City Beat: There is hope as the Scenic City realizes that the arts do matter

I’ve had about five in-depth conversations in the last week or so that give me hope for our future. After decades of hearing artists and people in the arts world talk about how the lack of funding and support is not only harming their livelihoods, but our civilization, others are finally starting to get it.

The arts do matter, and they do make a difference.

For any of you who are rolling your eyes as you read this, consider the clothes you are wearing, the chair you are sitting in, the phone you are using to look at pics of your grandkids or to watch that video of the baby elephants playing in the mud. Somebody designed those, and they did so with comfort, function and style in mind.

For some, the words “the arts” conjure an image of people all dressed up in pearls and tuxedos attending a gallery opening or the opera – and that can be true, but they can also mean a hip-hop show, your kid dressed as a carrot in a school play or simply drawing a stick figure conceived in your own imagination.

But it goes way beyond that. People, and I mean people with the ability to fund things like arts in schools, are finally waking up to the idea that we use the arts for everything from stress relief to communicating with each other to just plain making us happy.

Study after study finds that kids who have regular exposure to things like drama, music, painting, poetry and even culinary arts, do better in school, are happier, stay out of trouble and move on to have productive lives.

Oh, to be sure, we have a long way to go in our city when it comes to promoting and funding the arts, but the conversation has turned. It could signal an even greater move forward than the current renaissance we like to believe we are currently experiencing.

That one has been sparked by music, food, downtown living and the great outdoors. A true renaissance in arts and culture doesn’t just mean more money coming into the city, though that could be part of it with tourists and locals spending more.

What is more important is that people are finally realizing how promoting and marketing the arts makes this a better community. They are talking about putting art teachers back in schools and making arts and culture more available to people everywhere.

We all win when that happens.

Contact Barry Courter at bcourter@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6354.