A Look at the Future of Arts and Creativity in America

the very idea of the United States was a creative idea it was an independent radical idea and we're at a really important juncture that's just in terms of culture and communication in the United States so I thought this would be a good place to hear the rhythm of what people are thinking of course the Kennedy Center and the NEA are both believe that the arts and creativity are essential and I wonder is there any in the world anybody in this room who doesn't think that that's why we're all here how do you approach and how do you employ creativity in your professional lives regardless of whether your industry is art or government or transportation economics technology Community Development for me it's DJing is still a creative thing like I don't deejay just to pay my mortgage I deejay because I'm curious about again this the psychological effects without music how people react to music [Music] while the 2016 report still value such support provision it reveals in no uncertain terms today's creative ecosystem that has been empowered by entrepreneurial practices that's been unbound by transdisciplinary creations and also it's been extended expanded by increasing connectivity with multiple non arts sectors I think that some of the barriers of creativity have to do with agency that there's a way in which we have trained people trained ourselves to divide ourselves amongst the creatives and the non creatives and I think people carry wounds of being separated out I think people think that I think non artists think that artistic talent and creativity is an exclusive club club and if you weren't born with it it's not a place that you can play and I think that's absolutely untrue and then even within the arts and culture and creativity field we have disciplines and that root of the word discipline is about separating and confining so I think that there's a way in which the structure of how we think about arts and creativity itself is limiting and so I think that the conversation that we're having about liberation and what that looks like in arts and creativity is essential and I think that's right where we need to be you know we recognize that we make technology that lots of people use we also make culture in many ways and we have a responsibility we have a cultural responsibility to to you and I think we have a lot of homework to do why can I go into debt for 120,000 dollars to get an art degree tomorrow but not get a loan for my local community land trust creative business or art project why can't n emerging artists generate 1.2 million dollars for the Academy but not for their local community this is something that has to change we've got to change how we think we've got to change how we communicate to our children about what's possible and how the arts can be part of their lives and that they don't have to choose to be something else you could be an artist and something else if you go to art school you could be an artist and something else we don't have to create these sort of we might call gilded ghettos of creativity it should be part of all parts of our economy society and community this remains true that folks in rural America are not served equally it's the truth and it's also a truth that permeates communities of color and the point of creating opportunity is not just about opening a door it's like opening the door and like letting there be some money inside never we arrive that's just real what new institutions need to be born right now to help that kind of kind of exchange of ways of seeing happen right I would start by saying let's not assume it needs to be a new institution as a Muslim person as a person of color I feel more than ever it's important for us to also think about privilege think about privilege in the arts as well who is speaking who is talking who is at the table who is the one that's getting money who is the one that's leading the conversations something that's been on my mind ever since they sort of thought about the theme of this conference is a comment made by the artist Marty pottinger the beginning of this century she was doing a piece called abundance in which she went around the country and interviewed millionaires and minimum wage earners and explored the question what is enough and she asked everyone that she talked with in these sort of roundtable discussions if you knew from this day forward that everyone everywhere would always have enough how would it change your life I am very interested in what we will each give up in the name of equity and justice right period the end because if we're serious about it yes something's got to give and equity doesn't mean that everybody in this room has to give up the same amount equity actually means there's some of us that have to give up more and be okay with that right in the name of justice what is your life as a resident of Jonesboro teach you about what the country needs right now in our capacity to hear other people's stories and I believe this idea that there's no one fixed identity we have identities that are flexing continually flexing we don't belong to one group we belong to multiple you have to move beyond your comfort zone you have to find people and you have to see the story behind the story and if you're not willing to go there then we can't make peace possible and I think storytelling is not in itself we can tell our stories is not going to make peace it's how we use it and it's how we apply it in a stories that we we we choose to use the choose that we taro to choose that we listen to the art of storytelling is not about how to tell a compelling story it's the art of listening we have to listen to ourselves we have to listen to our communities every human being has a potential to be creative and I think we need to say that over and over again convince people that everybody can bring something to this creative roundtable that we have here that is called life forget about race or gender or sex or class or religion or any of those things I'm talking about like the fundamentals of the human condition which is that we have hearts that beat as percussion brainwaves that's a form of music and are in like we are in of ourselves creations that are works of art and so we need art to continue to survive which means that we have to continue to invest in it and I think without a federal agency like the NEA that is deeply invested in supporting all kinds of creativity in all kinds of community we would never come together to know this group of people in this way and it's one of the real values that the NA has brought for 50 years through its convening power and it's one that I think will propel us forward I don't want to live in a society that's barren of creativity that's barren of art that's barren of something that stretches my mind and helps me to learn more about my spirit and my self and my capacity and also yours [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] Wow okay let's have a round of applause for the camel brother

Channel: National Endowment for the Arts

Views: 2,165

Rating: 5 out of 5

Keywords: arts, artists, culture, dance, design, arts education, commissioning, folk arts, literature, media, media arts, music, museums, theater, musical theater, opera, presenting, performing arts, visual arts, community, income, funding

Id: LzsrdZspg9k

Length: 10min 8sec (608 seconds)

Published: Thu Feb 09 2017