Artists can get their first inspiration for what they want to do in their lives when they see another person’s work. Early encounters with theater, television shows, movies, books, or music can serve as catalysts for a lifetime in the arts. At the most fundamental level, experiencing the art of others can demonstrate that such a career pathway is possible. In this chapter, artists remember moments of seeing, hearing, watching, or experiencing a life-changing piece of art. Some artists continue in that specific domain, whereas others might be initially inspired by one domain but find a better artistic home in another domain. An artist’s early efforts may even be directly inspired by another piece of work.

For many (if not most) artists, their work is a key part of who they are. Their creative efforts help shape their identity and how they see themselves in the world. It is not just the generic notion of “being an artist,” but rather their specific field, style, and project that define their self-concept. Some discuss the parallels between creating art and creating an identity; both involve generating different possible ideas and ultimately choosing the best one. They also talk about the process of learning to think of themselves as artists.

Many have written about the importance of creativity as it relates to preparation for the modern workforce; such statements emphasize individual skill and societal factors. In the coming decades, creativity is predicted to be one of the skills in greatest demand (Bakhshi et al., 2017), and is one of the least likely skills to be automated (Frey & Osborne, 2017). Adolescence is a time with enormous potential for creative growth, which is necessary in the lifetime trajectory of creative development. Adolescence is also, however, a time when individuals are especially likely to abandon creative passions and pursuits. Though adolescence is both a consequential and promising time in creative development, it has not been studied as thoroughly as creativity in childhood and adulthood. This chapter covers the research supporting the argument for an increased focus on the development and enhancement of creativity in adolescence, and reviews a breadth of research that addresses this goal.