Let’s discuss this quote, “A society that forgets arts risks losing its soul.” by society critic Camille Paglia. That’s a bold, passionate thought. I heartily agree with it. I have said time and time again, the fine arts make for a civilized society. I think we’d truly be lost without them.
Arts Quote We Love #7–Society Risks Losing its Soul
When this blog post was originally posted, we had not experienced the Covid yet. Yikes!
How did the entertainment industry fare during that time?
According to the National Endowment for the Arts, “Between 2019 and 2020, the U.S. arts economy shrank at nearly twice the rate of the economy as a whole: arts and cultural production fell by 6.4 percent when adjusted for inflation, compared with a 3.4 decline in the overall economy.
I’m certain that your city was impacted by the quarantine. I’m aware that several theater companies closed their doors permanently during this time. Here is one: PACE (Performing Arts in Children’s Education)
What if you lived in a city with no arts whatsoever? I can’t even imagine such a place and I hope none exist. if you’d like to read some other arts quotes, go to: Arts Quote We Love #4–Civilizations Remembered for Their Arts or Arts Quotes We Love, #8
How do the Arts survive?
No music in restaurants or bars or to drive to in our cars every day. No paintings in our homes, no galleries, no color, no texture. No ballet classes, no square dance groups, no interpretative dance) No movies, no musicals, no plays, no reader’s theatre, radio theater or poetry slams.
It’s difficult to imagine, but the Covid quarantine demonstrated what happens. However, it could occur again if we don’t fight for the performing and visual arts.
National Endowment for the Arts
The NEA is nearly on the brink of being axed by the federal government with every budget cut they make
Truly, I don’t understand this.
What is the National Endowment of the Arts? Simply put, NEA is an independent federal agency that funds, promotes, and strengthens the creative capacity of our communities by providing all Americans with diverse opportunities for arts participation.
NEA Accomplishments
In order to defend the NEA and explain my viewpoint here, I reviewed their website.
Wow, here are some of NEA’s accomplishments:
- 147,000 grants awarded since 1965
- 5 billion has been awarded!
- 34% of the money goes to underserved populations such as people with disabilities, institutions and veterans
- 33% serve low income audiences
- 40% takes place in high poverty neighborhoods
The Ballet East Dance Company works with high schools in the low income neighborhood of East Austin.
There is a quiz on the NEA site, “How Well Do You Know the NEA” and these are a few things I learned:
- The NEA partners with the Department of Agriculture in the NEA’s Citizens’ Institute on Rural Design; the Department of Defense for Creative Forces: NEA Military Healing Arts Network; and the Federal Bureau of Prisons for the Artists-in-Residence program through the NEA’s Office of Accessibility.
- The arts and culture sector contributed $730 billion to the US economy in 2014—4.2% of the GDP
- Business leaders look for creativity in new hires. The Conference Board reports that creativity is among the top 5 applied skills that business leaders look for, and 72% say that creativity is of high importance.
- 85% of military patients participating in Creative Forces: NEA Military Healing Arts Network at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center noted that art therapy was helpful to their healing.
I didn’t even finish the quiz, because I’d like to post more about them another time. The National Endowment for the Arts is important and needs to continue to flourish.
Are you familiar with this quote by Jim Leach? “Our culture is more shaped by the arts and humanities than it often is by politics.”
Thank God the NEA is there to look out and cultivate the arts!
Looking for a free drama class lesson? This one concerns Lin Manuel Miranda. Click Here.
Contact me at dhcbaldwin@gmail.com or DeborahBaldwin.net