Though he envisaged something different at the start, when he looks back at the year of The Creative Collide, in some chaotic and unstructured way Philip Patston feels he's achieved what he set out to do. Because he said so.

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This is my last Creative Collide post for 2009. I’m taking a six week holiday - my first decent break in ten years - to relax, reflect, revitalise and complete a rebrand of Diversityworks and update the website. (That sounds like work, I hear you say. Nah, that’s fun!) 

So, in order to wrap up the year of The Creative Collide, I asked my PA, Zoe, to pick out some noteworthy quotes from the last eight months.

Way back in April, in my first post, I asked about the source of creativity. ‘Where does it come from? Within or "without"? How many sources of creativity do we tap into? What happens to us when one source dwindles? I think that for a larger than healthy percentage of the population, creativity does come from an external source. That's fine, but as we increase the ease with which we can access external media, do we diminish our ability to tap into internal sources of creativity? And how does that affect our personal power?’

Then, after a bit of a harrowing experience in the NZ International Comedy Festival, I asked how much the arts sector reflects diversity. ‘New Zealand is renowned for its creativity and diversity, producing fine examples of legends from the margins who excel in the mainstream, like the Topp Twins and Billy T James. But I'll venture to say that it hasn't been with the help of the mainstream arts sector - my experience would suggest it's been despite the mainstream and with a lot of hard work.’

Enough about NZ’s diversity, let’s talk about mine: ‘There’s a strange synergy around drag and disability that begs to be investigated, including the very different way in which drag both presents –and often creates – new forms of gender identity. The creativity, humour and artistic expression of the drag genre offers a huge opportunity to explore and confront the way gay disabled men (indeed all disabled people) are perceived in terms of sexuality – polarised by assumptions of celibacy and impotence to sexual deviance and compulsion – both in life and on stage.’

Next, I denounced comedy. ‘I have no problem with people who do, but I don’t wanna talk shit to make people laugh anymore... My days as a professional comedian are over. I no longer aspire to be a comedian. If my being a comedian was being in a relationship with one of my roles, then I’m no longer in love. I’m breaking up with and ending a long-term relationship with my comedic self. I used to be a comedian. How liberating giving up an identity can be.’

No pressure, but how about a bit of a change in thinking? ‘This blog is about a possibility for creative and ideological change that, I think, could be the biggest opportunity since Copernicus discovered the truth about the Earth and the Sun. What if disability is not the dreaded existence we are all constantly told it is, by parents, doctors, the media, even disabled people themselves?’

It wouldn’t be a blog without a bit of artistic criticism. ‘Essentially it's a white wall with a mass of small white canvasses, each with a word scrawled in silver pen, most too high up to actually see. Intriguing. One of those artworks that makes you think, "I could do that." And then you feel bad because you know that, if you could, you would have done it, so obviously you couldn't. Or could you, if you set your mind to it?’

A warning: don’t go into the void. ‘Never, ever, ever head up a blank document with "creative void" and expect to be inspired to write something, because you won't.’

How about a financial void? ‘Have you ever considered a world without money? Do we as a sector have the courage and foresight to even begin imagining such a system? Can we dream it, without worrying how, or if, or what if?’

Back to the nature of creativity: ‘It seems to me that creativity is often that rain that you know is so vital for the earth and humanity to exist. It can be cold and wet, but it can also be warm, refreshing and life-giving, the spring shower you want to run outside and dance naked in!’

What about collaboration - is it all it’s cracked up to be? ‘Does the value of the collaborative process mitigate the effort? Does the potential of an individual's input making a project outweigh the risk of them capsizing it? Is there a way of working independently within the dynamic of dependence? And, when it comes down to it, isn't it just simpler to go it alone?’

And business? ‘The business success rhetoric has once again changed - from expertise and relationships to recognition. In the friend-following world of Facebook and Twitter, not only do you have to know the right stuff and know the right people, but the right people have to want to know you.’

And finally, the media? ‘Media inclusion takes intentional risk and, right now, the New Zealand media is playing it way too safe.’

My objective for writing this blog was promote creative diversity, ‘to foster a dialogue that generates exploration and greater awareness of the similarity, difference, variety and range of creative experiences and expression.’

Though I envisaged something different at the start, when I look back, in some chaotic and unstructured way, I feel I’ve achieved what I set out to do. Because I said so. And isn’t that what creativity and diversity is all about?

It's been a privilege sharing this space with you and I look forward to doing so again next year. Have a safe and restful holiday.

Philip Patston