Pittsburgh Arts, Regional Theatre, New Work, Producing, Copyright, Labor Unions,
New Products, Coping Skills, J-O-Bs...
Theatre industry news, University & School of Drama Announcements, plus occasional course support for
Carnegie Mellon School of Drama Faculty, Staff, Students, and Alumni.
CMU School of Drama
Thursday, September 01, 2022
Creative skills in times of crisis: how the arts can help
limelightmagazine.com.au: As the Jobs and Skills Summit gets underway – and as we grapple with labour shortages, economic challenges, and the immense strain on workers and sectors affected by the pandemic – I have a message of hope: our arts and culture can help.
I think it is interesting that throughout centuries and including many cultures, artists or creatives are time and time again trying to prove that their skills can contribute to society. That what they say and do can be helpful and does matter. If these creative practices are learned young and maybe even encouraged young it can foster “creative skills” that can apply to whatever their future may hold. Whether they become an actor or a doctor. I believe as the creative world dwindles so too does the creative thinkers and the world is left unbalanced (more than it already is). I believe this article is saying just that. It’s cool to read that Australia has been doing just that; encouraging the arts or encouraging creativity. They see the damage that Covid caused to the creative world and are trying to do something about it. I think that creativity fosters diversity. We need people with these skills in the “arts” world as well as the rest of the world.
People who work in the theatre industry really do have an advantage when it comes to transferable skills. Theatre teaches problem solving, work ethic, communication skills, and, as the article shares, creativity. Whether you’re onstage or behind the scenes, you’re developing your ability to think quickly and deal with all kinds of different situations. This is helpful because it means that theatre artists can pivot to all kinds of careers or have ideas to give in all kinds of scenarios, which some jobs or fields don’t provide as much training for. During the height of the pandemic, theatre artists had to adapt to trying times on an overwhelming scale: what could theatre, a collaborative and communicative venture, look like when people needed to isolate? Could the field even continue? Luckily, as the article says, these are exactly the people who are ready to cope and make the most of it in times of crisis, and the creativity and adaptability learned in productions is an invaluable life skill for any profession.
The main reason I was drawn to this article is becasue during the pandemic I struggled with my mental heath and art was what helped me. I went to an art school where when we shut down during covid so did the teachers and the students. My costuming teacher kept teaching and we made shoes out of recylced products and experimented with natural dyes from home. The reason I am saying this is because this form of virtual art from home is what kept my creativty alive but my soul alive during the lockdown. It taught me that if even the world shuts down the arts and the creative side of you doesnt have to. In this article the author talks about how Australia took creative skills and brought them out of the box to make them more profotible. I think with art it is important to stay true and not worry about money but in this world the truth is its all about money. I feel like this generation and passed generations have really worked together to think of creative ways to make art more economical especally during the pandemic. This artcle also talks a lot about change. And I would have to agree with them about art everchanging. We as artists have to okay with change and grow with change and I feel like we learned that from the pandemic especially.
I think the most surprising part about this article to me was that the Australian Government directly supports the development of creative ability not only in practice, but directly within the workforce. Throughout the article, they repeatedly talk about the development of creative arts within the job industry before COVID-19 hit. Now, it is important more than ever to look at how the country is directly responding to the labor shortages in their country. Although the country is up as much as 111.1% in terms of job vacancies, one of their highest-vacancy sectors has been arts and recreation at an almost 250% increase in contrast with their pre-COVID levels (https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/jul/19/as-australian-job-vacancies-double-which-sectors-are-facing-the-biggest-labour-shortages). One of the things that the limelight magazine says best is that “We need to build confidence in creative sector careers and better equip young creatives to apply their skills across sectors – responding to future demands and disruptions. We need to consider training pathways from early years through to employment, and then to new opportunities unlocked by transferrable skills. (https://limelightmagazine.com.au/features/creative-skills-in-times-of-crisis-how-the-arts-can-help/)” I find that it is so important to try and educate and influence the creative growth of the youth, and allow for them to go into the workforce for something they are passionate about rather than something that they believe will sustain them for the rest of their lives. When thinking about college, a lot of people skip out on following what they are passionate about because they think that it will be a waste, or won’t be able to allow them to live a fulfilling life, and it is important work to teach the younger generation that they can have creativity and artistic capabilities, and pursue their passions without the threat of financial instability by properly training and upholding artists within society. Many people found over the pandemic that they were able to meet their own personal artistic and creative goals, and hopefully now Australia will continue to work towards a greater population of artists within their workforce.
This article truly puts the significance and vital incorporation of art within our every-day lives into perspective. It is in times like that of which we are in now (Covid) that we are able to witness the impact art possess on unifying communities and the role it plays within our economy, culturally and socially. Throughout time art has made way for more opportunities within the work fields, given individuals the opportunity to express themselves and have brought together various civilizations through the boundless amount of creative skills brought forth by various talents. I enjoy how this article express the lack of acknowledgment, hardships and gaps within the workforce in which artist face. Though art has made such strides throughout time in establishing new concepts and ideas the individuals within this field are still suffering due to being taken for granted by the ever-changing work industry. Though most artist create because of their admiration for their art form and not for that of money. Therefore demonstrating once again, through the pandemic, that art is so versatile and adaptable due to an artist need to not depend on money to create but simply their love for it.
5 comments:
I think it is interesting that throughout centuries and including many cultures, artists or creatives are time and time again trying to prove that their skills can contribute to society. That what they say and do can be helpful and does matter. If these creative practices are learned young and maybe even encouraged young it can foster “creative skills” that can apply to whatever their future may hold. Whether they become an actor or a doctor. I believe as the creative world dwindles so too does the creative thinkers and the world is left unbalanced (more than it already is). I believe this article is saying just that. It’s cool to read that Australia has been doing just that; encouraging the arts or encouraging creativity. They see the damage that Covid caused to the creative world and are trying to do something about it. I think that creativity fosters diversity. We need people with these skills in the “arts” world as well as the rest of the world.
People who work in the theatre industry really do have an advantage when it comes to transferable skills. Theatre teaches problem solving, work ethic, communication skills, and, as the article shares, creativity. Whether you’re onstage or behind the scenes, you’re developing your ability to think quickly and deal with all kinds of different situations. This is helpful because it means that theatre artists can pivot to all kinds of careers or have ideas to give in all kinds of scenarios, which some jobs or fields don’t provide as much training for. During the height of the pandemic, theatre artists had to adapt to trying times on an overwhelming scale: what could theatre, a collaborative and communicative venture, look like when people needed to isolate? Could the field even continue? Luckily, as the article says, these are exactly the people who are ready to cope and make the most of it in times of crisis, and the creativity and adaptability learned in productions is an invaluable life skill for any profession.
The main reason I was drawn to this article is becasue during the pandemic I struggled with my mental heath and art was what helped me. I went to an art school where when we shut down during covid so did the teachers and the students. My costuming teacher kept teaching and we made shoes out of recylced products and experimented with natural dyes from home. The reason I am saying this is because this form of virtual art from home is what kept my creativty alive but my soul alive during the lockdown. It taught me that if even the world shuts down the arts and the creative side of you doesnt have to. In this article the author talks about how Australia took creative skills and brought them out of the box to make them more profotible. I think with art it is important to stay true and not worry about money but in this world the truth is its all about money. I feel like this generation and passed generations have really worked together to think of creative ways to make art more economical especally during the pandemic. This artcle also talks a lot about change. And I would have to agree with them about art everchanging. We as artists have to okay with change and grow with change and I feel like we learned that from the pandemic especially.
I think the most surprising part about this article to me was that the Australian Government directly supports the development of creative ability not only in practice, but directly within the workforce. Throughout the article, they repeatedly talk about the development of creative arts within the job industry before COVID-19 hit. Now, it is important more than ever to look at how the country is directly responding to the labor shortages in their country. Although the country is up as much as 111.1% in terms of job vacancies, one of their highest-vacancy sectors has been arts and recreation at an almost 250% increase in contrast with their pre-COVID levels (https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/jul/19/as-australian-job-vacancies-double-which-sectors-are-facing-the-biggest-labour-shortages). One of the things that the limelight magazine says best is that “We need to build confidence in creative sector careers and better equip young creatives to apply their skills across sectors – responding to future demands and disruptions. We need to consider training pathways from early years through to employment, and then to new opportunities unlocked by transferrable skills. (https://limelightmagazine.com.au/features/creative-skills-in-times-of-crisis-how-the-arts-can-help/)” I find that it is so important to try and educate and influence the creative growth of the youth, and allow for them to go into the workforce for something they are passionate about rather than something that they believe will sustain them for the rest of their lives. When thinking about college, a lot of people skip out on following what they are passionate about because they think that it will be a waste, or won’t be able to allow them to live a fulfilling life, and it is important work to teach the younger generation that they can have creativity and artistic capabilities, and pursue their passions without the threat of financial instability by properly training and upholding artists within society. Many people found over the pandemic that they were able to meet their own personal artistic and creative goals, and hopefully now Australia will continue to work towards a greater population of artists within their workforce.
This article truly puts the significance and vital incorporation of art within our every-day lives into perspective. It is in times like that of which we are in now (Covid) that we are able to witness the impact art possess on unifying communities and the role it plays within our economy, culturally and socially. Throughout time art has made way for more opportunities within the work fields, given individuals the opportunity to express themselves and have brought together various civilizations through the boundless amount of creative skills brought forth by various talents. I enjoy how this article express the lack of acknowledgment, hardships and gaps within the workforce in which artist face. Though art has made such strides throughout time in establishing new concepts and ideas the individuals within this field are still suffering due to being taken for granted by the ever-changing work industry. Though most artist create because of their admiration for their art form and not for that of money. Therefore demonstrating once again, through the pandemic, that art is so versatile and adaptable due to an artist need to not depend on money to create but simply their love for it.
Post a Comment