[Lon] on Twitter[Lon Wong] on Facebook[Lon Wong] on Friendfeed[solarCrash] RSS Feed[SolarCrash] Email

Posts tagged as:

creative

When love comes down…

by Lon on February 19, 2009

Solar Crash: Love Comes Down
by Chris Luk Photography

Solar Crash: Love Comes Down
Collaborative art project responding to “What must love be” by Claudia Hung

What can I say?  I think it was another phenomenal night!  Of the many projects I’m on, the Solar Crash events are definitely one of my favorites.  I’ve written a few thoughts on creating these spaces before here and here.

Some additional reflections…

I intentionally halved the number of performers and artists from the last event and it created a tighter more focused evening that was just as enjoyable

I loved when random people came up to me wondering how on earth something like this comes together

There’s nothing like people from all sorts of backgrounds, cultures, and faiths coming together to creating something beautiful, even if momentary

People keep asking me if I’m an artist, I love writing, but I’d say my craft is more in helping unleash the creative potential of others

I did a once-in-a-lifetime spoken word piece for my wife that night (totally out of my comfort zone)

It was awesome being able to meet in person many people that I had been networked through facebook

Hearing the rumor… “I think he’s a pastor…”

Toronto is brimming with undiscovered creativity

Additional photos and videos to come at http://event.solarcrash.com

{ 4 comments }

Your creative genius

by Lon on February 11, 2009

Elizabeth Gilbert of “Eat, Pray, Love” fame (which my wife read and loved), shares a TED talk on cultivating creativity.

{ 0 comments }

Luminato 2008

by Lon on May 21, 2008

Luminato, Toronto’s festival of arts and creativity returns this year Jun 6th-15th.

It’s a blessing to be living in Toronto as it moves towards becoming a creative capital of the world.

Other links on Toronto and Creativity

Toronto Creativity and Innovation day – April 21st

Imagine a Toronto – Strategies for a Creative City

Creative City Network of Canada

livewithculture.ca – guide to Toronto’s culture scene

A free download to Toronto’s Creative City Planning Framework

How might the church be a part of all of this?

{ 0 comments }

Silent Sermon

by Lon on February 21, 2008

silencio
(Original photo here)

I’ve posted many times questioning the effectiveness of preaching before, however this past Sunday was definitely an example of working more creatively, not harder, while creating a deeply meaningful experience.

I’ve been wanting to experiment with this for quite a while now, and with my voice blown from speaking the night before, this was the perfect opportunity (also great when you’re in a time crunch)

All we did was set up the projector and I typed on the screen in silence. Stacks of paper squares were handed out and the community was invited to write whatever the Spirit of God was putting on their hearts – Scripture, questions, prayers, struggles, insights, confessions, commitments, etc. … that’s it.

It was a great collective and collaborative experience. I didn’t filter anything, and what was shared was so much more profound than anything I would have preached. The more ‘quiet’ members of the community also felt encouraged and liberated to voice what God had been speaking into their souls through this venue.

Sometimes we just need to get out of the way.

{ 11 comments }

Hunger Banquet

by Lon on February 18, 2008

Global Awareness Night

This past Saturday a team of us from two churches organized a Global Awareness Banquet.

The banquet is a dramatization of the inequity that perpetuates poverty in the world. Guests are randomly assigned according to the realities that divide us today 15% rich, 30% middle class, and 55% poor on a global level.

The rich were served wine, appetizers, roasts, cake to classical music, while the poor had to line up for a chunk of yam. Some ended stealing from the rich, some of the rich spread the wealth, and some sat there feeling pity for themselves or for others.

We even dumped excess food into the garbage in front of the crowd, as people screamed no.

The discussion was lively, and the anger died down as people understood why we made them pay for a meal with no food.

If you can gather at least 40-50 people in your school, church, workplace, campus, I totally recommend trying to run an event like this.

Here’s a sample planning kit by Oxfam Canada.

{ 6 comments }

Creativity revolution in China

by Lon on February 3, 2008

china - creative class

I’m not as well-versed in the ethnic issues as many of my peers are, however I’ve been chewing on this article by Fast Company for a number of months now. Click on the caption below for the full article.

The Chinese don’t get creativity, right? Sure, they can stamp out a widget, or knock off a DVD, but when it comes to imagination, they just don’t have the gene. Well, keep telling yourself that.

The mindset that they’re countering has almost always been my perspective, and I’m Chinese.

China has increasingly been equated to a global manufacturing powerhouse due to the mass amount of cheap labor available… ie. the reason why you’re wearing and touching several items ‘Made in China” right this moment.

The article suggests that there is a revolution underway. Not just in terms of manufacturing, military, or the economy, but with creativity in China.

Could it be that God might be using globalization, technology, and the democratization of information, to liberate people like never before?

What would happen if the imaginations of 1.3 billion people in China were unleashed?

If its true that China and India (also known as Chindia) are emerging global superpowers – what implications does that have for Christianity?

As the developing world transitions from the Industrial Age to the Creative Age, what’s next for the current Creative Class?

{ 9 comments }

Jesus and Bin Laden

by Lon on December 4, 2007

An interesting image that’s been going around lately.

Jesus and Bin Laden

It’s by an artist named Lars Justinen from the Justinen Creative Group.

What do you think?

Blog Widget by LinkWithin

{ 0 comments }