Making the Most of It: 3 Considerations for Arts Programming in 2019

To better contextualize some issues that are pertinent to the topic of arts programming in Toronto (where I am doing my internship), here is some handy info (pictured below) regarding arts engagement in Toronto, from 2016. The rest of the study's findngs can be found here, courtesy of the Toronto Arts Foundation:

                                                                                                                                                                                            © Toronto Arts Foundation, 2016

1. Be mindful of the power and place of the arts institution as a space of narrative-formation and of larger societal power dynamics

Let's start with what many might consider to be the most important of the four suggestions which I am sharing with you here in this post. Perhaps understandably, to some degree, many people don't see an art gallery as anything more than a buiding which houses some paintings and other forms of emotive visual confectionery. Although to be literal in saying that this is indeed true, it does not tell the whole story of what types of relationships, histories, and politics belie what gets shown or not shown within the gallery's space. Take paintings, for example. If one were to peruse a gallery, any gallery, the types of aesthetic choices, subject matter, and even artists offered to a patron through the gallery's selected display of paintings suggest a curatorial approach that is informed by a speculation on how the world is presently colelctively thinking and working- if not how it ought to be. There is ideally to be a relatability found between the art and its audience, and its the gallery's plight to try and figure out what that relatability just might be. Furthermore, if the gallery space is the zenith for what a given artist could achieve in the way of disseminating their artistic talents and vision, then who actually gets a place up on that podium is direly important, and undoubtedly catalyzed by things like collectively cultivated unconscious biases, as well as an expectation of what may properly constitute a given thing- in this case, art. I believe it to be remarkably important to be transparent about this aspect of curatorial practise and institutional construction in 2019, to help patrons make more informed choices about their viewership and to probe in a more nuanced manner why they may or may not feel a given way about something presented in the gallery- truly questioning why it is there and what that says about present life beyond the gallery space.

2. Present art as practicality and utility- something more than just visual allure, more than just "eye candy"

I have a reasonably accurate recollection of an interaction with a friend, wherein we discussed how to gauge the value or importance of works of art; he surmised something along the lines that art's merits were ultimately proportioned in accordance with how they looked- their beauty per se. I reckon that I hold this memory because I found it rather striking that this friend, a (for the most part) bright individual, could harbor such a stunted and expansive-reluctant view of what art is and more importantly, could be. Art is to some extent, everywhere. Although the rather malleable definition of its very constitution potentially problematizes both a refusal and an acceptance of such a far-reaching claim, I am personally of the camp that sees such an idea as true. Whether in architecture, urban and industrial design, or in the undergirding of the branding that might sway a person to buy a particular product, the ethos and perhaps even pathos of art inscribes our existence in more ways than we probably know. I personally believe that imparting notions of practicality and utility into art and art engagement is an essential one, particularly for that it broadens what it means to interact with art and thus, strengthens the potential for a more meaningful takeaway. By showing the ways that art can intersect issues of the real world- whether at its social or even physical infrastructure- the "why?" behind arts engagement becomes better understood, allowing participants to expand and recapitulate artistic meanings into useful individualized output with collective potential.

© National Endowment for the Arts, 2015

3. Assert the idea of art as self-care

Mental health based intiatives are a flagship marker of society's predominant focuses in this day and age- and justifiably so. For the first time in possibly ever, there is a congruous effort being emanated at large which seeks to take such actions as eradicate stigmas surrounding mental health, as well as improve the resources by which a given individual may seek assistance in an issue related to mental health and wellness. One of those resources, which often may go overlooked, is the arts. There is a very calculated reason why the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts teamed up with a group of Montreal-based physicians last year, in the launching of a pilot project which is designed to treat patients suffering from issues related to their mental health to a day at the museum. The benefits of arts engagement need to be broadcasted as going much further than just the realm of aesthetic allure, in order to offer those in need an accessible outlet for a possible remedy to what ails them. Countless museums and galleries can presently be seen intertwining the idea of art as self-care in their programming, such as Toronto's Gardner Museum, which places a focus on practising mindfulness whilst partaking in one of their pottery classes. Other Toronto museums/galleries which can also be observed engaging with such notions include the AGO, which currently offers a course entitled Art & Ideas: Happiness, as well as the Museum of Contemporary Art Toronto, which presently offers a light therapy opportunity for visitors impacted by Seasonal Affective Disorder. Beyond this, arts programming (and all programming for that matter) must be dilligent regarding the content or subject matter which they are utilizing, including such precautions as content/trigger warnings in order to assure ease of engagement for any and all participants.

Concluding Remarks

Art is an incredibly impactful and integral mechanism of humanity. Despite a 2015 study which suggested that American art engagement was declining, more recent research from the National Endowment for the Arts suggests that American arts attendance is on an upward swing- speaking to the accumulating acknowledgement of the merits of arts engagement in a significant sample size of people. For this and so many more important reasons, it is extremely vital that the increasing incorporation of the arts into everyday life is done with careful consideration and the utmost care, to best ensure its optimized efficacy and inclusivity. I reckon these three considerations to be a good starting point for achieving such valuable goals.