While there are countless avenues through which we communicate our differing perspectives in the world today, many of these platforms have become spaces where each individual remains in a feedback loop of like-minded beliefs. Our convictions are continually reinforced as correct and true, further limiting our willingness to listen to and consider others' views. As we all know, this breeds a dangerously volatile society.
This is why the performing arts are crucial to the well being and prosperity of our communities, local and global alike. Whether as theater, comedy, or music, the performing arts bring together people from a wide scope of political, cultural, and socio-economic backgrounds. An audience can be composed of people of all walks, each with their own beliefs, but all with their ears open and eyes wide, not to mention their guards down. With no explicit political agenda or social cause to be fought for or against, this makes for a tremendous opportunity for the tie that binds to reveal itself - our shared humanity.
A comic's stand up set that has you laughing at the absurdity of a stance you thought was yours; a scene in a play that moves you to tears by its cruelty before you have time to judge the situation as justified; a musician's concert that leaves you beaming in sheer joy in a sea of people who look nothing like you, other than your shared smiles - these are just a few moments that the performing arts bring us that have the power to undeniably influence the way we see the world and our place within it.
This power can inspire curiosity and exploration where a closed mind once lived and ultimately have us relating to those we had so readily dismissed as wrong or "other". We need the arts to help cultivate empathy and imagination, especially at a time when we are becoming more and more rigid in our points of view and alienated from one another.
I have been fortunate enough to work with organizations, such as Brooklyn Academy of Music and now St. Ann's Warehouse, who boldly bring to their stages art that ignites the courage within us to question, reflect on, and change the way we share our world.
Our current production at St. Ann's Warehouse, Dark Noon, is one of such evocative pieces, spawning impassioned conversations after every performance. Audience members can be heard grappling with the plurality of history and complexity of cultural identity while marveling at the awe-inspiring use of video, lighting, space and sound, not to mention the breathtaking performances.
https://lnkd.in/enxf9aRR
As the arts are often deemed frivolous and as a threat to the status quo, arts organizations and programs are often the first to lose funding by governments. Thanks to the following post from The Public Theater, it will take you less than a minute to implore our local government to think twice about defunding ours.
#PerformingArts #NYCarts #ArtsProgramming #NonProfit #ArtsFunding
Please join us in advocating for an equitable Arts and Culture ecosystem here in NYC by clicking here: https://lnkd.in/eeXPhNsV to send a letter urging City Hall to restore full public funding for arts & culture. Let's ensure #NoCutsToCulture and keep #CultureForAll alive!
