WÆRK Blog
On elevating empathy, humans, and nature - in business and civics - through culture
We’re inspired by Maria Popova’s Brain Pickings blog. It’s a fount of ideas that atypically examines the work of iconic minds and illuminates the work of lesser-known lights. Brain Pickings joins the arts, sciences and humanities in ways that broaden our perspectives on life and (its most important element) love.
Image via brainpickings.org
Image via Pinterest
Image via Pinterest
Image via Pinterest
We're inspired by The Great Discontent, a triannual publication focused on creators and the many phases of creativity.
Image via The Great Discontent website
In the recent past, traditional liberal arts education was merely undervalued. Today it’s being attacked outright, as the prioritization of applied approaches to education gain prominence in academic and economic dialogues. Contemporary wisdom dictates that our youth should be directed toward STEM fields, but we at WÆRK believe that the dearth of the critical thinking, which is the fruit of a liberal arts education, is creating a crisis.
Using social media as a megaphone, anyone can broadcast his or her opinion to the world. Too frequently, these often critical opinions are neither mediated by deep contemplation nor empathetic consideration. Broad context is often ignored, due to the rapid pace of online communication and unfamiliarity with bridging ideas that is nurtured through training in critical thought. People “don’t read the comments” because they know that base, anonymous criticism drags dialogue into the gutter. Online trolls may assault the ego, but they destroy the development of fecund conversations and communities.
As we face an increasing glut of information, the critical thinking education that is viewed as so disposable will, in fact, be more relevant than ever. A background in critical thinking can help us weed through crap to find quality. It may provide a checks and balances system for the increasingly unfettered digital economy, by encouraging wholesale consideration before judgments are made. It may, invigorated by intertextuality online and off, encourage a richness of culture and conversation.
Photo by WÆRK
Artists and culture bearers, I think it’s time to revise the lexicon; “creative” just doesn’t cut it anymore. The language of creative economies advanced by Richard Florida, and widely adopted by the tech sector, runs roughshod over the relevance of artists and culture bearers and suppresses their influence.
These “new” creative industries are thriving financially, while the traditional creative industries are witnessing the devaluation of artistic skills and the disappearance of professional opportunities. There is an inverse relationship between the declining viability of careers in the arts and culture in major U.S. cities and the increase in artistic references (often without attribution or context) in the marketplace.
We must find the means to articulate the necessity of the artist and the culture bearer in the marketplace, our communities and our individual lives. We must innovate broadly to create opportunities for these highly-skilled professionals. We must develop language to elevate issues relevant to artists and culture bearers, so they don’t get lost in the shuffle of the creative economies.
WÆRK uses the term “artisanal creative” to refer to artists and culture bearers, but we’d love to hear your suggestions. Please share them in the comments.
Photo by WÆRK
Image via Pinterest
Image via the Writing On It All website
We're inspired by a public participatory art project that puts the power of the pen in all of our hands.
Welcome to the WÆRK Blog!
Here you'll find brief posts intended to encourage dialogue around STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and math) and advocate for the arts and culture in daily life. We'll also provide information about our services and methodology, and the people, experiences and ideas that inspire us.
We hope you'll return regularly and that you'll engage us in conversation by commenting on our posts.
Sincerely, The WÆRK Team
