Ringling engages community in creative solutions

Ringling College of Art and Design hosted a Creativity@Work Retreat May 13 and May 14, at the Longboat Key Center for the Arts, a Division of Ringling College of Art and Design. The pilot program, sponsored by the Gulf Coast Community Foundation of Venice, invited local business leaders from non-profit and for-profit organizations from Sarasota and Manatee counties, including Longboat Key, to discuss creativity in the workplace.

Wanda Chaves, Ph.D., lead faculty of the Business of Art and Design program at Ringling, helped develop the curriculum for the retreat, which used the Disney Corp., Cirque du Soleil and Hallmark as a few examples of businesses that are applying the idea of creativity to their business plans and emphasizing outside-of-the-box thinking.

Speakers at the retreat were Chaves; Kyu Yamamoto, a sculptor known for his contributions to public art; Gary Schumer, former academic department director of the Art Institute of Tampa, freelance drawing instructor for video games and animator for Walt Disney; George Pierson, founder of Creative Mindflow LLC and leading non-linear creativity brainwave expert; and Sylvie Geneau, assistant vice president and casting and performance director for special projects at Cirque du Soleil Inc., in Montreal.

Jane Buckman, executive director for the Arts Center, said the Arts Center plans to offer similar retreats and seminars during the facility’s off-season.

Contact Jess Luck at [email protected].