The arts enrich us

May 2006

While the benefits of supporting science and technology are readily accepted, the value of developing the arts is sometimes questioned. Professor Bernard Hoffert from Monash's Department of Fine Arts explains what the arts deliver and the value of supporting them.

Comments that devalue the arts often do so by comparing them with more tangible disciplines -- the sciences and technologies -- where research outcomes can be seen in specific developments, improved equipment or knowledge that adds, in an obvious way, to our quality of life.

Professor Bernard Hoffert.

Development in the arts can be more amorphous and less accessible in specific terms; reasons to support arts practice can suffer by inexact comparison. However, there are explicit reasons for supporting the arts that are arguably more relevant to society than any other domain of knowledge.

The most obvious contribution is in the enhancement of culture – expressing the creative values of society, forming its identity, shaping its international image -- for example, the Australian film industry, the Indigenous art revival, or the opera, ballet and dance that have attracted international acclaim and so much influenced perceptions of Australia.

These activities not only improve our entertainment options, both in number and quality, they also enhance the nature of our environment and add to our experience of life -- every constructed object, building or place we encounter has been designed by someone and is the expression of a creative mind.

The arts beautify our environment and improve our quality of life and in doing so establish our Australian identity in an increasingly global world. The diversity of a multicultural Australia provides immeasurable resources for the arts. The inspiration to shape and enrich society is based on the cultural history of some 120 nations, enabling us to define an Australian identity and express it through original creative products for consumption at home and abroad.

A more tangible benefit from the arts can be seen by its economic contribution. The arts is a billion-dollar industry, generating jobs, commercial products and exports as well as being at the core of international tourism. When we travel, a major motivation is to see the culture of other places -- the art, architecture and design that has stood the test of time and kept its interest. The term 'cultural tourism' was employed by UNESCO to recognise the role of cultural production in attracting travellers in what has become a vast international industry.

According to Australia Council figures, the Australian arts industry was worth approximately $8 billion in the year 1999–2000, which makes it bigger than the beer, wine and spirit industries combined and a little less than half the size of the banking industry. The value of the more widely defined arts and cultural industries was $30.7 billion, about 3 per cent of the total goods and services in Australia. Developing the arts builds wealth as a by-product of enhancing quality of life and cultural identity.

A more subtle but equally important dimension of the arts is their relation to creativity -- they do not hold it as a monopoly but are universally linked with it. The arts are the most obvious custodians of a society's creativity, and research is increasingly considering how this creativity can be harnessed to the broader spectrum of knowledge to build innovation across all disciplines.

Study in the arts fosters ideas and the ability to observe, to extract understanding and to critique. These skills are fundamental to knowledge and advancement in any discipline -- science, humanities or the arts. Progress in any domain depends on innovation, and the arts foster the creativity on which innovation is founded. This is perhaps the most compelling reason of all for supporting the arts.

Professor Bernard Hoffert is the Associate Dean (External) in the Department of Fine Arts, Faculty of Art and Design.