The residency at the Berghof Foundation was conceived in the belief that there is creative power within each of us and that this power can benefit the work that we are committed to. Sometimes our creative power gets silenced, put down perhaps by thoughtless words from a childhood teacher or lost in the pressures of life. I aimed to nourish and re-activate this creative power through various hands-on activities - shifting to a visual mode through drawing and painting with the hands can release something in people who spend their days engrossed in words on screens. On a wider scale, we considered the work of conflict transformation as a creative practice.

I shared the shape of my creative practice as a painter and invited people to consider their own work in these terms:

how the physical space of the studio makes a difference, what’s on the walls, the materials, my tables and easel
my use of images, sketchbooks, photos
how my practice is about the intangible too: commitment, values, intention, life choices
how rituals and routines support making art
the daily practice of journal writing, reading, intuitive painting, and time in the studio space
how the practice is nourished with gallery visits, books, talks
influences on my work of other painters and philosophers

After reflecting on their own work, we discussed aspects of the physical space in which conflict transformation happens, the meeting rooms people sit in, the food offered. Every aspect incorporates a message to participants and contributes to the conditions in which dialogue happens.

We talked about visualising ideas to simplify and to adjust thinking.

And arising as perhaps most important was the question of how time and space for creative, non-linear thinking might be incorporated in the pressurised processes of conflict transformation and peace-building.

I labelled this idea ‘the imaginal space’ and next time, I’ll share our deeper dive into what happens there.