We Need Artists (& They Need You Too)
Abby Seeber |
TEDxValparaisoUniversity
• February 2021
We must reimagine what Arts Advocacy really means. It goes beyond the public school programs that have budget cuts and department cuts. The societal contribution of the arts to our culture can't be understated. Arts Advocacy needs a community of supporters readily available to champion theatre and art and music departments when they are at risk of being shut down. When it comes to establishing budgets, the arts need to be prioritized, especially given how often their contribution to student life has been swept under the rug in the past. Amidst this pandemic, Live Arts have almost entirely shut down. Comedy venues that have survived for years have gone bankrupt. Broadway, once a nearly overactive hub of culture, is shut down entirely. Arts advocacy has truly never mattered more. As we spent months on end in our houses, afraid to go outside, we turned to art. We turned to Netflix and novels and poetry books that have sat on our shelves. In our time of greatest fear and stress, we turned to artists. Those same artists we turned our television or pages to, have been sitting in fear for their career for the past eight months unsure of when their next job will be. If we are to reform the Arts and perpetuate their existence, it will require us to come together and Advocate for their merit, not just in spite of but because of challenging circumstances.