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Earlier this month, I had the opportunity to attend A Creativity Revival 2025 in Milan, a two-day gathering hosted by the Moleskine Foundation exploring how creativity can drive equity, repair, and systems change. The event brought together artists, activists, educators, and cultural leaders from around the world to reflect on the role of creativity in social transformation.
Atlantic Fellow for Racial Equity, Lwando Xaso, was a lead member of the event’s curatorial team and brilliantly hosted and moderated a number of sessions, helping to weave together diverse voices and perspectives throughout the programme. Lwando is also the editor of the Moleskine Foundation’s flagship publication, Folios, with the latest volume exploring A Beautiful Question: On Liminality, Repair and Surrender - the very theme that shaped and inspired the gathering itself. I was also thrilled to spot some familiar faces - including Lily James Olds from TED Fellows, as well as Dedo Branshamaje from the Segal Family Foundation - both passionate advocates for creativity as a catalyst for social change. Our conversations opened up exciting possibilities for collaboration and deepened our shared commitment to advancing this work together.
The programme opened with An Evening of Words to Remake the World, featuring writer Cole Arthur Riley, activist Kumi Naidoo, and creative strategist Gabriella Gómez-Mont, who each spoke about language as a tool for resistance, justice, and civic imagination.
The following day took the form of a collaborative “un-conference,” where discussions ranged from climate action and democracy to mental health and migration, all through a creative lens.
For me, the gathering was a powerful reminder that creativity is an essential force for equity and systems change. It gives voice to the marginalised, fosters empathy, and helps communities imagine and build more just futures. The arts and creativity are also proven drivers of health and wellbeing and, given their relative affordability and universal accessibility, they represent one of the most equitable pathways to human flourishing available to us.
The conversations also surfaced an important challenge: bridging the gap between the cultural, philanthropic, and development sectors. Advancing equity requires that we both recognise and resource the creative practitioners and organisations already leading this work - and that we move beyond symbolic support to treat creativity as essential infrastructure for social transformation. This means embedding creative practice within philanthropic and development strategies, investing in long-term partnerships, and valuing the imagination as a measurable driver of impact. Only by connecting these sectors can we unlock the full potential of creativity to reimagine and rebuild more just and equitable systems.
A Creativity Revival 2025 was both inspiring and grounding — a reminder that imagination is infrastructure for transformation.
News article by Kathrine Bond, Global Partnerships Lead.
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