Core Value No 4: Through Small Acts Of Understanding We Can Enable Big Thinking

AccessArt Core Value #4 “Through small acts of understanding we can enable big thinking.” illustrated by Rachel Ng

AccessArt Value #4: Through small acts of understanding we can enable big thinking by Rachel Ng

Rachel Ng is a young illustrator from Hong Kong, currently studying illustration at Arts University Bournemouth. Her vibrant digital illustrations with bold characters are deeply inspired by fauvism and minimalism. Creating expressive and heart-warming illustrations, with different textures and shapes is one of her main explorations. 

We love the story that this illustration by Rachel Ng tells. Building from a simple seed, the days and nights pass providing the nourishment that the seed needed to grow. The little faces and characters put such a smile on our faces and the colours are so joyful, it’s hard not to feel excited by what the small acts of understanding can bring us when you see this illustration.

We feel that this illustration really resonates with the AccessArt core value, highlighting that great ideas and growth can take time, and the importance of trusting in the bigger picture and the incremental steps to get there, remaining patient and open to the journey, no matter how long it takes.

AccessArt Value #4

Through small acts of understanding we can enable big thinking.

How can we create small stepping stones of experience which enable us to explore complex ideas and experiences?

Comforting as it is to know that “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step,”* knowing what that single step might be is not always easy. In reality, growing our understanding so that we can aim to be expansive, visionary thinkers, whilst able to act incrementally to make change, doesn’t just happen; it requires planning, effort and commitment.

At AccessArt we have always been inspired by big thinking, and we have never hesitated to have our heads in a cloud space where ideas swirl around. We have always been interested in the why as well as the how; at our heart we are a philosophical organisation.

But our feet are firmly planted on the ground, and understanding how we create and present a series of smaller experiences which help us move towards an often unknown, but always intriguing, bigger understanding, is one of our strengths.

Keeping clear sight of the bigger picture, whilst being able to distil down key ideas or skills, is vital in enabling individuals or communities to feel like they can trust the logic of the next step, or the next stage, whilst being inspired onwards by the bigger prize. Trusting too that understanding builds even when the process isn’t linear, and that getting lost along the way might make for a richer journey and deeper understanding.

This way of thinking applies to all creative thought and action – from the teachers and children in Primary School, to decision making in larger organisations. We are proud that as an organisation we can help enable this way of thinking and acting.

*Lao Tzu

See our other Core Values here.

Paula, April 2024