I know people inside and outside the arts who would argue that a world of 7 billion people should have at least a billion artists of every media and genre. I would suggest that an equally important question explores how we can better connect whatever people in the arts we have.
- What would higher quality connections between artists, businesses, schools and communities look, sound and feel like?
- What improbable collaborations could we provoke and cultivate?
- What would it mean to transform the arts from its place as consumer entertainment and adornment to authentic inspiration for the building of flourishing local cultures?
- How could businesses, schools and communities feature artists across disciplines in their everyday business of marketing, innovation, branding, teaching, learning, place making, celebrations, and everyday life?
These questions just skim the surface of the enormous and important ocean of possibilities.
Artists bring more than aesthetics and the disruption of perspectives. They bring unique provocations to any table. How we connect them in our efforts will make a difference in our collective capacity for intelligence and creativity deeply needed in every context of our ever-complex world.
The new conversation moves from talking about artists quantity and density to artists connectivity with local and global contexts where they will find a rewarding place in value networks. In this conversation, we value artists at least as much for who they can be with us as what they produce for us.
