Art and
Inclusion:
Benefits and
Barriers
There are
many reasons for people to focus on art. The first reason why art is important
is that it provides us with inspiring ideas, symbolize aspects of the world and
express meanings for communities, through for example pictures or plays about
important events. The second reason is that through art children can develop a
range of skills, self confidence and ways to work better with others. In
addition, art events bring people together. However, there are also barriers
for people to get access to art events, therefore, the state is expected to play
an important role in including arts in the society.
The first
things we have to consider are the barriers which prevent people accessing the
art such as lack of time, economic costs, family commitments, poor transport,
social and psychological barriers. There is also variation in the type of arts
events which people attend. People with higher incomes tend to go to classical
concerts, plays and art exhibitions. On the other hand, people with lower
educational attainment, social class and income are many times less likely to
attend a range of art events.
Fewer
people participate in making art such as playing a musical instrument, singing,
painting or drawing. In Europe and United States, the position of culture is
arrested and being redefined and reset. At a physical level, the pressure
arises from the global financial crisis. At a deeper level the breakdown is
linked to a more serious disconnect between ordinary people and
governmentality. There have to be ways to reset the public value of the arts as
a contributor to greater solidarity and equality in families and communities.
It is
essential to point out the role of the state in including arts in society.
State funding should provide greater inclusion in several ways. There should be
better policy coordination, at national and local level, between art groups or
organizations. As regards measures, data and evaluation, there could be
outreach programs, public awareness campaigns, data on who is and who is not
participating in the arts and statistics to measures the social impact on the
art. Finally, there could be support for children, links between schools and
artists, specific funding for disadvantaged schools and support for adult
education in the art.
As a
conclusion, it is important to bear in mind the reasons we have to get access
to theart as members of a society. Apart from the reasons, we have totake into
account the benefits for individuals and society. Some of the most important
benefits mentioned before are that art bring people together and that it is
very important for children and their development at school. Art must be
available for the entire society and state must play his important part
providing the necessary elements to succeed in breaking the barriers that
prevent people enjoy art in every aspect of life.
References
Eapn,M (2012). Conversations about poverty network in ireland and Europe
www.creativecity.ca/database/files/library/eapnireland.wordpress.com
The Arts, Cultural Inclusion and Social Cohesion NESF Report 35 (2007)
Files.nesc.ie/nesf.
archive/nesf_reports/nesf_35_nefs_full.pdfreport.pdf
www.creativecity.ca/database/files/library/eapnireland.wordpress.com
The Arts, Cultural Inclusion and Social Cohesion NESF Report 35 (2007)
Files.nesc.ie/nesf.
archive/nesf_reports/nesf_35_nefs_full.pdfreport.pdf
graphic organizer
