Why the Arts and Creativity Are So Important

One of my all-time favorite movies is Mr. Holland’s Opus starring Richard Dreyfuss.  Please take a few minutes to watch the video clip below.  It’s not necessarily the easiest thing to watch, but there’s something Mr. Holland says to the principal that really sums up my personal passion for the arts, why they are important,  and why they need to be taught and nurtured.

The context for the clip is the 1980s, during a time when budget cuts were forcing many public schools to cut their music programs.  You can understand the dilemma–why the principal thinks reading and writing have to take priority over music.  It reflects much of the dilemma about the arts in general, and why so many of us were discouraged from pursuing a career in the arts when we were kids. 

It wasn’t that our parents weren’t hostile to creativity, necessarily–it’s just in this economic-driven culture of ours, people usually don’t get paid to just sit around and make art or music.  The arts are encouraged, but they are seen by most people as a hobby, something to do on the side–because it’s very difficult in our culture to survive full-time as an artist.  Some manage to do it, and there are definitely ways to make a good living if you know how to market your particular art form.  But quite often musicians and artists are forced to work a “real job” to pay the bills while they do their art in their “spare time”, and it’s a challenge because it’s difficult to be inspired when you’re exhausted from a whole day of doing something else.

The problem, though, is that art really isn’t a luxury; it’s not something we can dispense with in favor of readin’ & ritin’ & ‘rithmetic. It drives our culture more than we realize, and we’d die as a race without it.  Mr. Holland sums it up when he says that if we stop teaching music to our kids, “pretty soon these kids won’t have anything to read or write about.”

That’s why the arts are so important, guys.  We need the inspiration they give us to keep growing as a culture, as a people.  Creativity breeds creativity.  Pure and simple.

I know I’m preaching to the choir here, but as we start with some of these foundational posts, I want to tell you this.  If you are a musician–or any kind of artist, for that matter–don’t let anyone tell you that what you do is unimportant.

It. is. not. true.

We need your creativity.  Our children and grandchildren need it.  Even if you don’t make enough money at it to quit your day job, that doesn’t mean it’s not important.  Van Gogh sold one painting in his entire life.  Don’t let economics dictate the value of your art.  Creativity isn’t just for us–it’s for our future.

So create.  And let your creativity inspire others. It’s more than important.  It’s critical.

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