The Creative Arts - by Michèle Betty (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

In a world where artistic expression and creative endeavours hold the power to shape reality, The Creative Arts: On Practice, Making & Meaning delves into the intricate and transformative nature of artistic practice. This collection of essays explores the challenges of producing creative work, the intersection of diverse mediums, and the generative encounter of inspiration, idea, materials and innovation. Spanning a broad spectrum of artistic fields - from visual arts to music and literature, from podcasting to performance and dance - these essays shed light on the creative processes and critical insights that occur when imagination meets discipline.

A poet making complex cultural inscriptions from words; a dance curator re-choreographing performance as contested space; a critic mulling on the practice of reviewing; a creative writing teacher re-shaping the writing workshop; a novelist posing speculative fiction as a genre through which to re-view South Africa's past, present and possible future(s): these and other essays in the collection push the boundaries of art as inventive process and critical reflection. They offer inspirational routes for making, even as they acknowledge failure, and harness vulnerability as a catalyst for artistic breakthrough. The Creative Arts: On Practice, Making & Meaning celebrates the interplay of imagination and skill, trial and error, daring readers to unlock their own potential as thoughtful artistic practitioners