Tolstoy identified art as an indirect means to communicate from one person to another; Britannica online defines art as the use of skill and imagination in the creation of aesthetic objects, environments, or experiences that can be shared with others; and some thinkers influenced by Martin Heidegger have interpreted art as the means by which a community develops for itself a medium for self-expression and interpretation.
It has been suggested, by some, that Creative Partnerships projects do not produce real ‘art’ or ‘arts rich’ experiences for young people, and this, it appears, has gone some way to justify why Arts Council England has ceased to fund the programme. Many of those in the midst of the programme also tried to distance it from the language of arts programmes in schools, but for what purpose?
If art and culture are the means with which we communicate, share and experience with others, generate empathy and express ourselves – are creating ideas and learning in and of themselves the beginning of an arts rich experience?
There are many arguments to support why the Creative Partnerships programme is arts rich, mainly because many thousands of amazing arts organisations and individual artists have spent the last 7 years working on the programme, inspiring and encouraging young people to produce art and developing their own practice in new and exciting ways.
Many famous artists, old and new including the likes of Rembrandt, Andy Warhol and Damien Hirst have worked with a team of makers who support them in the creation of the actual piece of artwork. The idea however is their brainchild.
So where do the desire, ability, skills to produce art and engage with cultural experiences originate from?
Sir Ken Robinson has, on many occasions, said that we are born creative, that is, with the “ability to generate original ideas that have value” as well as believing that ability to imagine and create can and needs to be nurtured. This is what the arts practice in the Creative Partnerships programme facilitated for all involved.
Without the ability to think creatively and a desire to share learning and experience, art would not be possible. My musing is - Is the original idea itself the art and what comes from the idea art’s expression?