Declaration of Purpose
Every society depends on the qualities it chooses to elevate. If we want a more considerate, enlightened, and democratic future, we must place imagination where decisions are made. We must recognize artists not as decoration or entertainment, but as carriers of civic intelligence, practitioners whose curiosity, empathy, and capacity for vision are essential to the health of a democracy. Res Creativa exists to establish this missing civic function.
“Artist” names a wide spectrum of disciplines: painters, musicians, authors, actors, dancers, architects, filmmakers, and the technicians who make creative work possible. Across these practices, we share deep curiosity and an almost boundless imagination.
To create, artists cultivate observation, perseverance, resilience, originality, self‑criticism, and a willingness to experiment. We tolerate ambiguity. We understand courage. We carry empathy in abundance. We value difference without demanding uniformity.
Imagine a society where these qualities are present wherever decisions are made that affect any of us. I can.
Our shared humanity would improve if artists were present at every level of civic decision‑making. Instead of treating us as decoration or entertainment, society could recognize imagination as a form of civic intelligence. That intelligence should be embedded inside the systems that currently obstruct social progress.
Our values could increase compassion, reduce cruelty, elevate human rights, expand literacy, and prioritize equality. We can spread joy. We know how to rehearse and improvise. We understand proportion and scale, balance and harmony, rhythm and emphasis.
Artists are masters of storytelling, architects of empathy, and visionaries who challenge the status quo. We help society process shared emotions, confront uncomfortable truths, and imagine a better future. We bridge cultural divides and inspire change by giving voice to the human experience.
This is why I founded Res Creativa — a constitutional body of imagination.
Res Creativa exists to place the artist’s voice where it is structurally needed in society. Which is everywhere decisions are made. Especially now. Artists across every discipline must help design the future instead of having our gifts shaped by political decisions made by those who lack our baseline qualities.
Three months ago, I began recruiting artists and arts enthusiasts to lend their names as Founders of Res Creativa. Nearly one hundred of you have signed on.
Together, we are establishing a new civic function. Founders are now using their imaginations to set ambitious (and sometimes outrageous) goals that can be achieved within five years. These achievements will make us a more considerate, enlightened, and democratic society.
We must champion the potential of all human beings rather than feed a system that benefits a select few. And individual artists of all disciplines now have a place to do that. A civic place. Res Creativa.
If you possess the instinct to look closer, question the world, and translate your internal experiences into forms that help others see, hear, or understand, then you already belong inside this work.
Res Creativa is not asking for your support. It is recognizing your authority.
If you are an artist — in discipline, in practice, or in spirit — becoming a Founder is not an invitation.
It is the next step in claiming the civic role your imagination was built for.
— Randall White
1 Public Figures (1998–2023), Do Ho Suh. Jesmonite, aluminum, and polyester resin. Courtesy of the artist and Lehmann Maupin (New York, Seoul, and London).
2 The Rules of Production, Shiseido Gallery, Tokyo. Exhibition developed by Assemble in collaboration with Granby Workshop, part of Assemble’s ongoing work with Liverpool’s Granby Four Streets neighborhood. Courtesy of Assemble and Granby Workshop.
3 JR, Inside Out Project, At the Panthéon, Inside the Panthéon (2014), Paris, France. Participatory installation commissioned by the Centre des monuments nationaux. Courtesy of JR / Inside Out Project.
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