A Ted speaker and best-selling author, a Walt Disney Animation senior vice president, a SpaceX manager, virtual reality innovator, and music composer for film/television/art will be among the distinguished speakers at WestTalks – The Creative Edge, a conference at West Los Angeles College
on Saturday, May 13.
The six-hour creativity conference starts at 9 o’clock in the Fine Arts Theater (www.WLAC.edu/Creativity).
“This ground-breaking conference will spark a new vision of what creativity means in all disciplines,” says Dr. Katherine Boutry, director of West’s Creativity Studies program and a former Harvard professor. “It will celebrate human endeavor and the final frontier: Creative thought.”
Mihaly Csikszentmihakyi, author of the bestselling book Flow and a leading researcher in positive psychology, will give the keynote address. The 82-year-old Mr. Csikszentmihalyi posits that people find genuine satisfaction during the Flow state of consciousness. In this state, they are completely absorbed in an activity, especially an activity which involves their creative abilities. During this “optimal experience,” said Mr. Csikszentmihalyi, they feel “strong, alert, in effortless control, unselfconscious, and at the peak of their abilities.”
Ann Le Cam, senior vice president of production and talent at Walt Disney Animation Studios, has been described as one of the women changing animation. She is known for her work on Frozen, Wreck-It Ralph and Big Hero 6 among others. She will speak on “Reimagining Creativity: Transformative Leadership in Creative Markets.”
Lucas Wilson is the founder of SuperSphereVR, a virtual reality and augmented reality content and technology company shaping entertaining, immersive virtual reality experiences globally, with offices in Los Angeles, New York City, and Singapore. Mr. Wilson is also founder and CEO of Revelens, a technology company pioneering ad tech and interaction in virtual reality and augmented reality.
Ed Baruiarena, creative director of Right Brain Project & Sundance Institute Composer Fellow, is an accomplished composer for film, television, art installations and anything else that needs sound. “Cultivating Your Creativity” is his topic.
Ana Martinez, SpaceX Manager of Proposal Development, will address “The Creative Edge of Space Exploration.
Other presenters include comedian Holly Mandel, a Groundling alumnae and producer of “Good Girls Aren’t Funny.” Her topic is “Good Girls Aren’t Funny: How Gender Expectations Affect the Creative Edge”
Architect Peter Mitsakos will explore “Creative Spaces: The Impact of Physical Environment on Individual and Group Creativity.”
Debra Rogers, relationship expert and author of the award-winning book He Did You a Favor: A Smart Girl’s Guide to Breaking Up, Waking Up, and Discovering the Gift of YOU, will discuss “How Failure Leads to Creative Success.”
Environmental philosopher Yogi Hale Hendlin, Ph.D., will explore “The Ecological Self: Harnessing the Power of Our Interspecies Nature for Good.”
WLAC student Hwan Moore will reflect on “Re-Creativity: The Transgender Experience & Living on the Creative Edge.”
A complete list of speakers and times is at www.WLAC.edu/Creativity.
Ms. Long-Coffee may be contacted at LongCofm@wlac.edu