Creativity Is Bigger Than Art

Andrea Mardon

5 hours ago

3 min read

When we talk about creativity, we often think immediately of the arts. Painting, writing, music, photography, film. We think of people who call themselves artists, who have a particular talent or have spent years developing their craft. But creativity is much bigger than the arts.

We use creativity whenever we approach something with curiosity, imagine possibilities, make connections or find a new way of doing things. It's there when we solve a problem, put together a meal from what's in the fridge, tell a story, build something or see a familiar place in a completely different light.

The arts are one of the most powerful ways we explore and express creativity, but they don't have exclusive ownership of it.

Learning to See Differently

At Creative Semester, we're interested in how creativity shapes the way we experience the world.

Imagine two people walking along the Normandy coast. One notices the changing colours of the sea, while another becomes curious about an abandoned building on the cliffs. They're experiencing the same place, but seeing it differently. What captures our attention is shaped by our experiences, interests and curiosity.

Creativity begins when we follow those interests and do something with what we discover, whether that's making a painting, telling a story or simply finding a new way to understand the world.

The Value of Making Things

This doesn't mean that artistic skills aren't important. Quite the opposite.

Learning to draw, paint, write or make a film gives us tools to explore our ideas and express our individual viewpoints. The more we develop those skills, the more possibilities open up. But there's also enormous value in making something simply to see what happens.

You don't have to be a painter to discover something through painting. You don't have to be a writer to find that putting words on a page helps you understand an experience. Sometimes the process of making something reveals an idea we didn't know we had.

Creativity Belongs to Everyone

Somewhere along the way, many of us begin to divide people into those who are creative and those who aren't.

But creativity isn't a special ability reserved for artists. It's a human capacity that we can all develop, whatever our interests or abilities.

Designer David Kelley explores this idea in his TED Talk How to Build Your Creative Confidence. He challenges the belief that only certain people are creative and encourages us to rediscover the confidence to experiment, take risks and try new things.

That idea resonates deeply with us. We believe creativity flourishes when people have the freedom to explore their interests, encounter unfamiliar ideas and try things without worrying too much about getting them right.

A Creative Way of Life

This philosophy shapes the experiences we create at Berridge.

We value artistic skills and the dedication it takes to develop them. But we also believe that inspiration comes from participating in the world around us. That's why our programs take us beyond the studio. We explore landscapes, meet artists and craftspeople, visit markets, discover local traditions and spend time with people whose experiences are different from our own. These encounters encourage us to notice more, ask questions, make connections and develop our own perspectives.

Ultimately, creativity isn't just about what we produce. It's about how we approach the world, how we respond to new experiences and what we discover when we allow ourselves to be curious.

Because you don't have to be an artist to live a creative life.