A Mission

My roommate is a wonderful person. Her name is Leah, she is athletic, she is very intellectual, she has a brilliant dry sarcasm that few notice, she is very comfortable with her beliefs, and she has no interest in art. And when I say she has no interest in art, I mean none. Not only is she entirely apathetic about visual and performing art (the most blatant art forms), but she also is indifferent to culinary art, fashion as art, film as art, and makeup as art. Yes, I consider all of the aforentioned expressions art forms. Art, according to Merriam Webster dictionary, is defined as:


1: skill acquired by experience, study, or observation 2 a: a branch of learning: (1): one of the humanities (2)plural : liberal arts barchaic : learning, scholarship3: an occupation requiring knowledge or skill 4 a: the conscious use of skill and creative imagination especially in the production of aesthetic objects; also : works so produced b (1): fine arts (2): one of the fine arts (3): a graphic art5 aarchaic : a skillful plan b: the quality or state of being artful6: decorative or illustrative elements in printed matter



In short, art is a skill, a form of learning, one of the humanities, an occupation, the use of imagination (particularly in aesthetics), a skillful plan, or an illustrative element. Clearly, the definition is a broad one. It encompasses many expressions and outlets of creativity. This is why I believe anyone can love art.



People are turned off by the idea of art--it makes people think of gray haired, upperclass people in symphonies, freezing music halls, stuffy museums, and maybe even a boring art history class in high school or college. Fortunately, I happen to love older arts patrons. I find them to be far more knowledgeable and passionate about the arts than most people my age. Even more fortunately, I was raised in a musical family. I was brought up on movie musicals as well as musical theatre, grew up listening to my dad play the piano, and attended birthday/major holiday gatherings with my close-knit extended family which almost always included a musical performance by some cousin/grandchild/aunt/grandparent. But maybe I was just lucky. Not everyone grows up on musicals. Not everyone took a fortunate art history class. (I happened to have the most wonderfully enticing "History of Art and Music" class in my high school, the Hockaday School, in Dallas--I now cite it as one of the predominant catalysts for my decision to pursue the arts as a career.)



All arts are communicative. In some form or another, the arts convey messages to people via direct or abstract ways. However, if no one is getting away from the computer/gamecube long enough to go to the gallery, see the symphony, or go to the musical, no one will get an artist’s message. The sad, blatant truth is: art audiences are fading out. Most arts organizations are run by older generations and most audiences are comprised or the same older generations. (Don't get me wrong; I am thrilled that people are engaged in the arts regardless of age.) But something is wrong. The arts will fade out with these older generations unless we generate some interest in younger audiences. The arts need to find new ways to engage such audiences. This type of development research is a necessity in all communities. It can be done. Through outreach, advertising, and education, I believe that younger audiences can be captivated by the arts.



You’re probably wondering where Leah (my roommate) comes back into this story. That would be right about now. I came back from my CODA meeting (an arts outreach program at Rhodes Colleg--for more information visit http://www.rhodes.edu/academics/1117.asp) completely enthralled and invigorated about the arts. CODA meetings have the uncanny ability to make me believe I can conquer the world through the arts and that I may better people’s lives because of it. Leah is not quite the absurdly spunky human being I am, and therefore questioned my zealous pep. After a brief, five minute conversation about the organization of an arts festival that is taking place here at Rhodes in the spring, Leah had this funny grin on her face. I had been babbling nonstop (very energetically, I might add) and I stopped for a second and asked her why she was grinning at me. "It’s just that I’ve literally never been excited about the arts before," she stated. "Are you at all now?" I asked. "Yeah, actually. I am. And I’m not even being sarcastic." I could have died from sublime euphoria. This is basically the perfect ending to the perfect day. All it took for Leah to be slightly excited about art (or this art festival, more specifically) was energy, enthusiasm, and persuasive argument. Clearly, this is a very small, very primitive model for what I intend to do with my life. However, it’s the minor moments like these that give me hope and passion for the arts and what the arts can do.



Leah has less interest in the arts than nearly everyone I know. If she has reason to be excited about the arts, anyone should. What we have to do is figure out how to translate the energies of the younger and older generations who are vehemently passionate about the arts to those who haven’t experienced it, and then get those people to pay it forward.

I love arts outreach and education because I love seeing people who previously did not care about the arts catch the same bug I caught when I first watched the film "Hello, Dolly!" at age five in Galveston during a hurricane. I love the arts because it can play whatever role in your life you wish for it to. It can be your entertainment, your pick me up, your therapy, your career, your guilty pleasure, your night out, your relaxation, or your constant companion. It's our mission let people know what their missing, and then to get them excited about it and share it with someone else.



Katharine



For further reading/information:

http://www.rhodes.edu/academics/1117.asp
http://www.heartoftheartsmemphis.org/
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/66