The Value of Arts and Culture to People and Society

The value of arts to our society past and present

How Does Art Affect Culture and Society?

Art is so intertwined with a culture that it is often difficult to separate the two: the old Mughal Empire in India combined social importance with architecture in the Taj Mahal; Medieval European Christians created spiritual sculptures and images to celebrate their beliefs and religious communities; Japanese culture connects art with everyday activities from gardening to serving tea.

As Stephen Sondheim once said, “Art, in itself, is an attempt to bring order out of chaos.” Art is celebrated and utilized by communities all across the world to entertain, educate and embody the cultures art reflects.

Painting, sculpture, music, literature, and the other arts are considered to be the repository of a society’s collective memory. Art preserves what fact-based historical records cannot: how it felt to exist in a particular place at a particular time.

Art in this sense is communication; it allows people from different cultures and different times to communicate with each other via images, sounds, and stories. Art is often a vehicle for social change. It can give voice to the politically or socially disenfranchised. A song, film, or novel can rouse emotions in those who encounter it, inspiring them to rally for change.

As the National Art Education Association points out, art is beneficial for the artist as an outlet for work. Art not only fosters the human need for self-expression and fulfillment; it is also economically viable. The creation, management, and distribution of art employ many.

Art also has utilitarian influences on society. Research shows that children who are involved with the arts make greater achievements in their education; those engaged with drama have greater literary ability and children taking part in musical endeavors exhibit greater skills in math and languages.

Children and students who take part in the arts are “twice as likely to volunteer” and “20 percent more likely to vote as young adults.” Those engaged with the arts have a greater chance of finding and retaining employment, and are more likely to be “involved and influential in their local communities.”

Participating in the arts is essential for child development; encouraging children to express themselves in constructive ways could help to form healthy emotional responses in later life.

One study found that visual arts “facilitated identity formation processes among older people.” For older people, engaging with the arts helped to create and maintain a positive sense of self, something which is often lost the older we get. While more long-term studies are needed, the arts have a considerable positive impact on physical and psychological health.

Furthermore, the arts can bring communities together; reducing isolation and making people feel safer. Many communities have experienced local regeneration thanks to art projects inspiring people to take pride in their surroundings and creating community spaces for all to enjoy.

The arts have been shown to increase empathy towards others, a side effect of which is reducing social tension and discrimination. Art has been used to convey important societal statements for centuries; from the first cave paintings which said ‘we are here,’ to war-time propaganda used to encourage support for the war effort, and from royal portraits documenting key historical figures to the feminist Guerilla Girls who highlighted disparities in gender representation.

The connection between people and art is deeper still when considered from an anthropological perspective. Art objects such as paintings, sculptures, textiles, and masks all have symbolic meanings embedded within them and often play a role in beliefs and rituals.

The importance of creativity

For example, Baule ebony sculptures of human figures are blessed by a shaman and become imbued with the power of fertility. Such objects can be considered to have a social agency because of the link they create between individual perception and a physical manifestation.

As societies and cultural practices evolve, so do the meanings placed on art objects. What was once simply a painting of a lover, now becomes a significant snapshot of historic social practices.

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