What would the world look like without the Arts?
TMC Youth Board member, Stella, shares the importance of Art in our world and what would be missing from our lives today if Art didn't exist!
discover more >Welcome to the last blog of the ‘What would the world look like without…’ series.
So far, I have written about alternate worlds where, visual arts, performative art, music and simply the Arts, don’t exist and I think we can all agree that they seem like a pretty dull place to live, from no films to binge to no birthday cake to celebrate with.
This week, I’ll be looking at what would the world be like with the Arts.
Of course, we do already live in a world with Art, so I will be writing from the perspective of a world with all the resources you could ever want or need available for the Arts to flourish.
A society that forgets art risks losing its soul – Camille Pagalia
In my first blog (What would the world look like without visual arts? Which you can read here) I defined Art as ‘anything to do with the application of creativity and imagination’. This means that the Arts are not confined to pieces we see in a gallery or scroll over on social media, but that everything we see and experience in the world around us is Art.
So, let’s have a look at some examples of what a world with all the resources you could ever want or need available for the Arts to flourish might look like.
Example 1
Many of us will have seen a play, whether that be for GCSE studies, pantomimes in winter or simply just because. You may recognize that sometimes the tickets seem to be very pricey and that’s because all theatres or venues where we see plays need to pay the people involved in the making and producing of the play, and the rent of the venue.
Similarly, many people may be hesitant to start art as a hobby due to the price of paints, paper and other materials. So in a perfect world, money would never be a problem, Arts institutions would not have to worry about financing their projects, and individuals could experiment in the Arts without having to wonder at the possibilities of what they could create.
Example 2
The world would be a happier place. Genuinely. There has been research done on the impact of Art on our mental health, the effect is always a good one. And when we look back through history, through dark times when Art thrives, people live less miserably. For example during Covid, many Italians took to their balconies to play music, it reminded the world of the importance of Art especially with a global pandemic going on.
Example 3
The world would be a fairer place. In a previous blog (What would the world look like without Art? Which you can read here) I wrote about how the Arts were used in the Civil rights movement in the USA, in a way that created fairer access to Arts institutions for the African Americans discriminated against due to race. Today, there are many projects, initiatives and organizations set up to tackle inequality in the world through the Arts, for example the Syrian Refugee Art Initiative led by Joel Artista, who works with children in Syrian refugee camps in Jordan to minimize tensions between young people.
A more local example is The Mighty Creatives, who aim ‘to make social justice a reality for young people through arts, culture and creativity’ and Creatives Now, who ‘Through workshops, residencies and public projects, Creatives Now supports emerging voices to explore identity, visibility and community through the arts.’
Art builds communities. Art builds a world where everyone thrives. Seriously, have a think, in what scenario is Art ever a bad thing? I’ll give you a hint, it’s none. Art creates a thriving community, which turns into a culture. It creates a welcoming atmosphere, where everyone lives happier.
In conclusion
The Arts are important; they present themselves in every aspect of the world whether you realize it or not.
And with that, this era of the youth-led social media takeover is over!
I have thoroughly enjoyed creating the arts prompts, Arts Awareness posts and writing each ‘What would the world look like without…’ blog. I hope you have also enjoyed reading them, maybe you learnt about a new Arts practice, maybe I even convinced you to try something new too!
But I’m not saying goodbye forever. You can check out my blog here, where I write more about the Arts and their importance both locally and globally. The youth board is also still up and running, and we’ve got a few very exciting events in the making, so keep your eyes peeled!