Creativity and Crisis: From Possibilities to Making Them Happen

When we talk about the relationship between creativity and crisis, there is a temptation to ask the simple question of whether crisis helps creativity. As many simple questions, this one does not have a simple answer. Contributions to this volume collectively suggest that perhaps this question is not the most helpful one we can ask. Rather, both the scientific and practice communities interested in creativity in the times of crisis would be better served if we asked what kinds of crises stimulate creativity and under which circumstances. In this chapter, we examine what we need to know to start addressing this revised question. The chapter is organized in three parts. First, we review different definitions of crisis and examine specific features of crises. Next, we add the unknown of creativity into the equation. We do not discuss creativity as a unitary construct (Ivcevic, 2022; Reiter-Palmon & Millier, 2023), but acknowledge that it includes different aspects and levels and that these creativities can be differentially related to crises. Finally, we focus on what still remains to be answered and propose directions for future research.