Community is strengthened as a result of its members' artistic pursuits. Those who appreciate and participate in the artistic process exhibit a love of learning and creating. They are passionately willing to take risks as their creative explorations open up endless possibilities for themselves and their community.
Art will help prepare our children for a productive future and it helps to keep the brain more active throughout the aging process. Pay attention to children and their active imaginations as they play. Their earliest desires are to create. Art enhances and preserves these processes. The ability to focus and pay attention to detail is developed as a result of interactions with different materials, tools, and art mediums during the creative process t any age. This ability provides stability within a community.
Art teaches us that there is more than one way to solve a problem. As the world constantly provides problems to solve, art benefits the community by challenging our internalized beliefs. Accepting these challenges helps to create an environment of questioning which leads to greater understanding within the community.
Art creates a healthier self esteem as it supports emotional intelligence. Artists of all ages are encouraged to express complex feelings. As a result, they naturally feel better about themselves. Persons with a healthy self esteem will reach out and better understand others around them through their creative expressions. Students of art gain a personal, more elevated meaning in life. They discover a joy in their creations and a deeper understanding of themselves in the process.
Art transcends barriers within a community. Mutual understanding of the many differences in cultural creative expressions, allows everyone to become more connected and less isolated. Community education systems are strengthened as members of the community are affected by this improved emotional health. As self-esteem, motivation and student attendance improves, so do student successes. Communications are improved, enabling effective teamwork, and strengthened relationships. These positive behaviors learned through creative experiences will naturally flow into the surrounding community.
We only have to look at facts to agree that art can become a career that accents a community both economically and aesthetically. There are artists who create and sell art within the community. There is an existing multi-billion dollar film and video game industry. At the core of these industries are artists of our communities who are creating images and stories. Every commercial product is artistically designed before it hits the production line.
In addition, there are those artists creating and selling works of art for big bucks. Creation of art and the marketing of that art contributes to the community's economic success and emotional satisfaction of its members.
In conclusion, art is a process of learning to recreate ourselves in order to experience the world in new ways. Hearts and minds are opened to new possibilities and imaginations are fueled. By supporting the bigger picture of life, beauty, symbols, and spirituality, art allows individuals of a community to "step out of the box" and keep the magic alive.