"Politicians don't bring people together. Artists do." -- Richard Daley (former Mayor of Chicago)
The Americans for the Arts Action Fund issued a report card grading representatives based on their support of the arts. It shows that most Democrats support the continuation of funding for the arts while Republicans oppose this funding. Romney has stated in an effort to cut the budget by $9.6 trillion in non-defense cuts, he intends on cutting funding to art programs, including PBS. The problem with this is not that he would be cutting funding, but that the amount of money spent on the arts and PBS is so minimal it would not even make a dent in our deficit. Suzy Khimm explains that getting rid of Amtrak, PBS, and the National Endowment for the Arts and Humanities funding “would have saved the government about $2 billion this year -- chump change relative to the scale of cuts that Romney wants.” The amount of funding PBS receives in one year is equal to 6 hours of the defense budget. I am not arguing that the defense budget is unnecessary, maybe somewhat excessive, what I am arguing is that cutting the arts is not the way to reign in overspending.
Arts in elementary schools have been shown to help develop cognitive and creative skills along with children’s imaginations. Edutopia, the George Lucas Educational Foundation, claims, “Years of research show that [art is] closely linked to almost everything that we as a nation say we want for our children and demand from our schools: academic achievement, social and emotional development, civic engagement, and equitable opportunity.” Art helps children excel in math, reading, critical thinking and verbal skills. In “Why Art Education Matters,” Lynda Resnick argues, “Studies show that art-centered schools outscore non-art-centered schools in academic achievement scores.” In 2009, Michelle Obama hosted a concert to bring attention to the importance of the arts, in her speech she explained,
“We believe strongly that the arts aren’t somehow an ‘extra’ part of our national life, but instead we feel that the arts are at the heart of our national life. It is through our music, our literature, our art, drama and dance that we tell the story of our past and we express our hopes for the future. Our artists challenge our assumptions in ways that many cannot and do not. They expand our understandings, and push us to view our world in new and very unexpected ways...”
Art is such an important aspect of childhood, even with government funding many schools are unable to provide children access to museums or art programs. Groups like Inner-City Arts offer children a creative and safe space to learn about visual and performing arts, their programs are “designed to strengthen language development, develop critical thinking skills, promote literacy and improve learning outcomes overall.” In the Los Angeles region alone, creative industries made up the second largest business sector in 2011, generating nearly one million jobs, according to the Otis Creative Economy Report. Studying art is often seen as pointless and a waste of time, but creative industries have become one of the top industries today. Engaging children in art from a young age will only help them throughout the rest of their lives and lead to furthering our creative economy.
Like Michelle Obama said, arts are not just an "extra" part of our lives - it's essential.
ReplyDeleteI know a lot of people view art or music as unrealistic and a "soft" major (another "soft" major is philosophy, but hey, that's another thing for me to justify). But as a society that has basically, for the most part, sufficient essential needs for survival (food, water, shelter - think Maslow's hierarchy), it is inevitable that we take the next step - searching for a purpose in life. That's why we have jobs - that's our purpose in life. Whether we are teachers (in which we educate the next generation) or businesspeople (stimulate the economy), our education is supposed to provide us with a means to contribute. The arts is no different. Artists create beauty in a world where we often lack beauty. A splash of color, a symmetrical heart, a perfectly-designed dress - it's the little things in life that we should appreciate, and we have artists to thank for that.
I think that this is a great post. To richen the discussion, I would like to think about the idea of creativity more abstractly. The "creativity" skill comes into play in many aspects of our lives, and those who are well-versed in the arts (such as improvising a line on a guitar or piano, or handling a canvas to paint something from one's mind) know how to meld the natural process of creativity--the sparks of connection and impulse that occur--with the technique of, methodically, channeling that into a product. This can occur in diverse realms, from the office to the art space itself. The key lies in the creative approach to designing parts of one's lives. I would suggest looking at Stanford's new interdisciplinary graduate program on design in management and business. It could produce some truly revolutionary people. But we need not necessarily go to Stanford: we just need a solid backing in the practice of ordered expression, or creativity for the benefit of our society.
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