Creativity is not limited to the arts or a special skillset

Last week, Ayesha Almazroui made a compelling argument for the importance of arts education as part of the overall strategy to make the UAE one of the most innovative nations in the world. I believe that creativity, in general, is crucial for innovation across various sectors of society and that the arts are a great way to promote creativity.

Picasso once said that all children are born artists but growing up, we were generally discouraged from seriously exploring the arts in exchange for “more useful” subjects. This is why it is so important to start nurturing creativity in schools. Traditionally, I have found that many school systems stifle creativity for the sake of conformity, structure and standardised test scores.

Look back at how the education system has evolved. It was created to meet the needs of industrialisation. As a result, a hierarchy of subjects was created and this ensured that the students churned out of the educational system would fit the needs of the industrialised system. No matter where in the world you go, up top it’s always maths and science, then the humanities, and all the way at the bottom come the arts. As someone who loved maths and physics and chemistry with a passion, I do not think I would have been able to do as well in these subjects had I not taken full advantage of the art, drama and music departments at my disposal as well. But I had the privilege of attending a private school, where more attention was paid to extra-curricular activities and facilities. Unfortunately, the arts never get much of a chance in most public school systems around the world.

I believe that creativity is not only essential in schools but also fundamental to society and, by extension, to the well-being of our economy. It is a dynamic process that involves fresh thinking.

While growing up, children are often put into boxes: “artists” vs “academics”. I think these distinctions are not only false but misleading. Creativity is not reserved for the arts, it is not reserved for special people, nor is it identified by a narrow set of talents. My experiences have shown me that the opposite is true. Everyone has the ability to be creative. It is something that can develop across different fields and encompass a variety of skills.

Not only should we encourage people to be creative, but as a society, we need to learn to be receptive to it by being open to non-traditional careers, policies, and approaches.

One way to do this is to rethink how we measure intelligence. We tend to equate academic ability with intelligence. But intelligence can manifest itself in many different ways. I have come across so many brilliant creative people in my life who did not consider themselves highly intelligent because they were good at things that aren’t traditionally valued either in school or by the community. You always hear that in order to be truly successful you need to love what you do, and I believe that the source and driver of creativity comes from that passion. Therefore, we need to have the flexibility to allow people to explore what they are passionate about instead of forcing them to conform.

Over the past few years it has made me happy to see how much Emirati society has embraced the arts, from exhibiting in international art shows, investing in the development of world-class museums to hosting film festivals and attracting a consistent flow of musical performances from around the world. I believe that we need more of the arts to inspire people and that instead of relying importing it, it would be beneficial to focus on developing our domestic talents.

Whereas we seem more comfortable with the art world, and more recently, the film world, I think we can expand to areas that Emiratis have generally shied away from. Music, dance and acting as well as encouraging the traditional arts such as calligraphy and poetry. Even if these things aren’t done at a professional level, creative outlets are often the perfect source of innovation and we need to pay them just as much attention as other fields.

Fatima Al Shamsi is a globe­trotting Emirati foodie, film buff and football fanatic