Lucía Prieto Arnáiz No.

21 BACH21

THE ROLE OF ART IN OUR SOCIETY

Imagine a world without art. Our day-to-day lives would be void of beauty, creativity and
human expression. The absence of art would be felt in every aspect of our lives. We would no
longer have music to move us, paintings to inspire us or books and films to entertain us. The
world would be stripped of color, texture and vibrancy. Without art, there would not be any
cultural landmarks to admire, no murals or paintings to celebrate our shared heritage and no
poetry or literature to illuminate the human experience. Art is everywhere and everything we
consume, from the outfits we choose to wear everyday to the food we eat.

Even though we can find art almost in every corner, in today's society it is not perceived
as such, and art is not understood as something necessary. For this reason, artistic activities
often end up being underfunded and undervalued.

As a dance student myself, the first time I realized art was undervalued was when I was
in ballet class at five or six years old. I remember our teacher telling us that the theatre in
which we were going to perform had a chipped floor and no curtains, even though it was the
best they could find at an affordable price. I also remember how people, children and adults,
would laugh at me when I told them I aimed to make a career out of dance. Till now, I still get
sneers and comments like “Well, that’s beautiful but it demands too much sacrifice and does
not pay enough.” or, the worst one, “Won’t you do a real job? Dancing is just a hobby”. When I
was younger, I never understood why they would say this to me. I always replied by saying “I
would rather do something I enjoy and just make it by than hate my job and have an
abundance of money”.

It was not until I was older that I perceived society does not care about artists, but they
do want the art they create. Everyone wants a house decorated in a certain aesthetic, but they
complain to artists about the prices of their pieces, and do not take into account how
expensive the supplies are for the artists. Personally, I have felt this issue my whole life. For
ballet I need a pair of pointe shoes every two to four months – professionals use up to 8 pairs a
week in busy seasons – that is around 90€ per pair. Let’s not forget the rest of the attire (tutus,
leotards, slippers, etc.), which is not precisely cheap. Not only are the supplies expensive, but
they are very difficult to find, sometimes internationally. All this adds up to hundreds of euros
each year, which in most cases are not offset by income.

If our work is considered so valuable and important, why are we, artists, so poor and
why have we all accepted this as an aspect of art making? Is it a fabrication that artists are
always broke? This is not always necessarily true. It has become a social stigma that
contributes to the undervaluation of art as a career path. Unfortunately, these questions hold
some truth, as artists often have to fight to be paid fairly for their work. Even sometimes,
clients seem offended by the price of an artwork and ask artists to give the piece for free.

This leads me to another question: Who should really be the one to judge art pieces? As
for me, I think, once an artwork is exposed to the public, everyone has the right to have an
opinion on it, whether it is good or bad. However, most people, especially in modern and
contemporary art, make wrong assumptions around abstract pieces, “A kid can do that” being
the most popular one. This is why we need experts who judge with valid criteria, with
knowledge and studies on art and techniques.

This lack of artistic education leads to an inferior perception of it. Having said that, arts
and humanities education is severely underfunded. Governments all around the world
encourage more students to take STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics)
degrees, leaving arts and humanities almost forgotten. For example, according to the
University at Buffalo, in 2020 China allocated 100% of its research funding to top universities
with concentrations on STEM disciplines. The imbalance between STEM and humanities fuels
the underfunding and lack of popularity of the arts. It all results in society ignorant of one of its
bases: culture.

In order to eradicate this increasing disinterest in arts, schools should implement artistic
activities in their curriculums. It was not until long ago that arts education in schools was
thought to be a luxury, and art classes were cut from the curriculum to make room for more
time to prepare for standardized tests.

Giving learners the time, space and materials for creative expression can lower stress,
improve memory and make them feel more socially connected. Instructors can build their
careers in bringing those experiences to students in a wide variety of settings like galleries,
museums or other events. Appreciation for art also makes a significant difference in people’s
lives on a macro level, as it propitiates civic engagement and social tolerance. Children learning
how to draw, paint, dance, sing or just appreciate the works made by others can help us
become not just happier and healthier, but also better people. This can also result in a
reduction of disciplinary infractions and improved college aspirations.

Yet, participation in the visual and performing arts is often treated as merely
supplemental to other aspects of learning. Working in the arts helps learning to develop
creative problem-solving skills, which, in fact, are one of the most important aspects that
companies look for when hiring new workers. They provide a well-rounded approach to
education, nurturing both academic and non-academic aspects.

Another thing to mention is the scarcity of aids given by the governments, in my case, to
people in superior arts studies. These require many hours a week, more or less the same as a
typical morning school. Ballet is a discipline which demands the physical traits of elite athletes,
but dancers are not recognized as such, even if we train twice as many hours. Nevertheless, in
Spain, “official” elite athletes do receive supports like a lower cut-off mark in the EBAU exam
for university or specialized medical professionals who treat their injuries and look after their
well-being. We also need public dance companies, as most Spanish dancers, who are
extremely talented, leave the country to find a well-paid job.

I have always felt this on a personal level. The goal of dance students in Spain is to
audition for companies abroad. If someone succeeds in dance in our country, it is generally
because they have managed to dance overseas. In a certain sense, this is kind of pitiful
because it is an immense loss of talent and laboral opportunities in Spain.

In the last 4 years in Spain, cuts in culture have greatly affected dance. In the Compañía
Nacional de Danza (CND), the average corps de ballet salary is around €1,100 per month, while
at the Paris Opera ascends to €2,500 per month. The poor conditions of dancers in Spain have
been denounced by great personalities such as Tamara Rojo, Nacho Duato, Joaquín de Luz or
Ángel Corella. This is partly due to the scarce dance tradition in Spain, unlike in other European
countries. In Germany, for instance, there is a dance company in almost every city; in France,
there is a wide network of independent dance studios. On the contrary, the CND and the Ballet
Nacional de España are the only public companies in our country. In Spain there is no concept
of what a dance company is, and there has not been enough pressure neither from the
institutional point of view nor from the profession itself to find a fit for it in society.
 After 40 years of history there is no school or repertoire that marks the identity of the
companies, because there has been no continuity. This would be achieved if there were a
stable theater in which they would be able to perform their pieces: watching a ballet would
not be seen as something elitist, outside of daily life.

I truly do believe that if we viewed art as a core function in society, communities and
schools would be more inclined to restore art programs and centers. Art classes and supplies
would be more readily available and creativity in future generations would flourish. We are
slowly fading into a society consumed by technology. Maybe that is what we are seeing now
with AI art: you can get something designed quick and cheap. But that does not really work
with artists. Artists usually focus on making quality art, that takes time and, therefore,
increases costs.

There is another problem regarding that, as it can be hard to determine what something
should be priced at, even when you are the creator, because there is not an actual “standard”
for pricing a work of any kind of art. Also, many art sales are done privately at auction sales,
which sell art at exorbitant prices and make it seem luxurious. As result, the general
population rejects art due to a misconception of it.

Nevertheless, online platforms have opened new avenues for artists to share their work,
engage with their public and collaborate across borders. The digital expansion makes art more
accessible to a broader audience and allows diverse voices to be heard.

Evidently, art is all around us, but its creators are not well assisted. It is not enough to
support the arts, you also must support the artists. Do not complain about the price of an art
piece and, most importantly, we must stop reinforcing the idea of art as a bad career choice.
We should insist and encourage art education, so that more artists find a fair paid job in our
country and do not feel compelled to leave. We need to prevent society from following the
path of killing creativity or we will soon see us fully immersed in a world without any artistry.

1,695 words