Longitude Sound BytesEp 05: Authentic creativity | Jasmeet Sidhu – by Bilge Arslan (Listen)

Jasmeet Sidhu, supervising creative producer at MasterClass.com, San Francisco:

Hi. I’m Jasmeet Sidhu, and I’m supervising creative producer at MasterClass.com,  based here in San Francisco.

Creativity is such an elusive concept. It’s something that we all seek and want in our lives in many ways, whether or not we are artists.

How do you become creative? How do you sustain creativity? How do you harness that creativity in productivity? How do you develop creative taste?

I think these are all questions for those who work in creative fields like myself are constantly asking.

In my line of work, I get to help create MasterClasses with some of the most creative minds in the world: photographer Annie Leibovitz, Vogue editor Anna Wintour, director Ron Howard, actress Helen Mirren, DaVinci code author Dan Brown are just some of the creatives we have on the website.

What’s interesting to me, is that they all have a different approach when it comes to creativity and the creative process. No process is the same.

I think what this tells me, with over 80 people that we’ve now interviewed on the website, is that you have to let your process be your own.

There’s no magic formula for being successful, and certainly there’s no magic formula for being creative.

But you have to continually allow space for that creative energy to flow through your life.

For myself, its important that I engage with projects that have nothing to do with my work, or for gain for my career. These projects become a safe space for me to express, make mistakes, and live in the safety that no one has to see what I make in the light of day.

That’s what helps me keep my creative juices flowing and sharpened when I do have to bring those muscles into my work.  That’s what creativity means to me.

Bilge Arslan, Longitude fellow, Yale-NUS College, Singapore:

Thanks for sharing your valuable insights with us, Jasmeet! I find the idea that we should think of creativity as unique to each individual quite interesting. I also think that there is not a magic formula to become creative.

Related to this, I want to go back to Jasmeet’s point about the importance of engaging with projects that are completely different from work. I resonate with this idea a lot because I enjoy ballroom dancing in my free time and it serves as the fresh air I need in between my studies.

More importantly, it helps me see things from a different perspective, which allows me to be more creative. I learn about how harmony and good communication with and respect for each other can lead to an aesthetic show that the audience enjoys. The intricacies of dance then teach me to pay attention to small details that can bring about creativity in other areas as well.

So, what is your creativity and where do you find it? The journey through which we explore the answers to these questions can be creativity itself!

We hope you enjoyed todays segment. Please feel free to share your thoughts over social media and in the comments, or write to us at podcast@longitude.site. We would love to hear from you.

Join us next time for more unique insights on Longitude Sound Bytes.