Would American Craft, Music or the Visual Arts Benefit from a Cabinet Level Arts Post?
We're not big on clambering atop the political bandwagon as far as sharing our beliefs with our gallery goers is considered . . . and we're not starting now. But dang if inauguration day wasn't one of the coolest, most awe-inspiring days in recent American history, even not-so-recent. Regardless of your political views, party affiliations and the like, the activities surrounding inauguration day and the inauguration itself created the feeling that a breath of fresh air has blown through this country and maybe there's light at the end of the tunnel of bad feelings and depression. It's a long tunnel, admittedly, and we all have a lot of work to do to get this country and this economy back on track, but hey, we know how to work hard, we just need a little direction right?
One topic that has resurfaced in the past months and come to the fore recently is the creation of a cabinet-level position focused on the arts. The idea has been around since the 50s, but recently composer and producer Quincy Jones has started an online petition to ask President Obama to appoint a Secretary of the Arts stating it is needed to signify the importance of the arts in society and especially in education. According to some sources, over 100,000 people have signed this petition.
But is a central government agency the best way to support the arts in our schools and society? That's the question that is out there to be discussed, argued, and bandied about over wine throughout the arts, education, and parenting communities. While no one contests the idea that more art is needed in our schools, since study upon study have shown over and over that visual art and music programs in school improve test scores and increase creative problem solving abilities the question is how best to argue the point where it may matter most, in Washington DC.
We're not advocating a plan of action, but came across the original Quincy Jones proposal and an opposing editorial in the Wall Street Journal that opened our eyes even wider to this issue. We hope you'll take the time to follow the links below to educate yourself about this fascinating discussion on how we should move forward toward a goal that we all agree on but might support very different paths to achieving.
Click on this link to see and, if you agree, Sign the Petition.
Click to read David Smith's Wall Street Journal article "An Old, Bad Idea for the Arts"
To bring it back down to the local level, remember that whatever the movers and shakers in the national arts community and the government decide, we can work within our area school systems to support the arts in ways that may not be obvious, but once determined can work really well. For example, here at the Red Elephant Gallery we helped initiate an Arts Docent program, based on one in Washington State in our children's elementary school. It's a bit of work but with parents and friends volunteering to help with individual classroom sessions it's been fun for us, the kids, and the volunteers.
One topic that has resurfaced in the past months and come to the fore recently is the creation of a cabinet-level position focused on the arts. The idea has been around since the 50s, but recently composer and producer Quincy Jones has started an online petition to ask President Obama to appoint a Secretary of the Arts stating it is needed to signify the importance of the arts in society and especially in education. According to some sources, over 100,000 people have signed this petition.
But is a central government agency the best way to support the arts in our schools and society? That's the question that is out there to be discussed, argued, and bandied about over wine throughout the arts, education, and parenting communities. While no one contests the idea that more art is needed in our schools, since study upon study have shown over and over that visual art and music programs in school improve test scores and increase creative problem solving abilities the question is how best to argue the point where it may matter most, in Washington DC.
We're not advocating a plan of action, but came across the original Quincy Jones proposal and an opposing editorial in the Wall Street Journal that opened our eyes even wider to this issue. We hope you'll take the time to follow the links below to educate yourself about this fascinating discussion on how we should move forward toward a goal that we all agree on but might support very different paths to achieving.
Click on this link to see and, if you agree, Sign the Petition.
Click to read David Smith's Wall Street Journal article "An Old, Bad Idea for the Arts"
To bring it back down to the local level, remember that whatever the movers and shakers in the national arts community and the government decide, we can work within our area school systems to support the arts in ways that may not be obvious, but once determined can work really well. For example, here at the Red Elephant Gallery we helped initiate an Arts Docent program, based on one in Washington State in our children's elementary school. It's a bit of work but with parents and friends volunteering to help with individual classroom sessions it's been fun for us, the kids, and the volunteers.
posted by RedElephantGallery | 11:46 PM
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