Are the Arts Essential?

The contributors to this collection of essays argue that the arts are essential to our society, providing a reflection on their importance in the midst of a pandemic. They explore how the arts can promote justice, overcome economic challenges, document oppression, and build communities. The essays also highlight the diversity and vibrancy of Muslim culture, the strengthening of indigenous communities through art, and the influence of digital data on new art forms. They remind us of the human connections the arts can forge and offer hope in difficult times.

Format: Hardback
Length: 496 pages
Publication date: 22 March 2022
Publisher: New York University Press

In the face of a devastating pandemic that has caused the closure of theaters, art galleries, museums, dance stages, and concert halls, as well as a significant loss of institutional funding for entertainment and culture, a group of esteemed scholars, artists, cultural critics, and journalists convened to ponder an urgent question: Are the arts essential?

Across twenty-five highly engaging essays, these luminaries come together to explore this topic and share their own ideas, experiences, and ambitions for the arts. Darren Walker delves into the ideals of justice and fairness advanced through the arts, Mary Schmidt Campbell showcases how artists and cultural institutions played a crucial role in helping New York overcome the economic crisis of the 1970s, bringing new investment and creativity to the city, Deborah Willis traces the histories of oppression and disenfranchisement documented by photographers, and Oskar Eustis offers a brief history lesson on how theaters have built communities since the Golden Age of Athens.

Other topics covered include the vibrant and diverse Muslim culture in America during a time of rising Islamophobia, the strengthening of the common good through the art and cultural heritages of indigenous communities, digital data aggregation informing and influencing new art forms, and the jazz lyricisms of a theater piece inspired by a composer's two-month coma.

Drawing on their diverse experiences across the spectrum of the arts, from performing and visual arts to poetry and literature, the contributors remind readers that the arts are present in every aspect of our lives and have the power to question, charge, and change us in profound ways. These impassioned essays serve as a reminder of the human connection and the profound impact that the arts can have on our lives.

Dimension: 254 x 152 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781479812622