We asked participants from across the spectrum of Goodman Education and Engagement programming about the act of creating and what they would like to see the world of art look like tomorrow and beyond.
I find inspiration for my art through life experiences. Even when I am performing I try to relate that performance with a life experience so I can understand the character a little better. I see art becoming very diverse in what is considered art. It personally inspires me that there can be no wrong in art—it’s all about interpretation and how someone can interpret what you have created differently.
I tend to base my personal projects on hybrids between books and music. If I'm reading Moby-Dick and listening to a disco album, my brain will start mushing them together.
I'd like to see art besides in museums and galleries. I would like to see it used in medicine, in conversation, gas stations, supermarkets and in schools, not necessarily as a separate subject, but integrated into other disciplines.
Starting based in the magic of reality has always helped me [creatively]. What got people excited? What made people dream? What was life like? Then, what do I recognize? I feel the worlds become not so different.
The boundless, centripetal nature of Black artistry continuously motivates me to interrogate the efficacy and viability of my own contributions to the arts. I hope we dismiss the utility of art that purports itself to be "radical" or "revolutionary," yet offers nothing more than a superficial rebuke to whiteness, masqueraded as the empowerment of historically-dispossessed peoples.
I see art as necessary for life as breathing. In the future, I see art growing in need because our world is so broken. The arts are healers, agents of change and communicators. I want art to explode, be available to all, and be so good and so meaningful that it becomes irresistible. Sometimes, it already is. More of it will be better.
With everything going remote, we've seen a lot of innovations and different ways to push the form. I hope we remember what we've learned in this time even as things go back to "normal." It's opened our eyes to ways to make theatre more accessible, which is extremely important.
From Greek drama, Persian storytelling, Indonesian puppeteering, African dance and the Parisian surrealists to modern hip-hop and slam poets, the art I love wells up from the voices of the ignored, abused and socially voiceless. I think we must do all we can to not let the voices of the unempowered and under-represented be silenced, even if we don't always agree with the word. We live, or die, together.
Women's artwork is finally coming to fore and varied cultures have stories to tell. This thrills me as diversity brings different views. I adore the language, feeling and rhythm that diverse culture and land bring.
I normally take inspiration from history and those before me. Much can be learned from other's mistakes or successes.
Most of my creative thoughts and ideas come to mind while looking outside the L train window at the cityscape. In Chicago, we are fortunate to not only gain constant inspiration from artists all over the city, but also from the city itself.
I see art expanding and contracting in directions we have never considered. I feel these new directions will make art more inclusive and accessible to new audiences.
This plague has leveled the playing field for performance like a Samurai sword. Art and artistic pursuits belong to those who desperately need them most to express themselves.
