Why art matters.

A few years ago I embarked on my own discovery journey with contemporary art. I’ve always been enthralled by the arts and anyone who managed to have the ability to create something beautiful — a song, a poem, a painting. I can barely draw stick figures and have never been able to sing in tune. In my view, no one had to convince anyone about the value of art in society and the impact it has on our creativity and wellbeing. It was easy to understand. Seeing art and learning about artists, however, was not that easy.

We find ourselves in ‘unprecedented times’ (note: I now see why this word has been used so often to describe such times, there really is no better descriptor). In the midst of a pandemic, we have also experienced, at least in the West, political and social unrest. Artists have taken to instagram to voice their opinions, share their art and their message while also making space for voices that have largely been marginalized. But where is the trace of this activity online? Where is the space for me and you to come together, find the artists who stand for the values we so highly promote, and bring some of this creativity into our own homes. Not necessarily to transact, though I do believe in the power of collecting, but to engage? To learn, to connect, to be inspired. Centuries of artists serve as a visual representation of the society that they lived in. Their artworks are visual time capsules that tell a story more intimately than any textbook could convey. Just like in music, the story behind the piece is just as important as the piece itself. We yearn for these stories and the connection to a broader culture that represents our generation and our values.

With so much divisiveness, anger, sadness, grief and disappointment, art is that much more necessary to reintroduce qualities that we all need to thrive: Kindness, compassion, empathy and love. This is not just conjecture; the link between the arts and our wellbeing has been proven in many studies. In order to keep pace with a world that is advancing rapidly, we need the arts to balance technological design with our needs. We need the arts to help us see: not only the present, but the future as we imagine it.

We will be sharing stories from living artists around the world on how they are coping, what the impact has been on their creative process, and what art means now to them and to society. Subscribe to be updated on when these artist features will be available.