Experiment like an artist
Sustainably writing arts journalism that aligns with my values requires “little experiments.”
With just a few weeks remaining in CUNY’s 100-day Entrepreneurial Journalism Creators Program, I felt stuck. I shared my frustrations during one of our twice-weekly Zoom sessions. I explained to our instructors and cohort of writers that I was worried because I still lacked what I thought might be a sustainable project idea that could meaningfully serve a niche audience. I also didn’t have a clue how to begin breaking through the noise surrounding my topic — creativity.
Two months earlier, I started the program with the intention to build a media venture focused on the intersection of creativity, health, and compassion. But I couldn’t envision a profitable business model that didn’t also advocate for the kind of hustle mentality that — in my experience as a journalist, hospital artist-in-residence, and ordinary creative human — is at odds with values, such as empathy and compassion, that are important to me and the people in the communities where I live and work.
Since that day, with the support of colleagues and teachers, I began exploring two questions that have helped me clarify my intentions: 1) How do my goals hold up against my values? 2) How will my project positively impact others?
Working to answer these questions has helped in numerous ways, which I describe below.
But as I also explain, learning how to effectively embark on a continually evolving process seems to be the most meaningful outcome of the last 100 days.
How do my goals hold up against my values?
I have hoped to build on my background as an arts journalist who has also worked in hospitals as an artist-in-residence. In those roles, values such as empathy and compassion are often equal to or more important than fostering creativity.
Part of my job in hospitals is providing creative activities at the bedside for adult patients, caregivers, and medical staff. I offer people opportunities to share stories or focus their attention on personal art projects instead of on their pain and discomfort. In hospitals, time is precious, and art-making offers meaningful distraction and an opportunity to experience community.
As a journalist, I don’t write about creativity as just another life hack. My reporting focuses on artists and researchers impacting the lives of individuals and small groups in unlikely spaces. I’ve written about the role of visual art in hospitals, how art therapists cultivate resiliency, and how music can help seniors in long term care manage loneliness.
My focus has been on creativity’s softer side. During that morning Zoom session, I said I want my project to reflect that. I want to emphasize the potential for the arts and creativity to offer a respite from the frantic chaos of everyday life rather than adding to it.
In the chat, I found a comment by EJCP program director, Jeremy Caplan: “I like that notion of ‘quiet’ creativity as opposed to more muscular ‘owning your creativity’ messaging,” he wrote.
CUNY Newmark J-school’s educational program coordinator, Danielle Bonnici wrote: “There is so much ‘noise’ out there, so I think being more quiet is courageous and more interesting.”
Their words of encouragement that day and the supportive comments I’ve received from program faculty, members of my cohort, and alumni from prior years have helped me see that developing a meaningful product for the people I care about starts by identifying the values that mattered most.
How will my project positively impact others?
One of the most important lessons I’ve learned during my time with CUNY is that building a sustainable venture requires cultivating comfort with trial and error, even with failure.
A few years ago, Jeremy told an interviewer with Nieman Reports that there’s a misconception among business creators. They think they need to start with a giant audience or community. Instead, Jeremy said, “What we really need to do is be much more lean-startup oriented, much more nimble and small, and run little experiments.”
The term “experiments” most usefully applies to the world of science, but experiments are an important part of any creative endeavor. Many consider experiments — collected in notebooks, sketchpads, and journals — by artists such as Leonardo DaVinci, Henry David Thoreau, and Anne Truitt to be as important as the finished masterpieces.
What may future creators learn from our experiments piling up in Evernote, Trello, and Notion?
I don’t yet know how my project will positively impact others because I’m still in the pre-launch, experimental stage. I am committed to beginning carefully, in phases, and in collaboration with my audience.
One of my first experiments has been to build a short survey where you can share your thoughts and insights about creativity with me. I hope that answering the questions in it will provide you with a meaningful opportunity for reflection. Would you consider filling it out?
Either way, I hope you’ll take good care and stay in touch.
