During her Creating Creativity minor, Jip turned the provincial government building into a playground
To start with, she had doubts herself. Wouldn't she be missing too much of her course? And what would it be like to suddenly be in a class full of strangers? Nevertheless, third-year Illustration Design student Jip Pronk took the plunge and applied for the minor Creating Creativity. Together with a varied group of students, she looked into an issue put forward by the Overijssel provincial executive. And that was anything but boring. "To start with I thought, civil servants really won't be into this."
Jip Pronk is a true maker. Before starting the Illustration Design course, she first completed her graduation at the academy of dance. She is also crazy about music and can get completely transported by a cool track. All the same, she has found that drawing suits her best. "I find I am really able to communicate that way", explains Jip. “Illustration Design really is the right place for me.”
I am studying Illustration Design, but there are also fine art and design students in my group, along with a tattoo artist, someone doing ICT and another doing theatre."
As a third-year student, there comes a point when you have to choose a minor. Jip: "I remember when I chose Creating Creativity, some people were wondering whether it was the right thing for me. I had doubts myself, but I somehow felt this was a good choice for me." A perfect choice, as it proved. By her own admission, Jip is not the best planner, but she has now got into the habit of leaving home prepared. "Because I really feel I am learning something", she explains. "During this minor, I have never once started doodling or reached for my phone."
Creating Creativity is designed to help you explore and develop your creative skills. Every other week, students follow a three-day workshop about an aspect of creativity, such as concepting, formal language, working in groups, creativity in the brain and mind hacking. On the other days, they work on their own process. In order to put theory into practice, during the minor Jip explored an issue put forward by the Overijssel provincial executive, working with a group of students from all kinds of different courses. The main question was: how to strengthen the sense of connectedness between the administration and the residents of Overijssel province?
After various brainstorming sessions and devising different concepts, Jip and her fellow students came up with a kind of life-sized board game in which civil servants play along in teams. "It's really a game without an end", says Jip. "We made it in a kind of spiral form, but instead of working from the outside in, you work from the inside out. By completing various assignments, civil servants get to know citizens better and better." The 'board game' will be followed by an exhibition in the provincial government building in 2024. "It's going to contain all sorts of things. I am studying Illustration Design, but there are also fine art and design students in my group, along with a tattoo artist, someone doing ICT and another doing theatre."
Outside your bubble
Whereas initially Jip thought civil servants wouldn't really want to collaborate on the game, she later changed her mind. "They were genuinely interested and actually responded very enthusiastically. I think that's also because we had devised something really cool. In any case, everyone benefits from sometimes stepping outside their bubble and seeing what else is out there."
Did she gain anything from the minor herself? "One hundred percent", says Jip emphatically. "Before then, I very much followed my intuition in my work. That can work out beautifully, but sometimes you're just doing something without thinking it through. During the minor, I learned to ask myself questions. Why am I doing this? What is the next step? I often had trouble with that before, which tends to lead to stagnation. You also learn to ask each other interesting questions. I have now started doing that much more on my course too."
Useful for all courses
Jip is so enthusiastic about the minor that she actually regrets she wasn't able to take it right at the start of the academic year. "I think it would have helped me going into my next semester. I now feel much calmer and I've got much better at planning." Jip therefore definitely recommends the minor. "Anyone can apply for it, but I would be in favour of making it a regular part of the curriculum at ArtEZ. A lot of people would benefit from taking this minor, regardless of who you are or what you do."
More information about the minor Creating Creativity
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