A Review of ‘Creative Milwaukee at Work’

“If you want a creative life, do what you can’t and experience the beauty of the mistakes you make”

“Cheating outside school is called collaboration”

On Friday, September 21, friend and colleague, Natasha Lyn Wier, went to the first Creative Milwaukee at Work summit.  Sponsored by the Creative Alliance Milwaukee, it was held at the MIAD (Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design).  The following are some of her thoughts, for which I am extremely grateful!  My thoughts on her thoughts will be in italics.  Based on what I heard and saw in pics, this is a must see next year.  

Just walking into MIAD to register and attend the opening of Milwaukee at Work, you could feel the attendees’ energy and eagerness to learn and share.  Attended by Milwaukee educators, creatives and business professionals, the one day conference was filled with panel discussions and breakout sessions geared towards the growth of creative professionals.  The variety of artists, designers, educators, and business professionals took part in 4 sessions of their choice, and an all-conference panel discussion.  With speakers ranging from successful start-ups to corporate company directors, sessions and panelists provided information on resources and tools to inspire growth, provide development and highlight thought-provoking issues specific to local Milwaukee Creatives. 

To start off my day I joined the first discussion panel of the morning: “The Role of Creative Education in Talent Development”.  The panel was comprised of department heads and educators from surrounding colleges: Alverno, MIAD, Marquette University, Mount Mary, and UW-M.  The topic presented for discussion originated from a talk given by Sir Ken Robinson and animated for the RSA (Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce): Changing Education Paradigms.  The world-renown education expert, Sir Ken Robinson, raised the question on the structure of formal instruction: How do we educate children for the 21^st century?  He argued that the weakness of the current model is that is suits the time of the Enlightenment and the Industrial Revolution, all the while pointing to the challenges that need to be addressed for an economy that is ambiguously defined.

The question is not local, but the solutions envisioned by the Milwaukee area institutions were.  The Panelists each presented changes they’ve made to programs based upon their efforts to, “Try to solve Sir Robinson’s problem in Milwaukee”, as Associate Dean at the Peck School of the Arts of UW-Milwaukee, Scott Emmons, Ph. D put it.  Several locally conducted studies revealed that among employers, the number one item required was the ability to problem solve. (!!!) Discussion then followed on what changes to education can foster a creative society that not only meets the demands of today’s workplace, but defines how Milwaukee’s educational institutions could benefit today’s pupil’s, future professionals and employers.  This dialogue from the first session