The Arts and Development

I've been to a few talks recently about arts and development/social change and I keep getting confused about when you feed people and when give them a paint brush and some paints.  As someone who has worked in the arts for ten years, I feel a strong connection to the arts and a desire to combine my love of the arts and a career in public service.  How to combine them has yet to be seen.  At the recent talk about Africa, the arts, and development (African Renaissance: Arts as the Expression of Citizen Engagement and a Lever for Development), it was clear that the arts as a mode of citizen engagement and transformation is extremely important.  But, it gets confusing when there's a hungry child.  Do you give that child food or do you teach it to express itself through art?  Sometimes the line is very clear, but most of the time I think the line is blurry.  I enjoyed what Rise Wilson, Director of the Laundromat Project said at a recent talk (The Laundromat Project: Community Development in the Local Coin-op), that art is essential to community health and well-being.  Art is something that a person can experience every day and art can provide a way for people to interact with their neighbors, and build upon how they see their neighbors.  I believe that art has a role in development, but I am still confused by exactly what that role is.

Comments

[Emily Goldman]

I thought this was an interesting post. I agree with Sarah that art's role in development can be quite confusing. Last semester in the institutions class we had a discussion about the validity and use of drama and art programs in institutional development. In some cases they may be a useful tool for spreading some type of message (for example HIV/AIDS prevention or anti-domestic violence) especially when there is a cultural tradition of oral story telling or dance. In this case, the arts can be an effective component of international development program.

I'm sure that, as Rise Wilson said, art is essential to community health but is money best spent on art programs instead of health (or more needed service) programs?