HowlRound Theatre Commons: This time of multiple pandemics requires deep reflection on individual and institutional values and practices. COVID-19, quarantine, climate catastrophe, and a public health crisis—marked by inequitable resource allocation and tragically disproportionate health outcomes—alongside the global response to George Floyd’s murder at the hands of police and the social justice uprising that followed, have made systemic and structural racism an articulated, visible public narrative in ways that bring us to what, as Angela Davis said recently, “Is a moment that no one could see coming but many have spent fifty years preparing for.”
2 comments:
It’s been really interesting to be a part of the arts community during this time. The entire world has looked to art - in whatever form they find most interesting, as a sign of comfort or education or recreation, I would say more heavily than usual. We are consuming art more and more, but the role of what it means to be these artists and these creators have changed greatly. This article was largely a call to action for artists to think about what they are making art in response to, and what they intend their art to do. Because so many people have their eyes on the art community, we are shaping the messages that people have at the forefront of their minds. If the values we are presenting through what we create are not what we have intended, we have influenced all these eyes in the opposite direction. I think it is important to consider all of these questions - whether you are making a piece for social justice, to entertain your kids, or for any other reason. Our art has weight, and we need to be aware of that now more than ever.
I was really interested to see what this article had to say about defining what an artist is today because at least in the way I view art it is such a deeply personal thing for the creator of it that I was unsure if a definition could be concluded. I found that the article was in general a bit more abstract in nature and didn’t really serve to pin down some restricting definition but rather lay out some general thoughts about art and artists in our world which has been particularly turbulent this year. But I also think that through this chaos some artist are able to find power and create a new voice for themselves, I mean I can’t imagine the events of the past year not changing someone’s perspective in some capacity. I feel as if artists are particularly sensitive to the changing environments due to the nature of their work, which of course exhibits itself in different forms for different people.
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