By Marilyn Delk
DCCA News
In a recent commencement speech at Brandeis University, award-winning documentary filmmaker Ken Burns urged his audience to support the arts. Well, actually he was talking about what the graduates must do to maintain the world they now inherit while maintaining the individual and collective freedom to which our nation is committed. He said, “If I have learned anything over the years, it’s that there’s only us. There is no them.” Burns went on to explain that he was talking about “that indefinable something that connects all of us together, that which we all share as part of organic life on this planet, the kinship of the soul.”
The chronicler of American history and culture then offered advice to the graduating class, including “Listen. Be curious. Do good things, help others.” Burns told his audience to “Choose honor over hypocrisy, virtue over vulgarity, discipline over dissipation, character over cleverness, sacrifice over self-indulgence. Do not lose your enthusiasm.” And then he said, “Insist that we support science and the arts, ESPECIALLY THE ARTS. They have nothing to do with the actual defense of our country; they just make our country worth defending.” Wow!
Darke County Center for the Arts mission states that the organization exists to present and promote performing and fine arts, encouraging cultural enrichment. That mission becomes much more powerful when viewed through the lens of Ken Burns’ statement defining the value to our entire nation of support for the arts.
But Ken Burns is not the only one promoting the arts as much more than societal frills. Health organizations, armed with research indicating that art promotes healthier communities, are therefore partnering in public art projects. When artists actively contribute to community planning and design, they enhance not only neighborhood beautification, but also economic development. Art in public spaces helps revitalize neighborhoods and fosters social connections as people unite to plan, present, and appreciate art that all share. When art is incorporated into healthcare environments, statistics show that anxiety is reduced, pain is alleviated, and recovery is more rapid.
Murals have been making their mark on public spaces for thousands of years; ancient Greeks painted frescoes around 1500 B.C. that can still be seen today. Many Ohio cities have embraced mural projects recently, transforming spaces and affecting the happiness and well-being of local citizens. In a recent edition of The Dayton Magazine, EvaButtacavoli, Executive Director at The Contemporary Dayton art gallery, stated “Now more than ever we need artists to provide us with inspiration, creativity and imagination and to help us envision a better world.”
The concept that murals enhance community well-being and foster a healthier environment for all certainly adds heft to the value of our local mural project. Main Street Greenville’s Mural Committee’s Greenville post card mural on Washington Avenue and the Annie Oakley image that adorns Sure Shot Tap House have definitely inspired appreciative smiles and civic pride among viewers, and soon two new murals will be introduced on buildings in downtown Greenville with more installations yet to come.
Among the arts to be supported is music, which in its many iterations has brought comfort, solace, inspiration, and joy to people since the beginning of time. Whatever your musical tastes, you undoubtedly have been entertained, moved, and/or inspired by music whether while enjoying a “driveway moment” captivated by the sound on your car radio, discovering the wonder of making your own music for the first time, at a live concert, or myriad other opportunities to experience the wonder that is music.
Ken Burns definitely got it right; the arts inspire us in so many ways, making profound statements through their very existence, sometimes creating societal advancements in diverse fields as well as adding delight to lives.
