These are changing, uncertain times -- times that require new ways of thinking and engaging with both the opportunities and challenges of a more diverse, technologically driven, and entrepreneurial world. When we talk about a changing world and the role America will play in shaping the "new normal," the idea of a competitive advantage naturally arises -- moreover, how such an advantage may be achieved.
Education, innovation, engineering, technology. All of these are terms that have been imbued with particular significance as we attempt to position ourselves to move into the future. At the core of all of these, however, there is something much more fundamental at play: the recognition that the way forward is through creative thinking and nontraditional problem-solving. Both of which are inherent in -- and developed through -- the arts.
The 2012 National Arts Policy Roundtable convened around the idea that the arts are fundamental to navigating our shifting economy and should be recognized as such. Communities all across America are grappling with changing structures in economics, education, demographics, and more, and the arts have an important place in every locale -- urban, rural, and everything in between. Thus, the charge for the 2012 National Arts Policy Roundtable was to grapple with the question of how best to navigate "the remake" through the lens of the arts, and develop a set of actionable steps to put the arts to work in providing sustainable, creative and innovative answers.
More