Creativity in Performance – Creative networks versus the Lonely Hero

The idea of creativity within a network collides with creativity myths, which are deeply embedded in Western society and which influence how art and science are looked upon and paid for. Society looks for the original work of one author only, the lonely hero. Joint creativity of a network of contributors is not as highly valued as the work of a single individual.	1

Since 1990 the following sociocultural definition of creativity has been widely accepted:
"Creativity is the creation of a novel product that attains some elements of social recognition." 2

It is not enough for a creative idea or work to be novel; to be creative an idea has to be appropriate,
recognised as socially valuable in some way to community.

Creativity happens within a network:

The person/artist creates novelty.

The field selects novelty to enter the domain.

The domain again is internalised by the person. 3

What does this mean in the case of Creativity in Performance?

For my research I study the creative role of a performer in contemporary music as an intermediary between instrument-composer and audience. I look into the work of performers during the whole process from initiating and co-creating a new piece up to the end product: the actual concert.
The investigation includes collaborations with composers, influences of the field (festivals, specialists, finances, the audience), programming, (choice of composers, programme order, press releases), charisma/concert aura/stage presence, the venue, stage built up/lighting/ costume, in short everything which will shape a concert and the way how an audience experiences a piece of contemporary music in the context of a performance.