By Kate MacLean
Art is a unifying presence in our community, and Ottawa has many groups that bring our community together to celebrate and express who we are as people.
What would life be like if we all participated in the arts on a daily basis?
Singing, dancing, drumming, speaking, painting, writing, wailing who we are.
Now, before you dismiss me as another lefty quack, hear me out.
If art became as common as breathing to us, we would know ourselves and others better because of it.
Imagine going to a poetry reading every month and hearing about people’s yearnings and strengths and pain. Would you not begin to understand yours?
We would not be so disconnected from who we are as individuals and communities, and our therapy bills wouldn’t be so high if we had the opportunity to drum out our frustrations on a weekly basis.
For example, the people I know who participate in drumming circles seem to be much happier, more well-adjusted folk amongst the craziness of modern life.
Art is an expression of experience — yours or someone else’s. If we were to see art as representations of experience, we might not have to try as hard to understand the differences between us as members of the community.
Art can build bridges between people who don’t have any common ground.
For example, the World Inter-Action Mondiale film festival is coming to Ottawa. The festival focuses on human rights, equality, social justice and global culture.
We could not understand what others face if not for forums that allow the people involved to tell the story of their own experiences.
And when art is accessible, like at the National Gallery, we can all participate. That builds community understanding and solidarity and it creates an opportunity to talk to each other in our increasingly fragmented culture.
Consider an art critic and a street youth standing in front of the same sculpture at the gallery.
They may get different impressions of what the artist meant by the piece, but while they take it in, they are united in a way they could not be in any other circumstance.
For a night, accessible art can even out the inequities that we face in our lives.
So, read your local papers for events, and get involved. Happy scouting.