We are all born creative, curious and imaginative but these qualities sometimes fade with the passage of time. The Creativity Workshop's goal is to help people get their imaginations back. Whether you are a writer, a business person, a teacher or an artist we can help you find and develop your particular way of expression and break through the fears associated with creation.

Creativity Workshop: General Information

This internationally renowned intensive workshop brings together people of all backgrounds, cultures, and interests to discover new and exciting tools for generating creativity and thinking and working in new and exciting ways by using creative writing, visual arts, and brainstorming techniques.

Process not Product

The Creativity Workshop is for anyone interested in expanding their creative potential. The workshop is attended by educators, artists, business executives, writers, lawyers, doctors, homemakers, advertising and design people--all with the common goal of experimenting with their imaginations and finding new ways to stimulate and expand their creative potential. Shelley Berc and Alejandro Fogel have developed a series of exercises designed to help participants develop and recognize their individual creative processes. Participants explore different artistic materials and mediums in order to discover their own unique ways of expression and to learn to break through the fears and distractions that inhibit creativity.

Tools for a Lifetime

The exercises used in the Creativity Workshop are intended to become the tools for a lifetime of creative expression. Participants are encouraged to draw from all kinds of resources of creativity -such as the oral tradition, dreams, childhood memories, sense perceptions and intuition. Working both individually and in collaborative groups, participants explore their imaginative potential through exercises in writing, drawing, collage, map making, story telling and guided visualization.

Calendar

DECEMBER
New York City December 8 - 9, 2001
http://www.creativityworkshop.com/newyork.html
2 day intensive weekend workshop
Saturday from 11 AM to 4:30 PM, Sunday from 11 AM to 4:30 PM
Tuition Fee: $300

JANUARY
New York City January 12 - 13, 2002
http://www.creativityworkshop.com/newyork.html
2 day weekend workshop:
Saturday from 11 AM to 4:30 PM
Sunday from 11 AM to 4:30 PM
Tuition Fee: $300

FEBRUARY
New York City February 2 - 3, 2002
http://www.creativityworkshop.com/newyork.html
2 day weekend workshop:
Saturday from 11 AM to 4:30 PM
Sunday from 11 AM to 4:30 PM
Tuition Fee: $300

MARCH
New York City March 9 - 10, 2002
2 day weekend workshop:
Saturday from 11 AM to 4:30 PM
Sunday from 11 AM to 4:30 PM
Tuition Fee: $300

APRIL
New York City April 13 - 14, 2002
http://www.creativityworkshop.com/newyork.html
2 day weekend workshop:
Saturday from 11 AM to 4:30 PM
Sunday from 11 AM to 4:30 PM
Tuition Fee: $300

MAY
New York City May 11 - 12, 2002
http://www.creativityworkshop.com/newyork.html
2 day weekend workshop:
Saturday from 11 AM to 4:30 PM
Sunday from 11 AM to 4:30 PM
Tuition Fee: $300

New York City May 27 - 31, 2002
http://www.creativityworkshop.com/newyork.html
5 day workshop
Monday through Friday 4 to 7 PM
Tuition Fee: $600

SUMMER IN EUROPE 2002

JUNE
Florence, Italy June 24 - July 5, 2002
http://www.creativityworkshop.com/florence.html
10 day workshop
Tuition Fee: $1,000
(Special fellowships for Italian participants available)

JULY
Samos, Greece July 6 - 16, 2002
http://www.creativityworkshop.com/samos.html
9 day workshop
Tuition Fee: $1,500 (includes accomodations)
(Special fellowships for Greek participants available)

Barcelona, Spain July 31 - August 10, 2002
http://www.creativityworkshop.com/barcelona.html
9 day workshop
Tuition Fee: $950
(Special fellowships for Spanish participants available)

AUGUST
Paris, France August 11 - 21, 2002
http://www.creativityworkshop.com/paris.html
9 day workshop
Tuition Fee: $950
(Special fellowships for French participants available)

The Creativity Workshop has been taught at:

• International Writing Program at the University of Iowa, Iowa, USA.
• National Institute of Education at Singapore University, Singapore.
• TheArt Alliance, New York, USA.
• Yldiz University, Istanbul, Turkey.
• Nerengi Institute, Istanbul, Turkey.
• Prima del Teatro (University of Pisa), San Miniato, Italy.
• Scuola Drammatica San Remo, San Remo, Italy.
• Academy of Drama and Film, Milan, Italy.
• Prague Summer Writers Workshop, Prague, Czech Republic.
• Writing Beyond the Walls, Lucca, Italy.
• Spoleto Arts Symposia, Spoleto, Italy.
• United World College, Trieste, Italy.
• Australian National University, Canberra, Australia.
• Australian National Playwright Conference, Canberra, Australia.
• NSW Writers Workshop, Sydney, Australia.
• Performance Studies Department, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.
• Hungarian Ethnic Artists Festival, Kisvarda, Hungary.
• Art School of the Aegean, Samos, Greece.
• Scuola Sagarana, Lucca, Italy, among others.

What people say about the Creativity Workshop

"The new millennium needs bold, creative men and women who can turn their dreams into reality... Shelley Berc and Alejandro Fogel show how you can do this through their challenging and inspiring creativity workshops...even a simple first contact will prove what these two talented teachers can do for your own gifts." Dr. Kirpal Singh, Writer, Professor, Singapore Management University.

"The Creativity Workshop in Spoleto has been a very special experience for me. It opened up new ways to look at my work and I found new friendships. I spent 15 fantastic days in an incredible place. Shelley and Alejandro are superb teachers!" Vera Eisenberg, painter, Argentina

"The Workshop was such a powerful experience for me, something I never expected nor would I ever be able to repeat it." Rolfe Werner, Engineer. Canberra, Australia.

"I found the workshop extremely valuable in generating awareness of my creativity and in stimulating ideas." Jeanne Arthur, Executive Officer, ACT Board of Secondary School Studies. Canberra, Australia.

"I feel as though I now have a focus, a method, a way of evolving my ideas and that the means are just as important as the end. I have created environments just to create in, and environments just to display the work in. My vision of attending to each detail, sound, smell, texture, substance... is starting to find a home. Thanks for opening my eyes to these essential aspects of creating through your guidance and example." Student. University of Iowa, Iowa City, USA.

"This class was THE MOST enriching, enlightening, inspirational class I have ever taken. The way I work and what I create will never be the same." Student. University of Iowa, USA.

"Shelley and Alejandro's Creativity Workshop is amazing in that it breaks down all your fears about thinking and writing. If it wasn't for them I fear I never would have finished my master's thesis. I was blocked until I took this course." Francesca Salidu PHD candidate in Shakespeare, University of Pisa. San Miniato, Italy.

"Shelley Berc and Alejandro Fogel taught their Creativity Workshop as American Cultural Specialists under the United States Information Service auspices. To say that they were extremely effective is a vast understatement. I would unreservedly recommend their course. They have abundant creativity, energy, and a wealth of skills." Gloria Berbena, Asst. Cultural Attach, US Information Service, US Embassy. Rome, Italy.

"A special experience. Berc and Fogel opened us up to new and wonderful ways of looking at our creativity." Belkis Bottfeld, PHD, psychologist. Istanbul, Turkey.

"An unforgettable course!" Gulnur Ayaz, MD. Istanbul, Turkey.

The teachers

Shelley Berc is a writer and teacher. She is a professor of the International Writing Program at the University of Iowa. Her novels, plays, and essays which include 'The Shape of Wilderness', 'A Girl's Guide to the Divine Comedy' and 'Theatre of the Mind' have been published by Coffee House Press, Johns Hopkins Press, Heinemann Books, Performing Arts Journal and Theatre Communications Group Press. Her plays have been produced by theatres such as the American Repertory Theatre, the Yale Rep, and the Edinburgh Festival.

Alejandro Fogel is a visual artist and teacher working in painting, site installations, video and digital art. He has exhibited his works in galleries and museums in Argentina, Bulgaria, Cuba, France, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, United States and Germany. His ongoing project 'Root to Route' chronicles his father's journey through the Holocaust years. His work is in private collections and museums around the world.

Berc and Fogel explain in theory and demonstrate in practice the concepts of originality, 'appropriation', memory and imagination. Under their guidance, participants explore their own creative processes through different writing and drawing exercises. They emphasize the intimate link between personal and public spheres, individual and social practices, history and myth, dream and reality. The focus of the workshop is on process not product and to help participants find life-long tools of creative expression. Shelley Berc and Alejandro Fogel have taught their Creativity Workshop internationally. They have lectured on creativity and their own work at universities and cultural centers throughout the world. They currently teach the Creativity Workshop as an intensive semester long course at the International Writing Program of The University of Iowa.

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