space of exceptionality at best and complete disregard at worst?

This sixth edition of Folios is our attempt to explore these questions.

We chose the title “The Law of Creativity” to demonstrate creativity as a practical tool for rethinking and rebuilding societies and institutions. We do this by sharing the incredible change-making stories of the Creativity Pioneers, who, through their work, are tackling some of the most urgent global issues in unconventional ways yet profoundly transforming their communities.

To explore this theme, we chose three words that, out of many, give meaning to The Law of Creativity –decanonisation, alchemy, and wisdom.

Some years back, I came across an article by Bonaventure Ndikung titled “The Globalised Museum? Decanonisation as Method,” which introduced me to this concept.  Given my Italian and culturally catholic background, the word felt somewhat familiar, but it was quite clear that Ndikung wasn’t talking about saints fading from historical favour. It was initially a bit disorienting; I even misread the word decolonisation. Little did I know how profoundly transformative this concept would become for our foundation’s work.

Ndikung explains decanonisation as a method which must be –

In this sense, decanonisation is an antidote for the circle of oppression, exclusion, and single narratives that society creates and continuously perpetrates. It moves us from a space of reactivity to a space of creativity by grounding us in the contemporaneity and pointing our gaze at what is actually relevant. Decanonisation entails breaking down the hierarchical systems that create canons, while also working to prevent the formation of alternatives. It is a mindset and a posture that is indispensable for implementing a mission of creativity for social change.

Decanonisation is a bedrock principle of our law of creativity. It offers us a concrete tool and way of reframing our tasks, ultimately reconnecting our actions with our humanity.

The word “alchemy” evokes powerful imagery and feelings. If decanonisation is a method that informs the task of creativity, alchemy embodies the feeling and evidence of change unfolding, and the improbable results thereof.

Alchemy is commonly defined as “the art of transmuting (cit)…” but its origin and etymology are less known. The word is derived from the Arabic word al-kīmiyā, which is said to have its roots in an ancient Egyptian word for the fertile black soil of the Nile Delta.

I found this connection to the black soil of the Nile Delta particularly interesting. In our context, alchemy is not meant in the sense of the impossible transformation of lead into gold, but rather something that happens on its own accord when fertile ground and space are cultivated. In this sense, alchemy is about trust. It’s about the understanding that we cannot control transformation, but we can contribute towards creating an enabling environment for it to occur.

The work of the Creativity Pioneers at the centre of this edition of Folios are all alchemic – work that no conventional key performance indicators (KPIs) or logical frameworks can measure, but the immeasurable impact of which is real and transformative. In the same way that poetry is the alchemy of language, transforming ordinary words into extraordinary emotions, creativity is the alchemy of social change, transforming theory, laws, and policies into a change of hearts.

If decanonisation serves as a method for navigating how to enact change, alchemy becomes the lens, the binoculars through which we unveil the unseen; wisdom, our final word, represents the north star of our journey, guiding our sense of direction and our movement towards.

In so many ways, society remains entrenched in linear thinking, where numbers and data often dictate the system’s drivers, motivations, and incentives. Anything intangible or immeasurable tends to be dismissed as superfluous or unimportant, thus denied resources. Consequently, the endeavours of Creativity Pioneers are frequently misunderstood, overlooked, and historically underfunded. Yet, despite this reality, these pioneers courageously confront the profound and challenging questions that shape our lives: How does one restore a sense of self in a community ravaged by war? How can solidarity and communion be cultivated? How might a sense of wonder for the world be reignited?

These are among the crucial questions the world must consider, calling for answers that demand deep alchemic transformations that extend beyond mere measurability, and which resist reduction to what can or cannot be quantified.Echoing Toni Morrison’s words, we need to redefine our raison d’etre for the 21^st century, where distinctions should be made between data, knowledge, and wisdom. Data helps feed and nourish knowledge, which then becomes the staging ground for wisdom. Wisdom is not merely what works and what succeeds, nor is it a final authority; it is, if anything, a constant search.

This constant search is what moves and guides our work towards inspiring new perspectives and visions. As the world evolves rapidly, confronting increasingly intricate challenges, we must cultivate the ability to address issues outside the current framework and beyond conventional notions of “intelligence.” Our goal is not a utopian society where everyone is endlessly creative and wise, but rather to create an environment where creativity and wisdom are the norm.

In delving into the ‘Law of Creativity’ through the three concepts of decanonisation, alchemy, and wisdom, our aim is to bring clarity to a concept often misunderstood and undervalued: creativity for social change. With this edition of Folios, we aspire to shift the perception of creativity away from being merely “cute” to recognising its indispensable role, as articulated by Kennedy years ago, in understanding the power required to alter the course of the world.