Center for Creativity

C4C: A New Chapter

photo of a manual typewriter with origami paper flowers on top

As we all adjust to new routines and technologies, it's important to acknowledge that change can be frightening and uncomfortable.

We've closed the C4C Workshop to in-person experiences for the rest of the semester, but our staff is now working hard on a new challenge: bringing a virtual Workshop "space" to life. 

The best way to keep up with us is via social media, including Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. We'll also announce new programs and initiatives through this e-news, which will publish weekly!

Take care of yourselves and each other in the days ahead, and dedicate some time and energy each day to explore your own creativity: continue to experiment, play, and communicate.

We might not be able to see you in person for a while, but creativity still connects us!

Creative Interventions

graphic of color-adjusted coronavirus under microscope

Create an earworm to remind people of important prevention strategies. Make a meme to encourage hand washing or social distancing. Design a new communication tool to educate others on virus transmission, or something to help your community adapt to and connect across a changed academic and social landscape.

Creative responses to public health issues can empower and educate others, and positively affect behavior. From pins used to fundraise for a cure for polio to posters that raised awareness of safer sex practices during the early days of the HIV/AIDS crisis to the use of popular music to help combat the spread of Ebola in Liberia, creativity has played a critical role in public health campaigns. 

With the recent rise of COVID-19, it’s natural to feel helpless in the face of such a worldwide challenge. But there are things we can all do, including using our creativity to connect with and influence others.

The Center for Creativity is hosting a community-wide competition to craft a creative response to and intervention in this public health discussion: any format, any genre, written or visual, analog or digital.

Entries (.jpg or .png files for visual work, or PDF or Word for writing) may be submitted by email to schuckers@pitt.edu. If your entry is performative, please email for info on submitting an audio or video file.

Deadline for entries is Friday, April 10, at 5 p.m. All entries may be shared via C4C social media, and winning entries (yes, there will be prizes!) will be selected based on creativity, accuracy, and power of communication.

Daily Creativity Prompts

photo of piano keyboard with wooden hand

Sometimes it's tough to get started on a creative project. The blank page, blank canvas, blank screen or empty studio offers endless possibilities, which can be both liberating and frustrating. Where to begin? 

That's where creative prompts come in. Starting next week, we'll offer daily prompts through Twitter and Instagram. Be sure to follow us for inspiration, and tag us if you'd like to share your creations! 

Virtual Open Mic Nights

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Thursday, Mar. 26  |  8:30-10 p.m. EST

Our monthly open mic nights are Zooming ahead!

Our March open mic is moving online via Zoom. As always, we're open to work in any genre: music, spoken word, improv, skits, storytelling, dance, poems or prose... Anything you can perform!

For this open mic, we're especially interested in work that's keeping you healthy and grounded as we social distance ourselves. Have you written a poem or song (or found one) that's helped get you through? Been practicing a dance routine that lets you move through the days with a little more joy? We invite you to share it with the community from your home stage!

If you're a little shy, you can even turn your video off or perform off-screen, or put your pet in front of the camera. Or you can tune in just to support your Pitt community and give us those "clap" reacts. 

We're setting up the infrastructure now, so follow our event pages on Facebook or the Pitt calendar for details and the Zoom link! 

Play with Blackout Poetry

photo of blackout poem from news article

Looking for a quick creative break? In 2014, The New York Times created an online interactive blackout poetry resource. It's easy to use, and a great way to rev up for National Poetry Month in April. (Or to unstick your brain between Zoom classes.)

original poem by Erik Schuckers from "Yet Another Pretty Face" by Christopher Wallace (article published April 18, 2014)

Talk to Us!

We're starting a podcast, and we're looking for Pitt people (students, faculty, and staff) who would like to talk to us about their creative lives!

Physicist with a passion for painting? Poet and HR assistant? Business student with mad improv skills? We'd love to hear from you!

Email schuckers@pitt.edu

Stay Connected with Creativity

  • Podcast | Music at Pitt (conversation with faculty, students, and alumni on any aspect of music you can imagine and probably some you haven't)
  • Podcast | Reeling It In! (discussing and interpreting anything film-related)
  • Podcast | WPTS & Redeye Present (original shows produced in 24 hours)
photo of Shimpei Takahashi in top hat with monster popping out of it

Shiritori: A Word Game to Jump Start Your Creativity

Toy developer Shimpei Takahashi shares a simple word game designed to overcome creative block and generate new ideas. Check out his TEDx talk and get started!

 
 
Pitt Year of Creativity logo

Pitt (Still) Creates!

Even in the midst of a pandemic, #PittCreates and #creativityliveshere! So keep tagging your social media and show us how you’re keeping that creative spirit alive.

Did you receive funding for your Year of Creativity project, activity, or event? Your funds can be used this summer or fall, if that works better under the current circumstances.

Just send an email to yearof@pitt.edu and let the Year of Creativity team know your plans.


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