Article: Floating castles, Legos, Candy, and Play: Counterplay 2016

Megan Lotts, who is an art librarian at Rutgers University Libraries, has written a wonderful article, describing and reflecting upon how she experienced CounterPlay ’16. You should definitely read the whole thing, but here are a few excerpts:

From Stine Liv Johansen and Helle Skovbjerg’s workshop “Developing a Language of Play“, which started with what I think is a bit of healthy anxiety:

When we started this task, I was feeling a bit anxious. I was meeting the people in my group for the first time, I didn’t know there skill sets, and I was worried how would we work together to complete this task. Also at this point, I had not taken the opportunity to fully wander around DOKK1 to see the space, to know what our options were, so I felt unprepared. I think what I was feeling is natural and probably emotions many people have when initially working in groups. But within minutes ofworking as a team, I was feeling a decrease ofstress, and I was beginning to play and have fun. By the end of 30 mins, I had been laughing, drawing, moving, and having fun with my fellow group members, we had completed our task, an exquisite corpse like drawing game, and I was feeling no stress. After completing the task all the groups came back to the workshop room, and began discussing what had happened. I found myself amazed, impressed, and inspired by what all the groups had done […] When groups explained their games, I could feel and hear the excitement in the voices. How much fun they had creating their games, and how much all ofus learned along the way. We discovered more about ourselves, other group members, and how easy and productive play can be. To me it was obvious that working and playing in groups encouraged individuals to be adaptable, creative, innovative, and fearless which can be beneficial for any organization.

And some more general reflections on what Megan learned and took home from the festival:

But what did I really learn from this conference? First, play can be all inclusive and you don’t need a lot ofmoney. Play and creativity is a way of seeing and even if you are play insecure, find playful activities or games that work for you. Be present, passionate, and adaptable, and don’t be afraid to act silly, or look like a fool. Remember life is about learning, and failing can be the best life lesson of all. One must never give up, keep trying. If you find yourselfin an environment in which play is frowned upon and failure is not accepted, find a way to educate the naysayers. Play embraces active learning, fosters creative thinking skills, and can make one happy. 

I left this conference being reminded that as an academic and human being, I need to let go and not take myself so seriously. I need to allow myselfto play more and remember that amusing activities and engaging learning can lead to innovation, cross disciplinary collaboration, and foster-lifelong learning. Ideas, work, and life are meant to be fluid, and play can be that change agent that helps foster creativity and innovation within oneself and organization.