Description
Addressing challenges in a globe facing rapid flux, exponentially growing knowledge, and increasing uncertainty and volatility requires that we begin by making rather than thinking. Moreso, we must learn effective ways of making that unlock thinking and get results. Aithan Shapira MFA PhD began at the Royal College of Art and Design and set off to study the most proficient, unconventional makers and maker-educators—artists and leading art colleges from around the globe—and dissect their processes for reframing challenges, shifting perspectives, deeply observing, experimenting, and collaborating. Making to Think integrates these creative skillsets with change-makers and their teams to turn disruption into opportunity, ambiguity into achievement, and change into maximized innovative output.
This two-day program convenes Cyprus’ prominent entrepreneurs, diplomats, executives, and cultural leaders jointly in immersive workshops designed to uncover unique perspectives and arts-based tools for observation, analysis, and problem-solving as differentiating strategy for leading change. Curated as a sequence of four sessions, the first is a talk that rethinks strategies for generating creativity with effective ways of making in order to think that emerge in studio progressions of art giants from Jackson Pollock to David Hockney. Session 2 brings you within an arm’s length of top musicians to listen and rethink leadership. Be prepared to roll up your sleeves in Session 3 for hands-on immersion that challenges assumptions and conventional strategies, and builds confidence in uncertainty. Session 4 will meet at the Leventis Gallery for a far from conventional tour and exercises that dive deep into decision-making from the maker’s perspective.
Aithan Shapira
Aithan Shapira works with business, social and art influencers to change the way we see things in order to change the way things get done. He is leading the revolution in how people apply creativity. Aithan employs his PhD research on creative process and background in fine arts and music as creative and strategic consulting to Fortune 500 companies; in diverse entrepreneurial, corporate, and engineering innovation teams; and to the education sphere. He has distilled creative skillsets at the roots of art-making practices from leading global art and design colleges and artists across three continents over 14 years—including living and working with an Aboriginal Australian community over three years on a research grant to study innovation in cultures of survival—from which he has co-designed and integrated for prototyping projects on global innovation teams, leadership development, and organizational structure and culture. At MIT Sloan School of Management, Aithan is pioneering workshops, courses, and developing emergent research where art and business meet in leadership development, talent retention, progressive prototyping, organizational and cultural structure, and behavior-shifting. He has been invited to give a TEDx Talk, launch MIT’s Hacking Arts, participate at Summit Series, and HATCH. Aithan is also Co-Founder of limeSHIFT and The Global Institute for the Arts and Leadership, startups out of MIT at the juncture of business, art, and social enterprise. In his own studio, he draws, paints, and sculpts as an internationally-recognized visual artist. Aithan stays up at night striving to collaborate on teams hatching arts-based experiences that activate and multiply creative results to drive urgent global progress.
Panos Panay
Panos Panay is the Founding Managing Director of Berklee ICE (Institute for Creative Entrepreneurship) as well as a passionate entrepreneur and active startup mentor in the creative media space. As the founder of Sonicbids, he created the leading platform for bands to book gigs and market themselves online, building a subscriber network of 550,000 bands and 35,000 promoters from over 100 countries. He led the company as CEO for 13 years, from its inception until after its successful acquisition by Backstage LLC, in a deal backed by Guggenheim Partners. Panos is widely credited for spotting and capitalizing early on three distinct emerging trends in the music business over the last decade: the shift to a primarily online means of marketing; the emergence of an “artistic middle class”; and the shift from a record-label funded industry to a consumer brand-funded music business. He writes weekly about startups and entrepreneurship for blogs and publications such as Huffington Post, Forbes, WSJ Accelerators and Fast Company; and guest lectures at universities including MIT Engineering, MIT Sloan, Boston University, Brown University, and Wharton School of Business He speaks often at industry and private events like SXSW, MIDEM and TEDx. As a passionate arts and business advocate Panos serves on a number of boards including being the Chair of Berklee College of Music’s Presidential Advisory Council for seven years. He is a die-hard supporter of English football club Arsenal F.C. Awards include: Fast Company’s “Fast 50” honor; Inc Magazine’s “Inc 500”; Mass Hi-Tech All Stars; Berklee College’s Distinguished Alumnus Award; and Boston Business Journal’s “40 under 40” and BostInno’s “50 on Fire”. Sonicbids and Panos were also profiled in a chapter in the Financial Times-published book “Outsmart” by best-selling author Jim Champy.
- Centre for Entrepreneurship (C4E)
- University of Cyprus MBA Programme
- Berklee Institute for Creative Entrepreneurship
Supporters:
- Bank of Cyprus
- Kathimerini
- Available online via Eventbrite
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Registration
09:00 - 09:30
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Welcome Notes / Introduction
09:30 - 10:00
B108
Professor. Marios D. Dikaiakos - Director, Centre for Entrepreneurship (C4E)
Professor. Constantinos Chrystofides - Rector, University of Cyprus
Mr. Panos Panay - Berklee ICE Director
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Session #1 - Making to Think - Leadership Through Art
10:00 - 11:00
B108
Audience: Everybody
A talk that rethinks strategies for generating creativity--introducing effective ways of making that unlock thinking by looking at studio progressions of art giants from Jackson Pollock to David Hockney
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Break
11:00 - 11:15
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Session #2 - Michalis Hadjimichael Musical Team
11:15 - 12:15
010, ΚΟΔ03
Audience: CEOs, Entrepreneurs, Executives, Diplomats, Culture Leaders
Immersion within an arm’s length of top musicians to listen and engage in rethinking leadership.
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Break
12:15 - 12:30
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Session #3 - Immersion: Making for Results
12:30 - 13:30
001, ΚΟΔ03
Audience: CEOs, Entrepreneurs, Executives, Diplomats, Culture Leaders
Hands-on immersion in processes of making that challenge our assumptions and conventional strategies and build confidence in uncertainty.
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Lunch
13:30 - 15:00
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Session #3 - Immersion: Making for Results
15:00 - 16:00
001, ΚΟΔ03
Audience: Executives, Public Administration, Municipalities, Universities, Other Institutions
Hands-on immersion in processes of making that challenge our assumptions and conventional strategies and build confidence in uncertainty.
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Break
16:00 - 16:30
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Session #4 - Immersion: Making for Results
16:30 - 17:30
001, ΚΟΔ03
Audience: Students, Entrepreneurs, Researchers
Hands-on immersion in processes of making that challenge our assumptions and conventional strategies and build confidence in uncertainty.
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Open Mentorship Session
17:30 - 18:00
001, ΚΟΔ03
Audience: Students, Entrepreneurs, Researchers
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Session #5 - Gallery Tour
11:00 - 13:00
Leventis Art Gallery
Audience: CEOs, Entrepreneurs, Executives, Diplomats, Culture Leaders
A far from conventional tour and exercises that dive deep into decision-making from the maker’s perspective.
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Lunch and Networking
13:00 - 15:00