Are the Arts Essential?

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Pub Date 22 Feb 2022 | Archive Date 29 Mar 2022

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Description

A timely and kaleidoscopic reflection on the importance of the arts in our society

In the midst of a devastating pandemic, as theaters, art galleries and museums, dance stages and concert halls shuttered their doors indefinitely and institutional funding for entertainment and culture evaporated almost overnight, a cohort of highly acclaimed scholars, artists, cultural critics, and a journalist sat down to ponder an urgent question: Are the arts essential?

Across twenty-five highly engaging essays, these luminaries join together to address this question and to share their own ideas, experiences, and ambitions for the arts. Darren Walker discusses the ideals of justice and fairness advanced through the arts; Mary Schmidt Campbell shows us how artists and cultural institutions helped New York overcome the economic crisis of the 1970s, bringing new investment and creativity to the city; Deborah Willis traces histories of oppression and disenfranchisement documented by photographers; and Oskar Eustis offers a brief history lesson on how theaters have built communities since the Golden Age of Athens. Other topics include the vibrancy and diversity of Muslim culture in America during a time of rising Islamophobia; the strengthening of the common good through the art and cultural heritages of indigenous communities; digital data aggregation informing and influencing new art forms; and the jazz lyricisms of a theater piece inspired by a composer’s two-month coma.

Drawing on their experiences across the spectrum of the arts, from the performing and visual arts to poetry and literature, the contributors remind readers that the arts are everywhere and, in one important way after another, they question, charge and change us. These impassioned essays remind us of the human connections the arts can forge—how we find each other through the arts, across the most difficult divides, and how the arts can offer hope in the most challenging times.

What answer does this convocation offer to Are the Arts Essential? A resounding Yes.

A timely and kaleidoscopic reflection on the importance of the arts in our society

In the midst of a devastating pandemic, as theaters, art galleries and museums, dance stages and concert halls...


Available Editions

EDITION Other Format
ISBN 9781479812622
PRICE $29.95 (USD)
PAGES 496

Available on NetGalley

NetGalley Shelf App (PDF)

Average rating from 6 members


Featured Reviews

I found myself pondering the question myself many times in life. The arts have been labelled a waste of time in school or by my parents because it isn't something I can earn a living on. Atleast , that is what they thought.
What confuses even. more is how art os evaluated or assigned value. I could never wrap my head around why something that doesn't appeal to me costs millions but something kitschy and cute would sell for a few dollars.

The pandemic changed the way I perceived art. I no longer see it as something to be passively consumed.
The making of art is in itself very intriguing. The book talks in depth about how art brings certain things more to the forefront and galvanises action. How it can be used to depict injustices and gives dignity to those who are deprived of it in the current setting.

I love the structure of the book. The style of writing in all the essays is very coherent and the organisation of the essays encourages logical reasoning.

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