Social Installations: Creative Thinging

What if a podcast could do more than talk about ideas — what if it could actually bring them to life? Social Installations is a real-time collaborative podcast in which four participants dream up a “something,” plan it together on air, and then make it happen in the world.  The idea grew from a PhD project rabbit hole, exploring the crossroads of creative agency, transformational creativity, and social commentary. The result is a format in which four women dream up a “something,” plan it together on air in real time, and then endeavor to make it happen in the world — publicly and without a script. The catch? The project only happens if our audience decides it should by funding it. The title “Social Installations” draws on the concept of “creative thinging,” developed by Oxford researcher Lambros Malafouris — the idea that creativity doesn’t just happen in our heads, but through action, collaboration, and engagement with the world around us. Social Installations embodies that idea: the crossing from idea to thing is where transformation lives. Season One: The Road Trip Four middle-aged women who all work in the arts and entertainment industry plan a seven-day road trip through scenic BC — live, on the podcast, without having spoken to each other about the trip beforehand. Each woman chooses one destination and one public creative installation to execute there. An uncertain Road Trip documentary follows.