Since 2008 we have been using artistic interventions to initiate, accelerate or deepen changes in organizations. This is a form of intervention that has been on the rise for about 10 years and recently has been receiving more attention as a catalyst for change. In an artistic intervention, we use artists who use an (one ore more) art form(s) to involve and connect people in organizational change, both rationally and emotionally.
It is a process in which the artist and the artistic intervention creates a certain distance to the issue, so that there is space to look at it in a different way. This gives the organization the opportunity to look at the issues in a new perspective and the employees the confidence that all voices will be heard.
Every question is unique and in the interplay between question, organization and people and artists, something is created that cannot be imagined beforehand. However, based on 13 years of experience, we have mapped out the various process steps. Together with artists from the Art Partner network, researchers in the field of cross creativity and European colleague organizations, this is how the Creative Catalyst Cycleartpartner came into being.
Creative Catalyst Cycleartpartner
Every collaboration starts with defining the question or wish in the given context. In other words, getting the NEED FOR CHANGE clear. Where is the desire (or pain) of our client?
In the second phase, UNCOVER, we use qualitative artistic research done by the artists to uncover what is going on. We uncover the dynamics, patterns and emotions underlying the question.
We use artistic research methods like fly on the wall, artist in residence and from storytelling to performative meetings. The research is designed in a way that suits the question, organization, context and artist. This provides rich information about unheard voices, unspoken ideas and wishes.
Together with the client, we look at the information it yields and determine the ambitions for this phase of the assignment. In the ENVISION phase, the insights, needs and ideas are merged into a sharpening of the wish/vision for change and a shared experience of what is needed.
This forms the basis for an artistic intervention: one or more forms are developed especially for the organization and the issue in order to include all those involved in what the research has produced. We use theatre, music and visual arts, among other things, to bring about co-creation and co-reflection. During the IN MOTION phase, those involved see, feel and experience what is going on.
Then comes the phase to increase the impact. We look at what is needed and how to get the movement going. HARVEST is a phase in which the results of the course are reduced and anchored in the organizational world, in practical everyday life. To this end, we develop customized programs around the artistic intervention (varying from workshops, training courses or teaching programs) in which we deploy experiential learning and other forms of reflection and interaction. This sets change in motion.
Finally, we look together at what it has brought, what is still missing, what worked and what did not. And, above all, what the next steps should be. We do this REFLECT & CONTINUE phase with our clients and with the creative team.