Mindsets, concepts, beliefs & restrictions that come with them.

23.07.2022

“When I’m saying to you that I’m an artist - you are the one who fills in the blank of what artist is ”, — we talked about stereotypes connected to professions, genders, and all the ways we are building obstacles in our way with our own hands when following them.

“If you think that you are not good enough, you are right, and if you think you are going to make it you are right too.” - we become concepts that we believe in.

If you are too focused on becoming your idea of success you walk past opportunities, if you are fixed on your idea of yourself you may never meet your true self, because beliefs and concepts we have about ourselves and other people are not real, but by chasing them we start believing they are.

It’s tiring to try to be what you think you need to be, and even more tiring trying to be someone who others think you should be. So f*ck this shit.

Stand your ground.

4.06.2022

“What will happen if you just say - “no”?”, — we talked about overtime at office, volume of work that is not possible to do within working hours, short deadlines pushed down from the “top” and eventually about importance of pushing back.

We talked about use of nonviolent communication (see book by Marshall Rosenberg) in delivering feedback, but also about necessity for the person getting feedback to be willing to hear it. And how some companies are loosing valuable employees because of their unwillingness to hear feedback and adjust.

Creativity as a tool of overcoming obstacles.

28.05.2022

“Sometimes you have to take projects that you maybe not interested in, how do you find motivation to work on them?”, — with this question from Manu our conversation kicked off. We concluded that creativity is not just about drawing pictures or creating some kind of art, it’s also about finding ways to work on projects that don’t seem interesting on the first sight or with clients that have no idea that creative work has to be paid.

We talked about work culture, how it differs from country to country, and how it’s important to support and improve it with an effort of each individual - from people inside the companies who is assigning creative work to creatives who are doing the work.

It was interesting to learn that a new trend in a corporate culture is to approach “mistakes” as “attempts to get better and learn” and how that change of perspective contributes to a healthier working environment and better work results.

Creative path and process.

21.05.2022

“When are you most creative - when happy or opposite - going through some tough times?”, — the question came from Maria, a photographer who takes photos of people who doesn’t like photos of them to be taken (and helps them to see their beauty and gain confidence by looking at themselves through her eyes ). Not surprisingly we found out that it’s different for everyone. Bela found a way to process her trauma of Russian invasion to Ukraine through creating a beautiful anti-war animation picturing real voices of people in Russia who are against the war, but whose voices being silenced by the repressive state. At the same time she says that when she is happy she is very creative as well. For many of us creativity is one of the ways to process emotions, while we all agreed that for commercial projects and on the long run it’s healthier to create while in a balanced state. For some though - as Mara said - it doesn’t matter in which mood to create, but environment is vital for creativity to sparkle.

We also talked about being able to work in creative collaboration and how bringing different skills to project can make it better.

Can creativity be replaced by artificial intelligence?

14.05.2022

“Not yet”, — is the short answer by Fakhri who works in IT. We talked about AI, data analysis, NFT for artists and how sometimes when the world rushes in “Meta-verses”, virtual architecture & NFTs you just want to pull yourself back out and paint with watercolours.

Andrea just came back from the OFFF Festival and told us of how great connections are formed off the main events time between participants and about how big firms with great projects sometimes have to take “shitty projects” too — just for money. And last but not least — when you go visit an exhibition of Medieval art in Convent of St Agnes in Prague — download the app that will reveal the collection’s secrets. Designed by Betty.

Jonny took portraits of participants - big thanks!