Creativity, we are told, is the key to problem-solving and success. But the concept has become an empty buzzword of the corporate world, glorifying rampant individualism. We need to reclaim creativity as a collective attribute of communities, not individuals, and look to people at the margins of society, not Silicon Valley executives, for new ideas on how to be creative, argues Oli Mould. 

One night in New York, I exited a Midtown bar with a friend, having just taken in a typical Broadway mega-musical. Before we had the chance to get our bearings, an unkempt man dressed in an ill-fitting bomber jacket and a New York Yankees beanie confronted us. Before I could formulate an excuse to leave, he broke into song. He had the most exquisite voice. It would not have sounded out of place in the show I had watched that night.

SUGGESTED READING The crisis of creativity By Peter Carruthers