A *FREE* studio/gallery in NYC

A creative exercise to help us reframe our perspective and get back to making work that matters.

Today I want to walk you through a little mental exercise. Play along with me, because it's changed the way I think about my creative work and I think it's worth sharing.

Let's say there was a performer, and ever since they were a little kid they wanted to make it to Broadway.  One day in a bizarre turn of events, they inherit a small studio/stage in New York City.

Included in the space is a short letter:

This is your space, it's not on a great street but Andrew Lloyd Webber had this space back when he started out.  See what you can do with it, kid.

What will our hypothetical performer do with this opportunity?

Let's take it a step further, imagine in a bizarre turn of events, YOU are given a space in New York City (or whatever the big city equivalent in your chosen field) - you're told you can do whatever you want with this space, perform, display art, sell art, write, make films, sing, dance... WHATEVER YOU WANT!   If you can afford to stay alive and take care of your needs, the gallery/studio/stage is yours. 

But once the space is yours, you own it for life.  There is no guarantee you will make money with your space.  And there is no guarantee anyone will care about what you do in your space.

There is a short letter included:

I have seen people like you do nearly everything there is to do with this space.   Some of them have turned it into empires, some enjoy just sharing the space with a couple of friends.  Some people abandon the space for years before coming back to it, some never return.  Some get attention overnight, while others work for years with only a few visitors.  Some have become rich and famous, some never make enough to pay for the tools they need.  This space, can and has been everything.   What are you going to do with your space?

What would the hypothetical you do with this opportunity?

Our creativity is our platform, and digitally you have space in the Big City of the internet.  Between a website and social media, you have a space.  Is that really that much different than have a small creative space on a "nothing" street in NYC?  Earlier in the blog, you didn't think so.

What I like about this mental exercise is that it gives us the opportunity to look at our creativity in a new light.   It sidesteps some mental roadblocks for me, and it inspires me to ask some different questions.  For instance:

How would I promote my work if I thought about my creativity as an opportunity to put something cool in my space in the big city? 

How excited would I be to meet that challenge? 

How would that affect my work?

It inspires me to action.  It's an invitation to make.

Each and every creative person has the potential to make a platform with our creativity and the freedom to put whatever we want on it.  If you can get over the fact that you may not make money and no one has to care about what you do, you can do whatever you want.  That's an opportunity. 

So, what are you going to do with it??

I hope you found this encouraging. You got this, bud!

Show up, and do the work.
I’m in the trenches of creativity with you.
- Ryan Leacock