Abstract. Creativity that is driven by a need for physical or economic survival, which disasters are likely to inspire, raises the question of whether such creativity fits with conventional theories and perspectives of creativity. In this paper we use the opportunity afforded by the 2010-2013 Christchurch, New Zealand earthquakes to follow and assess the creative practices and responses of a number of groups and individuals. We use in-depth interviews to tease out motivations and read these against a range of theoretical propositions about creativity. In particular, we focus on the construct of "elite panic" and the degree to which this appeared to be evident in the Christchurch earthquakes context. Bureaucratic attempts to control or limit creativity were present but they did not produce a completely blanket dampening effect. Certain individuals and groups seemed to be pre-equipped to navigate or ignore potential blocks to creativity. We argue, using Geir Kaufmann's novelty-creativity matrix and aspects of Teresa Amabile's and Michael G. Pratt's revised componential theory of creativity that a special form of disaster creativity does exist.Keywords: Christchurch, creativity, disasters, earthquakes, elite panic, resilience.Creativity Studies, 2018, 11(1): 10-23 11The need to adapt to the post-disaster environment, and to compensate for what has been altered or lost, generates a different form of creativity. In the absence of a known theory that fits with what was observed during this study, we have amalgamated two models. We use Kaufmann's (2003) routine/novel task taxonomy, which allows creativity to be recognised by degrees in relation to whether novelty resides in the stimulus, the response or both. Amabile's and Pratt's (2016) updated componential model of creativity, which includes the importance of the affective nature of meaningful work, is also applied to assist in clarifying the nature of creativity that took place in Christchurch's post-earthquakes setting.Abundant need can result in an abundance of unusual solutions to problems. Amusing and tolerated in "normal" times, a proliferation of the unique and imaginative in an already unsettling environment is likely to eventually be feared by those who find change unwelcome and threatening. Fritz (1996) and Rebecca Solnit (2010) provide support for the proposition that a creative "paradise" can be found in "hell". However, this moment or period is typically followed and curtailed either by "elite panic" responses in government and emergency management agencies or by the prior conditioning of ordinary individuals which encourages them to regard creativity and creative responses as inherently dangerous or threatening in some way.In this paper, we begin to answer the following questions: 1. Can creative activity and output produced in a post-disaster setting be categorised as "creative", independent of its adaptive capabilities or support role in resilience? 2. To what extent did the appreciation and enablement of creativity suffer from the presence of "el...

In the post‐earthquakes setting of Christchurch, New Zealand, the realization of value for the affected community occurred in a variety of ways. Data for this study were gathered from in‐depth interviews (n = 45) with people involved in a range of creative ventures pursued for commercial or social benefit during the five years following the earthquakes in Christchurch, New Zealand in 2010 and 2011. Perhaps unexpectedly, the unstable setting delivered a multitude of opportunities for entrepreneurship and a reduced level of perceived risk. It was found that characteristics of those implementing creative projects contributed to the initial success of ventures. The characteristics, however, differ in important ways from those found in previous research about the typical psychological propensities associated with those who act on entrepreneurial opportunities. Importantly, the characteristics that led to the activation of ideas in the post‐disaster setting may have also led to their inability to prolong benefits.

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