The Arts are a critical conduit for mainstreaming social change. “Artists have their biggest social impact when they achieve it obliquely… through the kind of deep spiritual and emotional understanding that art can foster. You change the world by changing peoples’ hearts and imaginations.” (David Brooks, New York Times; When Beauty Strikes”; January 15, 2016)
Who has not been moved by the hope in “We Shall Overcome”, the suffering in Michelangelo’s Pieta or the heroism in Steven Spielberg’s Schindler’s List? Artists enlarge our understanding and connect us through their words, images and performances.
For those of us who care about creating a more sustainable and just world, we need to inspire people to join us. Since artists can evoke powerful responses, it makes sense to engage them in any plans for change and action. But, is that being done? Not according to globally known dancer Mallika Sarabhai, who rightfully asks:” Why is it that we are not using the one language that has consistently showed us that we can break down barriers; that we can reach people? What I need to say to the planners of the world, the governments, the economists, and the strategists is: You have treated the arts as the cherry on the cake. It needs to be the yeast.”
Problems cannot be solved until they can be identified. Artists expose issues, raise consciousness and engage citizens through different approaches.
The effects of war and violence are the focus of harrowing and dramatic photographs of James Nachtwey. He shows “What happens at ground level far from the corridors of power happens to ordinary citizens one by one.” Astonishing photos from the 80’s to the present day have revealed the worst of humanity and sparked in some cases humanitarian aid and in others, the natural generosity of individuals. Nachtwey explains his work.
Oppression is the heart of filmmaker and photographer Shirin Neshat’s award winning work. She demonstrates, through the story of Iran and her own personal position as an exile, how women embody the political transformation of a country. Her award winning film Women without Men followed four women searching for freedom after the US CIA coup in 1953 that put the monarchy back in power in Iran. Later, she used her own body in an attempt to effect change when she took part in a three-day hunger strike at the United Nations Headquarters in New York in protest of the 2009 Iranian presidential election.
A former child soldier in Sudan, Emmanuel Jai witnessed the rape, murder and destruction of his family and all that he knew. When retelling his stories, you can see in his eyes and hear in his voice that those memories are still alive inside him. Rescued by an aid worker, he is now using his poetry and music to both enlighten the world to the fate of those who suffered, and still suffer, as he did. Through this exposure he is raising money to educate the youth of Sudan and help to slowly bring justice and peace there. Hear his music.
A pueblo dump near a holy tribal clay pit inspires Nora Naranjo-Morse, a Santa Clara Pueblo Indian artist, to honor discarded items in a way that echoes tribal traditions and powerfully questions contemporary consumption. Her sculpture, Always Becoming, on the grounds of the Smithsonian Museum continues to manifest the truth in “from the earth we come and to the earth we return” seven years after its inception. A personal interview with Nora.
After experiencing the power in artists’ endeavors like those described in this post, I believe you will also be demanding the presence of artists at any table when improving the quality of life for humanity and the planet is being discussed.