Creativity? It’s child’s play, marketing expert tells Athar Festival workshop

Ahmed says that embracing one’s inner child is vital for one to fully allow themselves to be creative. (AN Photo/Sulafa Alkhunaizi)

• True to her word, Ahmed had participants in the workshop don superhero masks and tell their creative stories with crayon and paper
• At work, Ahmed often relies on an assortment of interactive tools to encourage innovation

RIYADH: The secret to unlocking creativity is simple — just embrace your inner child, entrepreneur Anam Ahmed told an interactive workshop at the Saudi Festival of Creativity, Athar, in Riyadh on Wednesday.
True to her word, Ahmed had participants in the workshop don superhero masks and tell their creative stories with crayon and paper.
Ahmed, founder and chief creative officer of Dubai-based marketing agency the Hanging House, set out to “unleash creativity” at the workshop through imagination and play, an approach she encourages in her own office.
At work, Ahmed often relies on an assortment of interactive tools to encourage innovation.
“There is a great software called Tilt Brush by Google. It allows you to paint in 3D with virtual reality, so you are standing in your drawing. Just these little bursts of play are really encouraged. No one is put on a timer,” she said.
“There was a corporate party that we arranged for one of our really prestigious clients. We gave them so many things to do there, and, funny enough, they were all gathered at the play area, so there was this inherent urge to just have fun.”
Ahmed believes any office space can introduce similar approaches to inject creativity.
“Allowing people to do that (be creative) is important. Obviously, we are in a workspace, and there are timings and headlines, but encouraging having fun is important. Have clay at your table, or playdough, or a desk dedicated to a bunch of things.”
Embracing one’s inner child is vital for those seeking to develop personal creativity, she said.
“We are living in a world where we actually hold back on our creativity because we’re afraid. I think at the end of the day, what it really comes down to is a sense of fear. It’s a fear of judgment, it’s a fear of imperfection, and there’s all these different types of fears associated with you holding yourself back.”
Ahmed believes there is a sense of childishness within all of us.
“Your inner child is the part of you that is curious, that has a sense of wonder, that is free from judgment, doesn’t really care about societal norms. It’s that small part of the human side that hasn’t been framed by society in some sense.
“It’s something that you carry with you from the time you were a child, and as you grew up, that sense remains with you.”