2026 Wisconsin Creativity Summit
2026 Wisconsin Creativity Summit
Summit Summary:
The 2026 Wisconsin Creativity Summit brought educators and creative leaders together for an inspiring conversation about the essential role of creativity and the arts in education and in preparing young people for an increasingly complex future. Dr. Peter Gamwell and I had the honor of interviewing arts education advocate and researcher Bob Morrison, exploring the enduring role of the arts in education, the need to rethink how we define and value learning, and how each of us can use our spheres of influence to help create meaningful change. The evening also honored the life and legacy of Sir Ken Robinson, whose enduring message about protecting and nurturing the creative capacities of every young person continues to challenge and inspire educators around the world. We invite you to watch the recording and join the conversation about creating an education system that recognizes and cultivates the creativity within every learner.
10 Key Takeaways from the Wisconsin Creativity Summit
- Creativity is not a gift reserved for a few—it is a capacity within everyone. Creativity can be developed when learners have environments that encourage exploration, experimentation, and discovery.
- Creativity is a process, not a single moment of inspiration. Sir Ken Robinson’s definition—"The process of having original ideas that have value"—emphasizes developing, refining, and applying ideas.
- Imagination, creativity, and innovation are connected. The summit explored the “ICI continuum”: imagination inspires creativity, creativity inspires innovation.
- Education should cultivate people, not simply produce workers. The conversation contrasted an instrumental view of education—producing economically productive workers—with a humanistic view focused on developing people capable of judgment, adaptation, and citizenship.
- Creativity is increasingly essential in an unpredictable future. As technology and society change rapidly, students need the capacity to generate ideas, solve problems, adapt, and approach challenges in ways that machines cannot predict.
- The arts are about much more than preparing future artists. Arts education helps develop the knowledge, skills, and experiences that empower young people to succeed in life—regardless of the pathway they ultimately choose.
- We need to open more doors and windows into the arts. Arts education should provide multiple entry points and pathways so students can find meaningful ways to participate—not only through traditional programs or experiences.
- Standards should create possibilities, not standardize creativity. The summit distinguished between standards that establish meaningful expectations while allowing creativity and standardization that simply produces the same result over and over.
- In an AI world, human creativity, judgment, knowledge, and purpose matter more—not less. AI makes it even more important for students to develop the knowledge and discernment necessary to evaluate information and use technology thoughtfully. Human storytelling, taste, purpose, and the ability to generate unpredictable solutions remain essential.
- Change begins within our own spheres of influence. Rather than waiting for someone else to transform education, participants were challenged to identify the people and organizations they can influence, start conversations, build relationships, and bring others into the work.