Art and Community

An orchestra is a community …that comes together with the fundamental objective of agreeing with itself…therefore the person who plays in an orchestra begins to experience agreement… the practice of the group that recognizes itself as interdependent, where everyone is responsible for others and the others are responsible for oneself. (Documentary Tocar y Luchar, around minute11:17)

In Venezuela, a new movement has emerged: a huge cultural push toward music education for the children. Thirty years after the initiative first began, there is now a community of musicians, and a community that wildly supports their children becoming musicians. This mastery and focus has lifted many communities in Venezuela. These people have come together and through art created true beauty, a sense of accomplishment and worth, significance and contribution in a group of people that might not have otherwise felt.

I am studying music, theater and the humanities, and I truly believe that collaborative arts can bring people together in a way that nothing else can. Think of your study groups; competitive math doesn’t lead to deep emotional bonds. A mere education of dates and formulas cannot link people together in such an emotional state as can art.

Romeo to my Juliet. Picture published in the Daily Universe

This is not as drastic a story as the documentary, but the same idea holds. Last year, in a college English class, we were allowed to choose our final projects. I produced a mini-Shakespeare play. My cast of 6 and I didn’t know each other's names, we were all completely different majors, and had nothing in common besides the fact that we were stuck in this GE. But through the process of brainstorming, writing, blocking, and acting, they became my best friends that semester. It was an interesting phenomenon. I took more pride in the rest of my schoolwork, because I was so proud of our little show.

That was a small example. I’ve probably been in over 100 shows in my lifetime (including concerts, musicals, etc), and every time it’s the same effect. I can see the blessings of teamwork, and trust. You rely on your fellow artists, and they rely on you.

A community should be based on the kinds of ideals that collaborative art generates: teamwork, responsibility, and trust. And through art, many times a community like that arises.