The government’s plan to increase the cost of arts degrees, putting them out of reach of many, seems short sighted thinking. The arts have suffered through the pandemic with many musicians, dancers and visual artists unable to access funds from job seeker. We need the arts. Many of us have relied heavily on reading and listening to music and podcasts to get through this challenging time. Short sighted also because we need to think more creatively and critically about the changes that we face after this most exceptional of years.
Art in all its expressions is what deepens our human experience but the value of divergent thinking can’t be underestimated. If we are to flourish post this pandemic we will need solutions. The focus on jobs and trades ought to be running in tandem with supporting creativity in the next generation through education.
We recently mourned the death of the wonderful Sir Ken Robinson who put this notion so succinctly in his TED talk which in itself is a work of art.
https://www.ted.com/talks/sir_ken_robinson_do_schools_kill_creativity?language=en
