CALL on CULTURE: The Arts Creating a New Narrative for a Resilient Future
This is the time of change, a time for imagining and then building a better way of living in the world. The Arts and Culture are in the position to lead the way in the creation of a new narrative and contribute to a resilient, sustainable future.
‘Nature is everywhere and in action at all times and we are part of nature’. This very basic message has been such a difficult thing to remember as our ‘progress’ has detached us from considering our impact on the natural systems that support life. The spread of the COVID-19 virus seems like nature’s way of posting how interconnected we are on the world’s largest billboard.
The virus is not something happening in a distant place or in another time--everyone is experiencing some aspect of this pandemic. It is happening here and now and it is transforming the world as we know it. We have to face up to the reality that it will be impossible to go back to the way things were. Events have thrust upon us the responsibility of imagining a new world. It is up to us to use this historic opportunity to imagine and build a post-pandemic world of equity, resiliency, respect, and a renewed kinship with the rest of the natural world.
In his book ‘The Great Derangement’ the novelist Amitav Ghosh has attributed our recent inability to confront climate change as a ‘crises of culture’ (culture, as the generator of desires) and therefore a ‘crises of the imagination’ where nature and culture have become separated. Now is the time to create a culture that reestablishes that connection, that creates a new narrative about our future. While it is a very slow process to impact political and economic structures that are in place, culture has the potential to create change and be impactful on a huge scale in a relatively short period of time.
The Arts can have an essential, complimentary role in creating a movement toward a Culture of Resilience, one that provides experiences that connect us with the natural world and with each other, one that is led by a constellation of s/heroes that are necessary to confront the complexity and opportunities of challenges ahead. Rather than using fear to elevate dark, apocalyptic scenarios, we can think in terms of co-constructing a resilient future where challenges become personal and individuals feel welcome, respected and empowered in an engaged way.
We can recognize the complexity and interconnections of challenges and embrace the full agenda of sustainable development. But one of the things the Arts do best, we can make experiences available that connect emotionally and viscerally to communities; this will be key to fostering understanding of the issues that arise.
To create this new narrative, we need to activate and support a national network of Artists. There is a constellation of musicians, designers, artists, poets and dancers that can take this on. Some have already worked for decades imagining and building Cultures of Resilience in communities all over the United States. Artists can collaborate with policy makers, educators, scientists, workers and families in developing collective solutions. Artists can address how cities are structured, how we care for the land, how communities relate to each other and how equity becomes a right. Artists are in a better position than most to take on the future because imagining and creating is our primary territory.
The WPA program was intended to shore up the arts during the Depression. Can we now create a support structure that enables artists to take the lead on creating an uplifting, empowering narrative for the public realm? This will be one that recognizes interconnections between nature and culture, between knowledge and experience, between opposing political views, communities with diverse perspectives, between art and science. We can help spread the word, help picture what can come next. We must forge these connections with imagination, dialogue, collaboration and respect while embracing the complexity of the endeavor. But most of all, this message must be a moving one able to connect with people’s own experiences in their own communities—a heartfelt narrative that demonstrates how we can link our everyday lives to a Future of Resilience.