Creativity and the arts

Creativity and the arts Spirituality and transcendence

Architecture Artists and art history Beauty and aesthetics Celebrations and festivals Creativity Dance Film Imagination Laughter and comedy Music Painting and sculpture Philosophy of art Photography Play Poetry Stories and literature The nature of reality Theatre and performance Traditional arts

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Traditional Chinese painting of a woman resting on a chair in a pavilion by a pond with ducks and lotus flowers.

Creativity

idea

To be creative, Chinese philosophy teaches us to abandon ‘originality’

Whether grieving a death or connecting to colleagues, creativity enables an artful life, according to Chinese philosophy

by Julianne Chung

Photo of three men smiling and holding a large inflatable globe in a room with various boxes and jars.

Creativity

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A life of splendid uselessness is a life well lived

Like the fertile soil of a well-kept garden, a life of splendid, utter uselessness yields abundance beyond our immediate aims

by Joseph M Keegin

Abstract painting with colourful overlapping straight and curved lines on a light background.

Creativity

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How to be lucky

Most of us think that luck just happens (or doesn’t) but everyone can learn to look for the unexpected and find serendipity

by Christian Busch

Dance

film

How the acrobat and choreographer Yoann Bourgeois plays with gravity and time

Directed by Raphael Wertheimer

A man wearing glasses and a brown jacket who is Charlie Watts playing drums in a TV studio.

Music

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True musical virtuosos are minimalists who put roll before rock

Musicians like Muddy Waters and Charlie Watts played fewer notes than showoffs like Jeff Beck, but they were the right ones

by Mike Edison

Painting of a serene rural landscape with cows grazing at sunset, a church spire, trees and fields in the background.

Human evolution

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Why it took us thousands of years to see the colour violet

The colour violet was largely missing from art before the Impressionists, and is seen differently by different cultures. Why?

by Allen Tager

Black and white photo of a man and woman sitting at a café table in conversation, looking thoughtfully to the side.

Film

guide

How to find great films to watch

Bored with Hollywood and Netflix? Becoming an adventurous and informed explorer of the cinema world is in everyone’s grasp

by Geoff Andrew

Close-up of an older man in a flat cap and scarf, looking out over a misty rural landscape with blurred farmland in the background.

Poetry

film

Irish hills, folk music and David Whyte’s poetry form a fleeting, meditative moment

Directed by Andrew Hinton

A painting depicting a cosmological diagram with an abstract human figure and various mythical creatures.

History of ideas

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Ancient Indian texts reveal the liberating power of metaphysics

Indian metaphysics presented a philosophical route to a higher level of existence beyond limits of space and time

by Jessica Frazier

Photo of people in a sunny square with bikes and scooters, near Les Tontons and a large building advertisement in Bordeaux.

Stories and literature

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Your life is not a story: why narrative thinking holds you back

Our stories help us make sense of a chaotic world, but they can be harmful and restrictive. There’s a liberating alternative

by Karen Simecek

Cubist painting of fragmented books and a glass on a table with geometric shapes in blue, brown and grey tones.

Stories and literature

guide

How to gain more from your reading

There’s more to words than meets the eye. Deepen your appreciation of literature through the art of slow, attentive reading

by Robert DiYanni

Photo of a woman submerged to the neck in a natural hot spring, with mountains and mist in the background, creating a serene atmospheric scene.

Photography

film

One photo per day for more than a year, exploring how rituals affect memory

Directed by Scott Thrift