Half the world thinks of creativity as some mysterious quality that only the other half has. Research suggests, however, that everyone is capable of tapping into his or her creative spirit. In social services, for example, people need to be creative to change their lives, and to support these changes, practitioners need to think differently – to be open to new ideas and to take risks.
Creative Quarter is part of an IRISS project to understand and learn from disciplines that specifically recognise creativity as a central feature of their identity, so that we can inspire and stimulate creativity in the sector to promote better outcomes for people who use services.The project combines consideration of how people think about creativity, what stimulates it in social services and what this means in practice for people using services and practitioners. We will primarily investigate this through the lens of the creative arts and their contribution to social services.