Support Act's New Intensive Workshop Will Help You Harness Your Creativity

Creativity is an enigma, a paradox and a jumble of messy contradictions. 

For those who work in music, creativity is the essence of the industry – the fuel that gives life to transcendent pop songs, mind-blowing live shows, electric collaborations and everything in between. 

Now more than ever, artists, musicians and creatives need to find ways to reconnect with their creative vision and be agile and courageous in an unpredictable and competitive landscape. 

Creative Minds is a one-day interactive workshop brought to you by Support Act - designed for artists, musicians and creatives working in the music industry who want to learn more about creativity and how to harness it. 

It’s designed and facilitated by me, Ash King, a registered psychologist and ex-musician, who was forced to step away from my career in music after a vocal rupture permanently affected my vocal cords. 

I became curious about a number of deeply-held notions regarding creativity I was routinely exposed to while working in music – things like 'creativity must be original', 'creativity is stifled by structure', and 'mental illness inspires creativity'.

I realised that these myths were likely to be doing more harm than good, not only to people’s creative potential but also to their mental health and well-being more broadly. So this workshop is an opportunity to challenge those myths, along with exploring more empirically validated ways to enhance and inspire creative output. 

The workshops are also co-facilitated by local music talent, including Sam from Ball Park Music, Dan from TOWNS, and Odette - folks who have worked in the music scene for a number of years and can speak from lived experience about their own insights and struggles when it comes to living a creative life. 

The full-day workshops are broken up into four mini sessions (with a free lunch in there too!), which explore the myths and perils of creativity, goal-setting and defining your 'why', nurturing conditions for creativity, and creative tools and techniques. 

Every session comes complete with immersive activities designed to help participants challenge and expand their existing notions of creativity and develop cognitive and organisational strategies to boost divergent thinking, expand self-awareness and promote productivity. It’s also just a great opportunity to be in a space with other like-minded people who love music!

Here’s what people have been saying about it…

“Hard to put into words how much I will take away from this session. I will absolutely feel less guilt for allowing myself to relax, and focus more on myself and letting my creative mind flourish.”

“So happy to connect with new and like-minded people. Feeling good and motivated.” 

“I would love it to be a two-day workshop – I didn’t want it to end!”

“This is the best workshop I’ve been to in soooo long!! I feel very motivated and inspired to live life and let creativity shine through.”

“The passion and energy from [facilitator] Ash King – It was so amazing to hear her story of how she had to reinvent herself into a whole new person after her music career took an unexpected turn and to see her absolutely thriving in this new space and hearing about all the ways that helped her get there. That was the most powerful part of the workshop for me because it gave me hope that after a horrible few years, that things can and will be great again, and I left feeling empowered that I am a creative and there are so many other ways I am creative when I feel like I'm not.”

Creative Minds workshops are taking place in Eora/Sydney on Tuesday, 22 November, Meanjin/Brisbane on Tuesday, 29 November and Naarm/Melbourne on Tuesday, 6 December. 

Tickets are $50 and include all-day catering and resources.

Find out more and grab tickets here.