Why the Cultural Sector is Relevant Now More Than Ever

 As everyone might have guessed from the title, I belong to the field of arts and culture. I have dedicated my life to the visual arts and cultural studies and have been gaining experience working for cultural funds and museums while balancing my studies.

The questions I frequently encounter from people when they learn that I am a visual artist are usually the same - "why?" "Why become an artist?" "Why go into the art field?" "Why would you choose art and culture over going into IT?" I tend to also get a lot of advice from well-meaning empathizing people telling me I have capabilities to succeed in the other fields, "better" fields, more "practical" fields.

The answer I provide is always the same. I do what I love and one can become successful in any field they choose to become a professional in. Time and time again, I have to explain to modern people the importance of culture and visual arts around them. Somehow, most people believe that our technological society has long surpassed the need for visual arts and culture and all of that is old and belongs in history books. People fail to recognise their own drastic need in visual entertainment and the immense demand for consuming artistic products. With TikTok, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Netflix, Pinterest and Spotify among many others, a modern human cannot survive a day without consuming their dose of artistic commodities. Yes, artistic content has become a necessary commodity. From graphic design in ads and campaigns to choosing our smartwatch display design to music and entertainment. A modern human is saturated with creative content on a daily basis. The demand for unique designs, creative insights and uncommon self-expression is only growing. The demand is so strong that luxury brands like Patek Philippe,  Jaeger - LeCoultre and many others even hire traditional artists for collaborative projects to create limited edition items, and some brands collaborate with museums and other cultural institutions for their creations.

Image: Hublot Classic Fusion x Takashi Murakami All Black

Given all this, one might ask if contemporary culture is only limited to "pop" entertainment and quick gratification suited for the insatiably hungry for consumption modern people. Yet, this is not so. Culture in general retains its important role and forever will permeate the very being of our human selves. Culture improves our learning and knowledge, it helps to connect us to our family, ancestors and other people, including minorities. It provides valuable platforms for communication, discussions and opportunities for connection with other people including all sorts of minorities. It shapes our mindsets and forms our social values and moral beliefs. It inadvertently drives our political and economic decisions as well as our biases.

Social Circle: "How to balance local culture and globalization?" - Erasmus+ Journal

This connection to other people, our tolerance of others, the freedom of thought and creative pursuits are what is needed for many to feel mentally safe, sheltered and belonging to the community.

Is it so wrong to pursue oneself in the art and culture field? I firmly believe that it is not wrong, but only right to do so. Not only that, but it has become especially essential in our modern fast-paced digital world where few care for anything but their instant gratification. We need to shape the minds of our future generations, we need to build the world where things like racism, gender inequality and other nasty habits become extinct. But that is only possible through culture.