How Outdoor Play Shapes Creativity, Confidence and Resilience.

This week Katie, founder of 'The Stunt Artists' spoke with the Institute for Outdoor Learning as part of their Play to Thrive webinar. An event that brings together specialists in outdoor adventure, education and the environment.

The Stunt Artists was built on a simple belief:

Creativity is fire. Adventure is the spark. And fun is the antidote to life.

That rebellious mix is exactly why we're joining this conversation.

During the session, Katie explores how adventurous childhood play shapes the way we think, create and show up later in life. We’ll look at how outdoor play develops:

• Agency through risky, hands-on decision-making

• Awareness through choice, consequence and curiosity

• Responsibility through our connection to local ecosystems

The Stunt Artists exist to prove that creativity isn’t a luxury — it’s a force for resilience, courage and unconventional thinking. Outdoor play fuels that. It always has.

Here’s the Truth

Real learning doesn’t thrive in perfectly controlled environments.
It thrives in the wild, the unpredictable, the hands-on.

The places where confidence is earned.
Where imagination expands.
Where creativity becomes something you feel — not something you “study.”

This webinar opened up a conversation the world desperately needs:
adventurous outdoor play isn’t dangerous. It’s essential.

Why Adventurous Play Still Wins

Modern childhood is wrapped in caution.
Fewer risks. More rules.

Safer? Technically, yes.
Better for raising strong, creative, resilient humans? Absolutely not.

Adventurous play builds what classrooms struggle to teach:

• Agency and independence

• Creativity under pressure

• Resilience through real challenge

• Confidence from pushing limits

• Responsibility learned through consequence

One of my favourite quotes from the session:

“Your fear that your kid will get hurt is depriving them of something they’ll never get back.”

Marcus Elliott, MD of P3 Peak Performance Project

A bold reminder:
when we remove all risk, we remove half the learning.

Where Adventure and Creativity Collide

Katie built The Stunt Artists on the belief that creativity needs motion, uncertainty and a little chaos.

Our projects turn real-world adventures into fine art and film. Proving that when you step outside the predictable, imagination reacts like a spark hitting oxygen.

Creativity at The Stunt Artists looks like:

• Making art inspired by flight sports

• Turning global adventures into visual storytelling

• Collaborating with world-class adventurers and creatives

• Creating fine art fuelled by movement, challenge and curiosity

It’s not creativity in a quiet studio.
It’s creativity with altitude, adrenaline and intention.

The Stunt Artists’ Perspective on Outdoor Learning

What I shared during the webinar aligns with what we experience daily:

• Adventure grows creativity more than routine ever will

• Uncertainty forces innovation

• Play fuels imagination

• Fun is a powerful form of learning

We don’t need more structured perfection.
We need more real experiences, more exploration, more freedom for play to do what it does best.

This Isn’t Just About Children

Yes, the Play to Thrive webinar centred on young people.
But the message hits adults just as hard.

Most adults are over-scheduled and under-inspired.
When adventure disappears, creativity follows.

But the moment adults step back into challenge, movement or fun:

• Creativity wakes up

• Confidence returns

• Stress dissolves

• Perspective widens

Adventure isn’t something we grow out of.
It’s something we grow back into.

Championing a More Adventurous Creative Life

Being invited to speak at the Institute for Outdoor Learning’s webinar was a powerful reminder of why I founded The Stunt Artists in the first place:

To prove that creativity and adventure are not extras: they are foundations.

For children.
For adults.
For anyone who wants to live a life that feels bold, expressive and fully alive.

The Stunt Artists will continue to champion the rebellious side of creativity: the side fuelled by movement, courage and true fun.

Explore our creative adventure projects here.

Katie Hollinshead 
Artist & Founder