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What impact does Art have on a Community?

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An interactive pontification on the impact art has on a community. I admit, I'll try to convince you that the impact is HUGE!

(Until I get a better picture, here's one of my recent art projects.)

Contents at a Glance

My experiences with Art and the impact i...
How many people agree with me?
Supporting Documentation
Quotes are Art too!
Rank your Art
Art and Community - Who knew?

My experiences with Art and the impact it has on my community.

I'm one of those people who think in systems. I'm also a problem solver at heart. I tend to look for the solutions that are elegant, the ones that make me giggle.

I'm also a doer. I believe I can make a positive impact in the lives of people I interact with.

While this article doesn't solve a particular problem, it is one step that I'm taking to raise awareness of Art, to expand its definition, to help make it an integral part of our lives once again.

Over the years that I've been supporting 'The Arts' I've come to the belief that
1. Interacting with Art can change people.
2. Art encompasses much more than most people think.
3. Modern societies do not enable art to successfully fill the role it is uniquely suited to fill.

Art builds connections between people. Art encourages interaction. Art challenges perceptions. Each of these is vital to healthy communities.

"How?" you ask.

Let's start with my claim that "Art builds connections between people."

I've got a couple of friends who direct local choirs. They each share their art with the community through the concerts they develop. They draw members of the community together on a recurring basis to experience art in action, either through rehearsals or through the actual concerts. The participants (performers and audience members) derive some emotion (often pleasure) from the act of creating this art.

The connections piece is pretty easy to see. Choir members learn about each other as they prepare for the concert. They share opinions on the music, tell stories about their lives, push each other to be better. They become a small community, providing support for each other.

After the concerts they interact with the audience, talking about why the particular music was chosen, who did especially well. They laugh at the little 'oops' events. They celebrate together and create memories and feelings that can last a lifetime.

What about my claim that "Art encourages interaction"?

My former spouse used to belong to an art gallery. It was a little gallery with a cooperative ownership structure. About every other month or so they'd rearrange things, switch one theme for another, move one guest artist out for another, and then have an 'opening'. For hours attendees would mill around looking at all the new work, talking about it with the artist and their friends.

Their themes have evolved, through trial and error, into a set of traditions. Every February there is the 'Wild Women Show'. Every end-of-summer there is the 'Salmon Run'. You get my meaning.

"How is this interaction meaningful?"

Okay. The fish show. 'Salmon Run'. Community members buy a blank piece of foam core cut like a fish - for $25. They decorate it however they want and return it to the gallery. On the appointed Saturday, in conjunction with the Hop Festival, the fish are all hung on wires along the street in front of the gallery. People come in droves, from other towns, to look at all the fish. They vote on their favorites. They bid on fish that are for sale. All the while they are interacting with other people, often strangers, talking about what they see in the fish. And all the money raised goes to a scholarship. Cool, huh?

"Art challenges perceptions."

Thinking about the Salmon Run again - wouldn't seeing a 3-foot tall fish decorated like the face and headdress of a Native American challenge your perceptions a bit?

Or what about hearing a bunch of caucasian kids from rural American farmland groove while they sing African music?

"But", you say, "how does all this make a community stronger?"

I think that it is human nature to sort people into buckets. The biggest buckets are titled "US" and "THEM". This chasm is only overcome when non-threatening interactions take place between the groups. That can't happen without connections, without interaction, without perceptions being challenged and discussed. Local art, new art, let's us practice these skills in a non-threatening environment, which makes them easier to use when the environment is threatening.

Well, if you've made it this far and you still don't agree, maybe the money aspect will pull you in. You can learn about that from some of the links below.

How many people agree with me?

(and how many think I've got Art on the brain...)

Okay, Okay. I know this isn't scientific. Still, should be fun, no?

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Supporting Documentation

For those who want the research

Remember I said I was going to try to convince you? Here are some links that support my stance. No, I won't force you to read (or even follow) them.

And, if you find one I don't have listed that adds to the argument, please share!

What impact does Art have on a Community?

Contents at a Glance

Contents at a Glance

My experiences with Art and the impact it has on my community.

How many people agree with me?

(and how many think I've got Art on the brain...)

Thanks for voting! Now invite your friends to vote.

Supporting Documentation

For those who want the research

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Please pick your widget size and display. Then click "Make the Widget" to get the code that's just right for you.

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Quotes are Art too!

Rank your Art

1

Black and White Photography

2

Functional Pottery

3

Music, particularly live stuff

4

Woodwork

5

Haiku Poems

6

Anything made for me by my kids

7

Native American Pottery

8

Graphic Arts

9

Storytelling (Verbal, Written, Visual)

10

Japanese Landscapes

Please pick your widget size and display. Then click "Make the Widget" to get the code that's just right for you.

Voila! Just copy and paste this code into your own site. Have fun!

Oopsey! Please login to Squidoo in order to add this module to your lens.

Art and Community - Who knew?

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by StickmakerAsh

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