Is self-belief or self-doubt the key to making great art?

Four artists known for their ambitious projects share the emotions behind their creative process.
a tightrope walking performer scaling the edge of a high building ledge against a bright blue sky.

They say that the power of self-belief allows people to achieve extraordinary things.

Were Christo and Jeanne-Claude filled with resolute confidence when they set-out to wrap a 2.4-kilometre stretch of Sydney’s Little Bay coastline in woven fibre in 1968?

The work relied on both companies’ specialist knowledge of aerial work in live performance and required the 24 trained performers to undertake high-level acrobatic work, such as tight-wire walking, flying on cranes in harnesses and performing choreography across every surface of the giant replica ship.

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ArtsHub's Arts Feature Writer Jo Pickup is based in Perth. An arts writer and manager, she has worked as a journalist and broadcaster for media such as the ABC, RTRFM and The West Australian newspaper, contributing media content and commentary on art, culture and design. She has also worked for arts organisations such as Fremantle Arts Centre, STRUT dance, and the Aboriginal Arts Centre Hub of WA, as well as being a sessional arts lecturer at The Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA).