The Influence of the Creative Class

By Carolyn Kenny

Last week I heard an interview with the American playwright Edward Albee. His award-winning play, Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolfe, is enjoying a second time around on the New York stage. In the course of the interview, Albee made a comment that confirmed my own belief about the arts. He said: "To put us in greater contact with our possibilities. . . this is the function of art." This idea of "possibilities" has always shaped the core of my beliefs about the nature of Music Therapy. It's a recurring theme. And in the increasingly inhibited parameters of clinical notions, represented by the likes of evidence-based decision making under the influence of the Cochrane Collaboration[1], it's good to remember the art of our work.

Simultaneously, I've been reading a new work by Harvard economist Richard Florida. Florida came into public awareness in the United States general reading public with his book The Rise of the Creative Class (2004), which won the Political Book Award by the Washington Monthly and was named one of the Top Ten Breakthrough Ideas of 2004 by the Harvard Business Review. I've never wanted to believe that the grand narratives that subscribe to economic and political theories were the primary ways to interpret societies. But Florida's notion of a "creative class" appeals to me. I can identify with a creative class much easier than a middle class or some other socio-economic label. Remember that Florida is an economist. You can learn more about Richard Florida's theory about the Creative Class at www.CreativeClass.org.

Sure, the standard of living in the United States is very high compared to many nations around the world. As a capitalist country, the consumer mentality is a norm that is difficult to resist. When 5 % of the world's population consumes 30% of the world's resources, we have to say that something is out-of-balance. And many young people around the world are still attracted to the materialism that has come to dominate the perception of the American identity around the world.

But Florida's (2005) premise is that this trend is shifting. He writes:

The key factor of the global economy is no longer goods, services, or laws of capital, but the competition for people. The ability to attract people is a dynamic and sensitive process. New centers of the global creative economy can emerge quickly; established players can lose position. It's a wide-open game, and the playing field is leveling every day. . . As a result, the real foreign threat to the American economy is not terrorism; it's that we may make creative and talented people stop wanting to come here." (16/17)

He has created a Global Creativity Index that measures the creative competitiveness of nations. The index is based on three key components: Technology, Talent, and Tolerance. Florida proposes that the United States is losing its creative edge in all categories due to the closing of borders and unfriendly attitudes toward refugees and immigrants, the lack of understanding about the important function of artists in the society, and the brain drain of young talent in science and technology.

Though it is obvious that the wealth in the American economy in upper and middle classes helps to make the nation innovative, perhaps a less-well-known factor, but equally important is the spirit of creativity and innovation expressed in the youthful and open identity America has enjoyed for much of its history. America was built, as Florida emphasizes on the innovative ideas, to a large degree, of immigrants and refugees, to whom it opened its doors and promised a better way of life. In my own personal experience, I've always had the sense, when I traveled around the world that Americans were forgiven some of their brashness, sense of entitlement, and boastful attitude specifically because of their creativity and innovation.

Since the September 11 tragedy in the United States, an isolationism has started to creep into policies like The Patriot Act, which not only keep people out, but deny freedoms to Americans in their own country - freedoms that are crucial for the creative class, proposed by Florida. More young Americans are deciding to study and work abroad. And less foreign students are receiving visas to study in the United States. Florida uses the example of Peter Jackson's compound in New Zealand, a film making studio where Jackson, starting with his mega productions of the Trilogy of the Lord of the Rings, has managed to bring some of the most innovative and talented young people from around the world, particularly from the United States, to New Zealand. Many of the Americans in this group are leaving America behind and immigrating permanently to New Zealand to start innovative businesses there because of a more open climate.

In a Global Creative Class index, that accompanies his Global Creativity Index, America now ranks 11th after Ireland, Belgium, Australia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Estonia, Ukraine, Canada, Finland, and Iceland.

Now the question is how does this all relate to Music Therapy? There are many implications. But I'll only mention a couple, as a way to introduce you to our July 1st Issue of Voices.

Voices is a global enterprise and part of the balancing act. Our mission is to approach the global music therapy culture with equality. Each voice counts. Each nation or region has something unique to offer. And we need the diversity of voices in our work. So perhaps Voices is part of a new Global identity, and one which is positioned in the center of Creative Class. Our work is focused on creativity, innovation, possibilities, and individual and social change.

Of the many voices represented in this issue, Leslee Bunt, as Voices Interview Editor, introduces a series of interviews from India. In this issue, music therapist, Sumathy Sundar interviews her colleague, Dr. T.V. Sairam, a specialist in alternative medicine. In the interview Sumathy Sundar explores further with Dr. Sairam the potential integration of traditional healing systems with music therapy. Exciting possibilities emerge between music therapy and current brain wave research. The interview continues where the Country of the Month article about India began in the March issue of Voices.

As the new Co-editor of the Australasian region, with Denise Grocke, Katrina McFerran has brought us an article by Meagan Hunt which explores group music therapy with young refugees in a school community in Australia. This is a wonderful example of action research conducted in Australia. It is also an example of how refugees are embraced and assisted in their transitions into host cultures.

In a clinical paper from The Netherlands, Jaap Orth describes his music therapy work at The Phoenix Centre, a highly specialized inpatient treatment facility for refugees and asylum seekers.

We are pleased to present readers with a very exciting theoretical paper in Spanish and English titled "The Plurimodal Approach in Music Therapy. This article by Diego Shapiro, one of our own editors is a very innovative and flexible contribution to music therapy theory. Mayra Hugo, one of our new Co-editors, with Lia Barcellos Rejane, for South America, worked very hard on translating this text so that it would accurately represent some extremely complex ideas.

From Mexico, Eugenia Hernandez-Ruiz describes yet another approach to music therapy in Mexico. As Hernandez-Ruiz states: "Mexico's long-standing musical tradition, and its inclusion of music in everyday life, makes it an ideal ground for the development of music therapy programs."

Andeline Dos Santos, our new Editor for Africa, presents a fascinating article about what happens when cultures collide and coalesce in African societies, of which there are many. Dos Santos views the music therapy experience through the lens of cultural levels and brings us to a deeper understanding of the complexities in the meeting of cultures in music therapy.

Hyun Ju Chong describes some of the key issues in Korea surrounding music therapy, particularly in relation to music therapy training. Through this lens, we can see the critical importance of accepting "difference" as one of the pillars in the foundation of music therapy in Korea.

Finally, we have the opportunity to learn about Nicola Oddy's approach to what is currently described as Community Music Therapy, in a remote community in Canada. This 2001 archival text documents and analyzes the process of bringing together people from different sectors of her community in Ontario with a special focus on youth, to create a community performance. The article describes how the process of creating the performance brought a sense of coherence to members of the community.

Also, you will notice that we are always adding new features to our publication. For the July 1st issue, we begin a "Translation Watch". And as the first entry in this section, we are listing the many translations of Music Therapy books available through Barcelona Press. We hope that if you hear about any translations of music therapy resources, you will contact Production Editor Rune Rolvsjord (rune.rolvsjord@grieg.uib.no) so that we can post these resources in Voices. Our policy is to support translations of Music Therapy materials. We cannot always offer translations of articles as Voices articles, but we can provide the information for you to follow-up on translations through other sources.

Voices is expanding in its content. And we are very fortunate to be expanding with the addition of some wonderful new editors. Andeline Dos Santos will now serve as Editor for Africa, following the fine service of Mercedes Pavlicovic. Katrina McFerran will now serve as Co-editor, with Densise Grocke, for the Australasian region. And Mayra Hugo will now serve as Co-editor with Lia Barcellos Rejane, for South America. We welcome you!

So now you can understand, though this description of texts offered in the July 1 issue of Voices, that Music Therapy is a world of "possibilities". This is the art described by Edward Albee.

And for Richard Florida? Well, the following remarks tell all, in terms of how his theory relates to Music Therapy:

In my opinion, the great challenge of our time will be to spark and stroke the creative furnace inside every human being. . . For creativity is the great leveler. . . For precisely this reason, it is useful to think of the vast collective pool of human creativity as an enormous ecosystem where the traits of one type of being are complementary to and symbiotic with those of another. Diversity is not merely enjoyable; it is essential." (, 2005, p. 35)

Note

[1] The Cochrane Collaboration is a global movement which started in England, spread to Canada, Ireland, the U.S., and is quickly moving to many other nations. It advocates experimental studies as the best indicator for evidence. It is a very powerful movement in terms of funding for research. This is a serious backlash in the Science Wars. The Cochrane Criteria do not acknowledge the importance of qualitative research, which includes Case Study methods or any other form of research that is non-experimental.

References

Florida, Richard (2005). The Flight of the Creative Class. New York: Harper Collins Publishers.

Florida, Richard (2004). The Rise of the Creative Class. New York: Basic Books