▶ Your Answer :
“Art
is a hungry job,” it is not difficult to hear this comment whenever young
students tell his or her parents that their dream is to be an artist. This
quote might be based on the less of funding opportunities in the art field
compared to other profitable areas (e.g., a fast food business). Regarding this
financial concern that can threaten the arts, government funding is necessary,
especially in favor of artists’ sustainability and citizen’s rights for the
arts.
To
begin with, the arts, just like any other projects, require people, materials, and
logistics to keep it going forward. Regardless whether an art project is
individual or team based, artists need financial support to feed the artistic creators.
Also, relevant materials should be supported, which, of course, requires
certain amounts of money for better performances, e.g., papers, ink, or knives
for fine arts. However, the art itself is not a business. Moreover, if the
artists worry about financial concerns too much, it is less likely to have
better artistic performance. Thus, governments’ funding for art should be made.
In
addition to the perspective in the artists’ side, the allocation for the arts
must be taken into account in order to preserve citizen’ rights for the arts. For
instance, if artists cannot present their masterpieces to the public because
they do not have enough money for renting a place, this situation not only
lowers the chances for artistic creation, but also the chances for citizens’ right
to appreciate the arts. Citizens pay their tax not only for better physical
infrastructures (e.g., bridges, streets, or traffic signs), but also for better
lives through the arts. Therefore, when government’ funding is carried out for
this concern, citizens as viewers and consumers, can enjoy the arts, which in
turn will facilitate their better lives. Given this thought, government should
notice that the funding is not only for the artists, but also for their people.
Despite these thoughts, one might say that money involvement can negatively influence
on the artists’ genuine artistic works. This might be true, since humans can be
desirable for gold and bread, and artists are not exception. Therefore, not
supporting them may lead to better artistic performances and outcomes. Nonetheless,
we should not overlook the possibilities of totally losing our artists based on
our less considerate decisions that may not support them at all. When there is
no money or supports for artists at the beginning, and if they aware of that, chances
for the young generations to be artists would not be high enough.
In
sum, even though money may threaten the artists’ true artistic sprits, a
fundamental and appropriate government’s financial supports should be carried
out for the arts. By doing so, we can conserve our artists’ sustainability as
well as the citizen’s rights of being art consumers. |