The Flow Project

The Flow Project mission is to apply the wisdom and experience of art in transforming humanity’s response to the creative challenges of today’s world.

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The Need

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Humanity is facing tremendous challenges (economic instability, climate change, terrorism, violent conflicts, and poverty) which require new ways of thinking and concerted action. To resolve these situations we need to join forces and muster our resources.

Artists represent an untapped and overlooked resource. Artists are seldom recognized for the practical value of their knowledge and experience. Leaders and global policy-makers turn to economic, political, and military experts for advice, but they seldom turn to artists. The practice of art is commonly considered irrelevant to solving ‘real world’ problems.

Failing to take into account the principles of art and artistic forces that shape the world limits the capacity of leaders to respond effectively to situations in their organizations and communities.

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How The Flow Project is Meeting the Need

Our strategy is to access wisdom and knowledge that artists possess, translate the knowledge into a language that resonates with leaders and policy-makers, and apply the knowledge in changing how systems and organizations operate.

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The Flow Project has four dimensions:

1.     Groups of artists are engaged in an inquiry to identify principles and practices of art common to the artistic experience across mediums and across cultures. The artist inquiry sessions are transcribed, and the transcriptions are sent to the Flow Process Center.

2.     The Flow Process Team analyzes and compares the transcripts from the artist inquiry sessions, using methods that meet rigorous standards of academic and professional excellence. For each session, the Process Team prepares a written report which is fed back to the artist group and becomes the basis of their next inquiry session. Gradually, in partnership with the artists, we are developing a comprehensive understanding of the artistic experience.

3.     Well-positioned allies in the field of leadership education translate the principles and practices of art into principles of leadership and leadership practices.

4.     We develop and provide products, services, and demonstration projects.

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Tangible Outputs

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• Products: Our products will include a new model of art-infused leadership, workshops, keynotes, seminars, publications, on-line resources, bibliography, curricula, exhibitions, and art-based social change initiatives.
• Services: We offer consulting in applying the principles and practices of art in leadership, organizational development, systems renewal, and social change; program analysis; teaching the theory and practices of art-infused leadership; facilitation; and networking.
• Demonstration projects: The demonstration projects are art-based social change initiatives which we develop, alone or in collaboration with other organizations and individuals, for the purpose of ‘shifting the energy’ and ‘shifting the dynamic’ in the global community. The Flow Project is itself an example of an art-based change initiative.

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Our Goals

Help create a sense of well-being in the global community

Change how leaders respond to situations in their organizations and communities

Provide information and knowledge leaders can use in creating sustainable systems and thriving communities

Bring new recognition to artists

Help mobilize the arts community for social change

Give artists a voice in global policy-making and leadership and give policy-makers and leaders access to the knowledge and experience of art

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Contact us for more information about The Flow Project if you are interested in participating in the artist inquiry or some other aspect of the work

© 2011 The Flow Project