Today was a major Arts Advocacy day in the news, from the new Arts Party in Australia, to the many arguments against arts using tax money. Also, add the arts as solutions articles that are also coming in more frequently. Seeing that the arts are being talked about, it would be good to revise our arts advocacy strategy.

What I am seeing is that the economic point that the arts generate money is not resonating as well as it could for the general public. We may sway some business and government, but not the public masses. They see arts as something to pay for out of their taxes, and they do not think the arts warrant this privilege, or they see the arts as not as important as other issues that need funding.

So what point would drive home that the arts deserve to be funded like everything else needed in life? There is the emphasis “needed” in life. I am preaching to my choir here. The arts are needed in life for a variety of reasons.

The way I see it, without the arts, there would be no outlet to experience creativity. Without creativity, we would not have well developed minds to solve the problems of the world. 

Think about the problems that we face today. All of these challenges are going to require minds that can generate new inventions and technology to solve the issues. Due to the way our world is evolving, perhaps a little too fast for many of us, we will need the arts to de-stress us as well.

The arts are a solution in many ways. This is a much better message than simply pushing economic impact (although it is a nice and valid point).

The arts are needed in our every day lives to help solve and alleviate the challenges we are facing today. Without creativity, without a means to enjoy life, and without the ability to express our thoughts and ideas, we would be completely lost.

Just think, Einstein used music to help spur his ideas. It’s time to encourage more of these types of minds for today and for our future. This means, we absolutely without a doubt must fund the arts!

Cheers to happy and loyal audiences,
Shoshana

Shoshana Fanizza
Chief Audience Builder, ADS

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