The Importance of the Arts

‘When times are tough, art is salve for the ache’. In the great debate into the importance of the arts, these words by writer and humourist Randy Cohen truly emphasise the role that the arts play in human life. Whilst they, of course, have to be considered secondary to physiological needs such as food and shelter, the arts contribute to other elements including social belonging, education and passion to provide a certain quality of life. Peter Bazalgette, Chair of Arts Council England, reinforced this idea in The Observer in December 2014, stating that whilst ‘medicine attends to the body … the arts cares for the person’.

The arts are particularly unique in their development of key social values, including greater co-operation, diversity and fortitude. In a time of funding cuts and reductions both the presence of and access to the arts are suffering tremendously, therefore it can be certain that it will be society’s wellbeing bearing the consequences. Without music to move us, theatre to divert us or books to enlighten us the prospective future of our emotional health looks increasingly bleak, and for that reason it is more important than ever to focus attention on the preservation of the arts sector.

The importance of smaller arts organisations can often become overlooked in comparison to the larger issues at hand in the arts industry, and yet these are the places that provide for the artistic and cultural needs of their local communities – communities that deserve the same artistic fulfilment as those more conveniently located in city centres. It is also these organisations that create an essential bridge between amateur and professional, between learning and experience, and between groundwork and achievement.

Even the great economist John Maynard Keynes identified that the arts were not just some ‘dinky thing’ to be enjoyed when you could afford it, but were ‘as important as GDP’ (Today, BBC Radio 4, 9 February 2015). As chairman of the Council for the Encouragement of Music and the Arts (CEMA), later the Arts Council, Keynes played a vital role in establishing the place of the arts as a national social service. His influential contribution to society’s economic well-being instigated recognition of the arts as an important and central part of life.

Whilst we may not need the arts in order to survive, it can be argued that we do need them in order to live. Furthermore the arts are not only an indication of societal development; they are a sign of a successful civilisation. Focusing on the arts signifies progression beyond fundamental survival and demonstrates a higher quality of life – surely an ultimate goal that we all collectively share.

This piece was written as part of my work for Clonter Opera Theatre, and published within an article in The Chronicle Series (The Chronicle, Thursday 23rd April 2015, www.chronicleseries.co.uk).

‘Life is like dancing: it’s good to have a plan, but be prepared to improvise’ – Anonymous

The ability to improvise around your plans is an essential skill amidst the trials of graduate job hunting, especially in such a competitive and limited industry as the arts. About a month after graduating last summer I developed a fairly simple (and I thought reasonable) plan: get a job in Arts Administration. Seven months on and I have just concluded a three month internship at Lancaster University … in Project Management Administration. This slight deviation from the artistic route may have been unplanned, however after spending several months amongst the tidal wave of highly qualified and over-experienced job-seeking graduates I have learned that you often have to improvise along a side route in order to keep on the intended path.

The internship was actually set up by the Careers department at the university as an opportunity to gain additional working experience in a real-world environment, so there was some method behind the madness. After an unsuccessful attempt to situate the internship in the LICA department (Lancaster Institute for the Contemporary Arts), I was placed in the Facilities Division with the assurance that my work would still incorporate an artistic focus and, fortunately, two of my four assigned projects did.

These two projects provided me with stimulating and challenging opportunities to work on actual assignments within the Facilities Division whilst still engaging with the arts – ideal circumstances considering I was not based within a more artistic setting. My favourite project was undoubtedly the investigation into the need/demand for new outdoor performing arts spaces within a remodelling of the university’s central walkway (fondly known, or maybe not so fondly, as the Spine). From early on in the project there was a particular emphasis on the correlation between performance and community, an aspect that highlighted the arts as a means of fostering relationships and drawing society together – let’s face it, the arts are even more enjoyable when you can appreciate them with someone else! This project also brought me into contact with the LICA department, including representatives of the arts organisation Live at LICA. I could not have asked for a better connection, as the association eventually led to shadowing opportunities with the Box Officer Co-ordinator and Marketing Assistant (both of which have definitely increased my desire to work in the arts!).

My second arts-based project revolved around producing a project proposal for a campus sculpture trail. This was especially interesting as, despite having studied at Lancaster University for three years, I embarked on this project completely unaware that there were any sculptures on campus in the first place. It didn’t take long to discover that this lack of awareness was widespread amongst students and staff alike, so I felt that the project was key in contributing to the cultural awareness at the university. I think my favourite part of this project was discovering the apparently random concrete carving of a tree (that I had passed almost every day during my time as a student) was actually a sculpture inspired by the myth of Daphne and the laurel tree – a myth I had learned about through my literature studies*. This project therefore proved to me that arts and culture can always be found unexpectedly, whether it is in the features of a place you thought you knew or in an unforeseen and unplanned job opportunity.

* For any readers who don’t know, in Greek mythology Daphne was the personification of the laurel, a tree whose leaves (formed into garlands) were particularly associated with Apollo. Daphne lived a pastoral existence, and when pursued by Apollo she prayed for help and was transformed into a laurel. Apollo appropriated the laurel for poets and, in Rome, for triumphs.

Live at LICA website: www.liveatlica.org