Where’s the Creativity in the Age of Overwhelm?

Creativity, Burnout and AI: Finding time to be creative this Spring

I'm writing this from my childhood bed, sick with COVID, surrounded by the familiar walls of my family home. There's something strangely cyclical about it all, an echo of a time that feels both recent and distant. The familiarity of this moment is bizarre, like time folding in on itself. Recently, my days in bed have been characterised by a cacophony of notifications, the demand of a digital world that sits somewhat passively on my bedside table. I am finding myself reminiscing about those late nights spent sprawled across the dining room floor, frantically finishing my art coursework. There was a raw, unfiltered creativity I can’t help but miss. 

But what really is stopping me from creating again? Absolute exhaustion I tell myself.

I feel like its almost shameful to admit that I probably do have more time to spend on my creativity. You bump into friends on campus asking you “How are you doing?” and often that reply is “You know, just so busy?” But should I be dedicating more time to it simply because I should?

Our current culture is so predicated upon productivity. We have to be complex have all these meaningful hobbies and passions. All gaps in the CV must be filled by a plethora of fantastical pursuits that matter to the world of work. When those pursuits are personal, frivolous and creative do we still view them as important in our current cultural sphere? When we are creative for creativity’s sake, is it of value anymore?

The framework of productivity in today’s world makes it worthless if you don’t give it a price or god-forbid meaning. Creativity is important in a world that is no longer analog.

The humanism in being creative is an act of rebellion in this hyper-capitalist digital hellscape. When artistic content can be debated as to whether it is AI or not, there must be a push back. Most of the AI generative slop that is called ‘art’ on Instagram is widely shared, placing value only on its aesthetic appeal. With the recent studio-ghibili AI trend being a key example and widely debated in ongoing discourse. The trend demonstrates how AI can strip out the intent behind creativity and can be used to take out the meaning behind simply creating. Shifting this narrative is hugely important when finding time to be creative for yourself, especially whilst at University. Creativity isn’t supposed to be easy and come in a pre-packaged box. 

It takes time and is something that gradually develops,  influenced by your likes, thoughts, opinions etc. 

Creativity shouldn’t have a scale - you can do it in microscopic ways.You’re not going to be in your uni room creating masterful pieces that can be hung in the Tate. Doodle, take a video, write down things you noticed about your day. Let it take over slowly and subtly influence how you live. There’s ways and means for it to not take away from your hard-work with ever-mounting deadlines. 

It isn’t for anyone but you unless you chose to share it. The privacy in that is freeing, it doesn’t have to be good! So take time to focus on you and tap into it. It is wildly freeing and makes the academic a little bit more digestible.