As the days go by, there is no way to ignore the mounting evidence that the United States is as divided socially as it has ever been.
Research tells us that peoples’ trust in everything from political leaders to news sources and even others around them has shattered. Surveys before the 2020 election revealed that 90% of registered voters, whether voting for Trump or Biden, would be very concerned about the potential serious harm to the country should the candidate from their respective ‘other side’ win. Besides politics, nearly every facet of a person that makes people different from one another, such as race, social class, religion and ideology, and gender identities, have quite literally become battlegrounds where two sides attempt to convince the other hopelessly to convert.
In our seemingly new reality of extreme division, is there any way to facilitate amounts of community healing and create an outlet for positive societal effects? I believe the answer lies in the arts. While it can’t fix everything, healing a nation starts in communities, which is the primary goal of arts organizations nationwide, and should be something that you support in your community.
Studying Arts Administration has exposed me to extensive research that shows that the Arts in the United States provide a way for cities to improve the lives of their citizens by bridging this social divide and can even stimulate the economy in highly significant ways. However, arts administrators everywhere have to fight for lawmakers and citizens to validate these positive effects and suffer from being federally undervalued and underfunded in the American economy. Many question why the federal government should fund the arts, why local governments can’t take care of it, or why funding is needed at all if they have so many patrons. All of which have been answered many times by arts organizations to one resounding conclusion. Funding for the arts is an investment in the country’s well-being economically and socially and should be treated and funded as such.
Numbers don’t lie, and when it comes to the arts, having data from federal research to back up how much the arts give back to the economy is game-changing. In 2015, it was reported that the arts and culture sector contributed $763 billion to the economy and supported 4 million jobs – generating a more significant share of the economy than transportation or warehousing. Additionally, those attending arts programs spent $31 billion in admissions, exceeding the projection by $1 billion. Though this sector was pulling these numbers, two years later in 2017, the federal budget only allocated $159 million, or less than 0.01% of the budget, to the National Endowment for the Arts, the largest arts funder nationwide. Even during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, this sector still added $876 billion to the economy despite being hit hard by unemployment and loss of patrons. With more extensive funding for federal grants, there is no doubt arts communities nationwide would flourish and continue expanding these numbers while creating a better environment for people to live.
For an example of how the arts genuinely do create better environments for people to live in, a 2014 case study looked at Crosstown Arts, a community arts organization in Memphis, Tennessee, and the part they play in Memphis’ revitalization effort with after-school youth programs, arts events, citywide celebrations, and partnering with surrounding establishments. This organization was a fantastic example of stimulating the community’s sense of ‘place attachment,’ or how people feel emotionally attached to their community by having meaningful interactions. This study saw firsthand how the events they hosted drew their neighborhood and the wider Memphis community out to interact in these meaningful ways and promoted “a more dynamic, complex, and inclusive sense of community.” The arts in communities have even been able to prevent crime by building up environments that people can feel safer in by being more connected to it and can refresh cities through people having fun in their environment.
So what can we do? The biggest thing you can do to promote the arts in your community is to get active in it! Almost every state in the US has a federally funded State or Regional Arts Council, which you can locate here on the National Endowment for the Arts website. Searching for your city’s regional arts council on Google can bring you to a complete list of nearby events that may spark interest. For example, here is the Springfield Regional Arts Council’s website and our list of events here in Springfield, Missouri. Donating to arts organizations you feel connected to is also a big help; however, diving right into the arts community around you keeps the spirit of the arts in your area alive and shows your lawmakers how vital the arts are to their community.
By keeping your community colorful and exciting, the arts can create a more inclusive and safer environment wherever you live, and it needs your support to continue accomplishing this mission, and continue proving to the government as a whole how important they really are.
