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This was a fascinating read especially since I have been discussing the idea of artistic community with my husband. We have moved around a lot to find such a community and haven't found one yet. However, in each community we have take aways and learnings. We crave finding that community and we recently came across a very small location that seems to host a LOT of artistic people from the surrounding hamlets. We shall see if we decide to move there next. Finding artsy people to have good, deep discussions with is the spark to our growth. This can be achieved in-person as well as virtual. These days our gatherings take on a different form. I appreciate your take on Substack as well. Keep the thoughts and questions coming.

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That’s so interesting, that you’ve been moving around in search of an artistic community. It would be truly special to find a like minded creative haven that freely discusses and shares ideas, supporting everyone who is part of the community. Sometimes, I think this would be much more easily accessible offline -- most of the online spaces I’ve found don’t really seem to foster a true exchange of ideas, even a few of the paid artists communities I’ve joined from time to time. But Substack feels different; it’s freer and more open and it seems easier to strike conversations here. It will be interesting to see how this space evolves. And I hope you find the artistic community you’ve been seeking.

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Thank you for sharing your thoughts on the concept of a "scenius", I have to look up the dictionary to understand the meaning. It's fascinating to explore how creative communities and interactions can impact our work and shape our perspectives. It provides a platform for sharing ideas, receiving feedback, and finding inspiration. It is because of this belief that I am trying to create a collaborative space at Coffee Times to serve as valuable meeting points for connecting with like-minded individuals and fostering creativity. Keep sharing Shinjini and keep connecting.

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It truly is fascinating to think about how community, collaboration, and sharing ideas can give rise to greater creativity. I love what you’re doing with Coffee Times, and giving the space to us to share our ideas and words so freely.

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As a member of a community of writers this really resonates with me, I'll share this ASAP

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I'm so glad to hear that - thank you for sharing, too! :)

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Shinjini , I love this. My creative lineage is the photographers of the past, particularly those innovators who created physical photographic processes, and the period between the late 1800s to the 1980s. I look to the past because I see extraordinary work that was created long before digital photography and chasing likes was a thing: if Gordon Parks or Ernst Haas can use one camera and one lens to create vital work, then in theory, so should I. I know I need to come out of my comfort zone and look at the present as well, because if I don’t, I’m bound to miss something incredible.

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I know just what you mean, Elle. Looking at artists who lived and worked before the age of the internet is such a potent reminder to find joy and meaning in our creative work away from the limelight of likes and follows. Those can be the cherry on the cake, but shouldn’t dictate or impact our creative output. Equally, we need to balance how we show up + how we work (techniques, tools) with the things that inspire us and the things that we have access to today.

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Oh how delicious, a new word to me! Never heard of it and I’m thrilled by ‘a scenius of the ‘dead’’. Just hearing the words Bloomsbury Group or Paris Salon make me nostalgic for a time I didn’t even know. I don’t want to sentimentalise the groups nor the period - I’m sure their were wretched people and sycophants no different to now - but, there were times when artists made art for art’s sake. Because they had no choice but to get it out of themselves, because they wanted to create passions and lift emotions and make people feel deeply, because they wanted to bring beauty into the world in the way they knew how.

On the one hand the modern age has given everyone permission to be an ‘artist, and on the other we’ve reduced it to a focus on the individual. The influencers, the celebrity artists, their follower count being their badge into an imagined elite. But that ‘elite’ might run in the same circles but they’re not a circle, not a scenically by a long stretch. There was very likely vanity & competition in those legendary groups by the odd passing individual, but they held together because the art, the creative output, was the glue. Now competitiveness & distrust seems to reign supreme.

The only solution, to me, is to keep trusting that either your tribe or your scenius can happen, whichever you need. But it takes a good deal of sifting through the muck.

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Mmmmm. Taking in this richly layered post. Your art, the photos, the expansiveness of the notion of an online space giving organic rise to the extreme creativity engendered by of a scenius. Wow. That’s more than just a little beautiful.

While collectives like Bloomsbury, the Paris Salon, Motown, and the like aren’t new to me (are aspirations even), this concept of scenius is. And it’s lighting up my mind. This is the third time today I’ve been reminded of the importance of creating in community.

Thank you for giving choice to this wildly enticing way of looking at creating here and at possibility. ❤️

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Bloomsbury, Motown, and the like are truly aspirational! It would be electrifying, I think, to find a community like that! I don’t know of too many such spaces in modern times, though I’m sure some may exist, somewhere. And I’m hopeful about Substack and this space we are all creating here.

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