What is the value of art in a troubled world?
As we open our papers, or our newsfeeds today, it’s pretty remarkable how dark and troubled the world seems. Event closings, division and blaming, xenophobia, racism, you name it, that’s what we are greeted with each morning. A question came to me this morning, of what value is art in a world that seems to be sliding off a cliff? Is the urge to create art, whether poetry, painting, or dance in a time such as this totally superfluous, or is there a innate purpose and even need to express something when anxiety and doubt seems to rule?
The above photograph was made in Uganda in 2006, when I travelled there to support the work of the AOET, or Aids Orphan Educational Trust. It is an NGO whose purpose was to provide assistance to a people reeling from the pandemic of AIDs. One of the outreaches of the organization was in training widows and women suffering from the disease to start micro-enterprise ventures, with the goal of providing the women with means to afford treatment. It also had the side effect of helping these people with a sense of hope, of purpose, as they learned to sew garments and other fiber art.
What I found so moving, so challenging, was to see the grace displayed in these women’s eyes, their manner of dress, and conversation as they poured their soul and skill of hand into the production of brightly colored garments to sell.
Abela Grace, AIDS patient
It is not my intention to compare AIDS to Corona Virus 19. The AIDS pandemic has killed millions. The Corona virus and its future unknown at this point . However, It is my intention to speak to the value of faith and creativity to maintain a sense of purpose as the world seems to be changing and shifting under our feet.