There's been a lot of discussion around the value of the arts recently. I don't want to discuss the headline grabbing stories, I want to talk about the reason I believe in the arts and why I believe they deserve investment and support and matter more than ever.
"These are dehumanising times and I believe the creative arts help us to rediscover our humanity."
We live in troubling times, our lives are being challenged in many ways. Mental health is being tested for many of us, for some it will be mild anxiety and for others it will lead to much more serious conditions such as complete mental breakdowns. In the most serious cases this will lead some to suicide. Even for those who manage to cope, the long term impact of global health, social issues, climate change and a fractured political environment will have a lasting effect.
One of the most troubling effects of all these things is both physical and emotional isolation. These are dehumanising times and I believe the creative arts help us to rediscover our humanity.
There are so many moments in my life when the arts have touched me in ways nothing else can. The moment I saw Elphaba end Act One of Wicked with the song 'Defying Gravity', it was a wow moment. Or seeing the kids swing back and forth singing 'When I Grow Up' in Matilda, I smiled like a Cheshire Cat. I still remember how I felt when I saw The Police live in 1980, euphoria doesn't come close. Or Prince driving on to stage in his Little Red Corvette, or Hall and Oates reeling off hit after hit in London.
I recall weeping as Jesse told of being forgotten in Toy Story with the beautiful song by Randy Newman, and welling up as Riley tried to tell her parents how lost she felt in 'Inside Out'... I still cry thinking of it now. I was gobsmacked watching Macbeth at the Globe as hundreds of heads with no body writhed at the front of the stage. Losing a day at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam trying to take in all the incredible art. Or from the sublime to the ridiculous, just looking at the painting of our beautiful dog Wurly on our kitchen wall, even though he is gone, it makes me smile remembering him. This afternoon Anna put on a disco light and I boogied with my 5 year old daughter to George Ezra's 'Shotgun', yes it was Dad dancing but it didn't matter, her smile said it all.
"What all these moments do is puncture holes into the dark canvas that can overshadow our lives and allow light to shine in."
I could write an endless list of the moments I've been touched by creativity, I'm sure you could make your own.
I've had a pretty tough work week and know this coming week is not going to get any easier. Tonight I put on Pie Jesu from the Requiem by Faure and lay in the bath, in a matter of minutes all the anxiety melted away, I came out of the bath transformed.
All of the examples I've given above helped me to forget about the troubles of life, if only for a short while. What all these moments do is puncture holes into the dark canvas that can overshadow our lives and allow light to shine in. At times they gave me a new perspective, they reminded me how beautiful the world can be, they restored hope, often in humanity.
So when anyone asks me if I can put a value on the creative arts my answer is no. Not because they are worthless but because they are priceless.
This article was originally written as a personal Facebook post but we felt it deserved a wider audience.