“Is Art Enough to Change Society?”: In the Trump era, art has become more politically-engaged
On November 6, an article in Vulture explored the "unprecedented sense of mission" in the art world that "something must change, and that, perhaps, artists could help" achieve that change, following the election of Donald Trump as president.
Those questions, and others, remain after the recent midterm elections. Vulture writes:
Who knows if art can inspire someone away from cynicism to vote, to believe in the possibility of change through our democratic system, hobbled as it is by the interests of big money, and enforced by gerrymandering and voter suppression. Or, and this seems like a bigger, more improbable possibility, could art actually help change a vote?
According to Vulture, Rashid Shabazz, of the group Color of Change, asked recently: “Is art enough to change society?”
As Rujeko Hockley, assistant curator at the Whitney Museum, said: “There’s a tendency to see the art world as separate from broader cultural, social, or political worlds, which I think is not helpful or accurate. (...) We have greater legitimacy and more importance than we sometimes think we do. We have a responsibility towards the public.”
Image: Pixabay / Silentpilot