The Creativity Cell

The Worlds First Creativity Cell held its first event in London in 1999. Around 20 people participated in the event. During the proceedings any participant could get up and express themselves, or say whatver they wanted in any form, medium, or language. I was invited to be interviewed by a social and environmental art activist who I refer to as Joanne.c. Her ceative social intervention during this inaugural event has had a significant and lasting impact on the entire social process of The Creativity Manifesto, and will continue to do so. She is my best friend, and an important moral conscience for our time who has devoted her entire adult life to working for and supporting others, in areas such as Human Rights, Environmental Issues, Social Inclusion, International Education, and Community Arts. It is people like Joanne.C. that The Creativity Manifesto hopes to engage with, listen to, and invite such "Organic Catlysts" of creativity and change to help shape and guide this social process of art.








Every interview is, to a greater or lesser extent, performance art depending upon the social context, the aims of the interviewer, or the expectations of the audience. I thought this interview was going to be a friendly exchange on how community based creativity could be a means for revolutionary social change, yet it turned into a surreal comedic performance exchange that the audience found hilariously funny. People were laughing out loud, and one person later informed me it was the funniest thing he had ever seen. Ask yourself, how can an interview and two-way dialogue about the revolutionary potential of art and creativity become the funniest thing someone has ever seen.

This active involvement and connection of the aduience in the dialogue and process of the event became far more open and active than had ever been thought possible by virtue of Joanne C's spontaneous and geniune behaviour, which acted as a radical intervention puncturing any unconscious artistic prentensions on either my part, or that of The Creativity Manifesto. It was a critical lesson in how a theory, system, plan or event can never fully anticipate, nor control the social process of creativity when people come together in an space of freedom.