Penny’s Community Arts Manifesto
Our Society needs art
We believe that everyone in a community has the right to access the arts in whatever capacity that is relevant to them. Access to the internet is a vital part of this creative awareness.
The value of art is more than financial
We believe that the value of a person’s creative expression and experience should not be measured in economic terms and that the meaning of the word ‘value’ in relation to a person’s artistic endeavours should pertain to a more visceral, emotional, psychological importance. The arts are more valuable to a human within society with regards to their emotional well-being and psychology. We believe everyone has the right to appropriately funded artistic and creative activities within society.
Everyone has the right to engage in creative expression
People have the right to become aware of their own creative expressions – whatever they may be - through support in the community. A creative awareness is highly valuable to any human. Creative awareness is relative to the individual abilities and they vary within a creative spectrum. This is perfectly natural and should be celebrated and supported. Everyone can choose how and to what level they engage with their own creativity.
Everyone has the right to a creative education
Creative awareness should be fostered through educational institutions and all schools have a statutory obligation to teach students a full arts programme pertaining to the curriculum. But where this system fails to do so, individuals should be aware of other options within their community to support their own creative awareness.
We acknowledge that the quality of provision to the arts within community is subjective to the individuals or groups organising it. Saying this, this natural variability in quality or taste should not be determined or restricted by economic variables.