Teaching Creativity in a World of AI and Uncertainty: Keith Sawyer’s Art School Insights #354
Description
Teaching Creativity in a World of AI and Uncertainty: Keith Sawyer’s Art School Insights #354
In this episode of the SuperCreativity Podcast, James Taylor interviews Dr. R. Keith Sawyer, one of the world’s leading experts on creativity, learning, and innovation. Keith is the Morgan Distinguished Professor of Educational Innovation at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and author of 19 books on the science of creativity—including his latest, Learning to See: Inside the World’s Leading Art and Design Schools.
Based on a decade of immersive research across top BFA and MFA programs, Learning to See explores how artists and designers are taught to transform their perception, navigate uncertainty, and unlock deeper creative thinking. In this conversation, Keith shares why the most creative people don’t start with an idea—they discover it through making. You’ll learn how great teachers foster creative breakthroughs, the power of constraints, why failure is redefined in creative environments, and what business and AI leaders can learn from the artistic process.
Whether you’re an entrepreneur, educator, engineer, or executive, this episode will change how you think about creativity, leadership, and innovation.
🎙️ Top 5 Soundbites:
“You can’t tell someone how to see. You have to guide them through a transformation.” – Keith Sawyer
“Making is thinking. It’s through engaging with materials that surprising new ideas emerge.”
“Students arrive with talent—but they haven’t yet learned how to find the problem worth solving.”
“AI can help with problem-solving. But it can’t yet help with problem-finding—and that’s where the most creative work lives.”
“Failure is not failure. It’s a mismatch between intention and result—and often, that mismatch is the breakthrough.”
Links & Resources:
📘 Learning to See: Inside the World’s Leading Art and Design Schools – Buy on Amazon
🎧 The Science of Creativity Podcast – Listen here
📬 Keith’s Substack newsletter – Subscribe
🔍 James Taylor’s SuperCreativity Podcast – All Episodes
Takeaways
Creativity is not a trait—it’s a choice, repeated again and again.
Emotions are not barriers to creativity—they are information that guide the process.
Cultural perceptions of creativity dramatically affect confidence and identity.
Creative block often comes from emotional overload, not lack of talent or ideas.
Sustained creativity is fueled not only by inner drive but by social ecosystems.
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