Arts and culture are expressions of human creativity that have the ability to shape society. Art can take many forms: theatre, literature, music, painting, sculpture, dance film architecture are just a few examples that demonstrate its influence in our daily lives. Arts reflect society’s values and history while at the same time can serve as vehicles for social change that help define who we are as individuals.
Arts can be an effective means of combatting many social challenges, including racism, inequality and environmental degradation. Art can act as a bridge that connects communities together while engaging more people in issues they care most about. Art also can give marginalised voices a platform and speak directly to both heart and mind – for instance Ariel Dannielle uses exuberant paintings highlighting joy as a form of resistance against racism.
Studies have demonstrated the profound impact art can have on our lives by shifting opinions, instilling values, and communicating experiences across time and space. Studies also demonstrate the power of art in shaping identities as it helps translate experiences from one time and space to the next. Furthermore, experience is key; more exposure equals greater identification. Furthermore, art serves as an source of inspiration and can aid us navigate life more successfully. Arts and culture play an integral part in child and young adult development, improving overall academic performance while increasing critical thinking skills development; the study of drama or music also strengthens social abilities while increasing self-esteem through study of art forms such as music theory or drama or performances by their creators.
Art can mean different things across cultures. Some consider the act of painting to be art while others view it more as a craft or recreational hobby. Art may also refer to a particular style or period – for instance, Europe was rejuvenated during Renaissance with more people appreciating art, music and theater than ever before.
Researchers recently conducted an experiment that revealed participants who were less familiar with art were more likely to use their national identity as a heuristic for evaluating art compared to participants with more knowledge about it, similar to other research that has indicated an ingroup bias when judging art works.
These findings also revealed that those with greater artistic understanding demonstrated reduced ingroup bias. This indicates that becoming an art expert may allow one to better separate oneself from their ingroup and, thus, diminishing any possible ingroup bias typically observed in empirical aesthetics research. These insights offer new insight into how art experiences can be enhanced across the globe.
