How do you train your brain to think inventively? What a fantastic question. Thanks to Aden from Sydney for sharing it. Here is the question in full, as I’m sure all of us can relate to his thoughts:

“G’day Richard, thanks for this opportunity. Mate, I’m a positive, creative guy – in business and in life – but after a year of committing to a specific agenda, I find I’m stuck in a slump struggling to channel new, great, inventive ideas. My question is: how do you reignite your brain to think inventively? What techniques or strategies do you use to fire up these areas of the mind?”

I’ve had many moments like this throughout my life. Sometimes the ideas roll in thick and fast, and other times it feels like your mind is churning through concrete! I think the big issue here is the narrow agenda you’ve been focusing on. It’s difficult to be inventive when you’re looking down. It reminds me of a time when a Virgin CEO came to me with a cohesive strategy for the brand – something I’ve never been too focused on.

It was a brilliant strategy, so I told him to go for it, but I did warn him to not get too bogged down in it. It’s easy to get tunnel vision when you focus on a very specific agenda. Then it becomes difficult to spot unique opportunities that might not fit into your strategy/agenda, but do fit into the big picture. I always say that business opportunities are like buses, there’s always another one coming. Still, it sure feels good to run and jump on the first bus. If you want to spark some creativity and make exciting decisions, zoom out from the strategy, and keep your eyes peeled on the big picture (and the big buses!)

Here are a few other things that help me stay creative and inventive:

1. Constantly ask questions and remain curious about everything. Wherever I go and whoever I’m with, I ask dozens and dozens of questions a day. I’m an innately curious person, and I’ve learnt to really harness this throughout my career. I try to observe everything I see and think deeply about the things I hear. It’s a great way to develop better products and services (because you’re more tuned in than your competitors), and it’s a wonderful way to generate ideas. No ChatGPT required!

2. Listen, deeply. I say this a lot, but it is one of the most simple yet effective ways to spark creativity and come up with new ideas. The key here is to listen deeply to everyone. It’s not about only tuning in to motivational speakers, CEOs and shareholders. It’s also listening deeply to neighbours, baristas, employees, customers, and so on. If you want to open up your eyes, you’ve got to speak to people with different perspectives. Whenever I’m on a Virgin Atlantic or Virgin Australia flight, I chat to our passengers and ask them plenty of questions. It’s a great way to hear genuine feedback and refine your product. When I was on a Virgin Voyages ship recently, I sat down at the chess table and played back-to-back games with a bunch of sailors. I’m certain I learnt more from them than they learnt from me.

3. To be inventive, don’t try too hard to be inventive. My best ideas often come when I’m on holidays, or when I’m hiking, cycling, hitting a tennis ball, reading a book, sitting around the dinner table (or dancing on it), and playing with my grandkids. You’ve got to look up and out if you want to be visionary.

4. Surround yourself with interesting people and give them the confidence to share their most abstract ideas. Then repeat steps 1 and 2.

5. Write everything down. This is another piece of advice I share often, but I can’t stress it enough. I carry a notepad with me everywhere I go, and whenever I hear or see something interesting or unusual, I write it down. When you look back through your notes, you’ll often piece together the bones of a good idea. You’ll notice patterns that spark a line of thought that would have never occurred if you hadn’t recorded all these tiny moments and pieced them together.

6. Have fun. If you’ve stopped having fun, stop what you’re doing, and figure out how you can do it in a more fun way. Just by doing this, you’re being inventive. And you can’t be creative if you’re not having fun. People don’t focus on this enough!

Aden, I really hope this helps. It’s been a good reminder for myself too.

Until next month,

Richard

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ArtCenter’s 30th Anniversary Year: Pioneer Legacy Shaped Miami’s Art Evolution 

ArtCenter/South Florida, welcoming more than 100,000 visitors per year to its Lincoln Road location, launches its 30th anniversary initiatives during Art Basel in Miami Beach by debuting a new international visiting artist/curator program that begins with Acción Cultural Española (AC/E), dedicated to the promotion of Spanish heritage and culture around the world.

Madrid artist Juan López is the first of five artists from Spain invited to create and present work in Miami Beach, alongside two Spanish curators. “Between Walls” is on view at the Richard Shack Gallery, 800 Lincoln Road through January 12 (including the week of Art Basel in Miami Beach).

Concurrently, López will also exhibit new work as part of Temporary Contemporary in collaboration with the Bass Museum, on view at ArtCenter’s windows located at Lincoln Road and Meridian Avenue.

López is a featured artist this year at Art Basel’s “Positions” via a one-person show with Nogueras Blanchard Gallery.  

Throughout ArtCenter’s 30th anniversary year of 2014, the organization will continue to invite artists from other cities and countries for residencies in Miami Beach, and plans to send ArtCenter resident artists abroad.

ArtCenter’s Executive Director María del Valle says: “This is a bold exchange of art across borders. We have traveled nationally and internationally and conducted extensive studio visits to develop our Visiting Artists Program.”

“These international artists bring fresh new perspectives to the art communities in Miami and the United States. We hope that by sending our artists from Miami to work and exhibit in other countries they can also impact artistic landscapes abroad,” adds del Valle.

“Spain is thrilled to select ArtCenter/South Florida for this new cultural exchange with the United States,” said the President of Acción Cultural Española (AC/E), Teresa Lizaranzu.

“ArtCenter/South Florida helped pioneer Miami Beach’s evolution into a global art destination, and continues to shape its future with innovative programming. The unparalleled visibility of its landmark location on Lincoln Road makes ArtCenter the perfect place to launch Spain’s new international partnership with the U.S. during Art Basel in Miami Beach,” adds Lizaranzu.

López’s site-specific work is known for playing with spaces and exploring urban environments via designs of complex iconic buildings, mixing video projections and installation, and even drawing directly on the surface of walls to alter perceptions of space and architecture.

In his work lies a deep interest in direct contact to the language developed in the street with different artistic codes – within the scope of both the private and the institutional.

His productions are filled with elements that reference urban space, including the use of tape, waste, graffiti, placards, posters, stickers, photocopies and fanzines. His work has been exhibited in numerous museums and galleries including La Casa Encendida (Madrid); Fundació Joan Miró (Barcelona); Centrum Linz (Austria); National Museum of the Republic (Brasilia); Tokyo Wonder Site (Japan); and Liste Art Fair (Basel).

ArtCenter opened its doors in 1984 and has provided more than 1,000 artists with space to create and exhibit work on Lincoln Road in Miami Beach. 

In its first 30 years, ArtCenter has provided residencies to artists from throughout the U.S. and abroad, and alumni include such artists as Carlos Betancourt, William Cordova, Luis Gispert, Beatriz Monteavaro and Jen Stark.

The Richard Shack Gallery, located at 800 Lincoln Road, is free and open to the public.

Hours during Art Basel Miami Beach:

Wednesday: 12:00 pm – 10:00 p.m.
Thursday-Saturday: 10:00 am – 10:00 pm

Sunday-Monday: 10:00 a.m. –  9:00 p.m.

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About ArtCenter/South Florida

The cultural epicenter of South Beach’s Lincoln Road, ArtCenter/South Florida welcomes more than 100,000 visitors every year and is celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2014. The mission of ArtCenter/South Florida is to support the artists and advance the knowledge and practice of contemporary arts and culture in South Florida. ArtCenter creates opportunities for experimentation and innovation, and encourages the exchange of ideas across cultures through residencies, exhibitions, outreach and education. Since its founding in 1984, ArtCenter has been home to more than 1,000 resident artists. ArtCenter also offers over 100 studio and artist development classes per year at its South Beach location and satellite venues. More information is available at 305/674-8278 and artcentersf.org.

About Acción Cultural Española (AC/E)

Acción Cultural Española (AC/E) is a public institution whose purpose is to further and promote Spain’s culture and heritage within and beyond Spain’s borders through a wide-ranging program of activities including exhibitions, conferences, cycles of lectures, cinema, theatre, music, audio-visual productions and initiatives designed to encourage the mobility of professionals and artists.

Boosting the internationalization of Spanish creators and artists is one of the strategic courses of action of Acción Cultural Española (AC/E). As Spanish culture is a thriving sector—not only in the traditional areas of culture but also in the new modes of production and distribution—AC/E should foster its internationalization. For this purpose AC/E has devised the Program for the Internationalization of Spanish Culture (PICE) featuring different tools for enabling it to travel abroad, acting as facilitators.

The PICE is based on two pillars, a Visitors Program that enables influencers and planners from different artistic disciplines to learn about the situation of their sector in Spain in order to incorporate Spanish creators into their program; and a Mobility Program that makes it possible for benchmark public or private cultural institutions interested in including a Spanish artist or creator in their programs to receive an economic incentive to encourage them to do so. Both tools are thus complementary and need to be coordinated. More information www.accioncultural.es

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