Open the Door

I’ve been holding on to this exchange from Twitter for a while now.

I’m sharing it today because I’ve been thinking a lot about accessibility. How much is lost when whole chunks of our society don’t receive access to the essentials for physical and emotional growth? Talent and genius can be anywhere. But they need fertile ground to develop. They need nourishment.

You might think I’m going to segue now into more talk about schools, but I’m not. What’s on my mind this morning is about how crucial it is to make the arts accessible to all in Columbia/Howard County. So often the arts are the playground of the well-to-do. The more that money is the key that unlocks arts experiences, the more that audiences will be white and affluent.

But will future artists come only from this limited segment of our population? And can community support of the arts be sustained in a vibrant, multicultural community like Columbia/Howard County if it speaks only to one audience?

This is just one of the reasons that I’m so proud to be associated with the Inner Arbor Trust/Merriweather Park at Symphony Woods. During each season since they have opened they’ve offered a selection of events which have included ones that are either free or low cost. And their programming ranges from classical to jazz to kid’s events to culturally diverse offerings such as Cultura Plenera and Mystic India.

In short, the park is living the mission of Columbia by who it aims to reach. The arts are for
everyone. Not to harp on that picture book too much, but anyone who has consistently attended events at the Chrysalis instinctively knows that “all are welcome here.”

Accessibility to the arts isn’t simply about growing more artists and arts audiences. The arts promote a strong sense of community. They foster a sense of belonging and empowerment. The arts connect with many, many other disciplines by so many tiny threads that a free ticket to a concert may also open a door to many other amazing dreams.

The arts offer a chance to believe. This opportunity should not be reserved solely for the wealthy.

While we need to make accessibility to food, housing, education, health care (and mental health care) a priority for those who struggle, we also need to prioritize accessibility to the arts. Music, visual art, dance, and drama feed brains and souls and hearts.  They reach out to the genius which is there but is as yet undiscovered.

"We created ways for people to care more deeply about one another, to stimulate, encourage, release creativity, minimize intolerance and bigotry." - - James Rouse