The arts are everywhere. It's unavoidable. Whether you're on your phone, watching television, or even spending time outside, you are constantly immersed in products of the arts community. We listen to music everywhere we go. We see art and graphic design in logos and marketing. Acting and modeling are used for advertising. We utilize the arts for work and for pleasure. The filmed entertainment industry alone (encompassing movie, tv, and home streaming services) received a revenue of $9.9 billion in 2016, and is projected to grow to $10.9 billion by 2020. (Select USA). In the U.S., the recorded music industry grew to $15.5 billion, and is predicted to grow past $18 billion by 2020. Needless to say the arts contribute to so much of our industry and economy, while also providing us with goods and services that we genuinely enjoy and revel in. That is why now, in a society that is increasingly dependent and demanding of the arts industries, arts education is so important.

Now, more than ever, it is increasingly vital to understand the necessity of arts education and become an advocate. Recently, it has been reported that President Trump wants to eliminate The National Endowment for the Arts and National Endowment for the Humanities. If this were to happen, so many opportunities for students in the U.S. to learn and explore the arts would be taken away. Also, publicly funded programs like PBS (that fund art education programs as well) would be forced to depend on private donations alone. The Washington Post outlined the thought process behind this decision. While the amount of spending cut in the long run seems beneficial, when broken down, the arts endowments only make up 0.016% of the roughly $4 trillion dollars spent by the federal government.

Again, the arts industries are unavoidable in our society. We consume media constantly (not even taking a break to eat a meal or drive a car). So why does it make sense to take away the education that provides us with the goods and services that we so desperately crave. A part from the mental and emotional need for media, there are plenty of statistics that prove an arts education is so beneficial. In a publication entitled "Critical Evidence: How the Arts Benefit Student Achievement", the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies (NASAA) answers the questions "Why is it so important to keep the arts strong in our schools?" and "How does study of the arts contribute to student achievement and success?". According to the publication, "A growing body of studies. . . . presents compelling evidence connecting student learning in the arts to a wide spectrum of academic and social benefits". It goes on to describe a study done at the University of California, which found that students who were highly involved in the arts performed better on standardized achievement tests than those with low to no involvement. These students also reported to experience less boredom in school, and were more likely to participate in community service, which just demonstrates how an arts education leads to a well-rounded development. It was also reported that an exposure to arts education provided benefits associated with reading and language skills, mathematics skills, thinking skills, social skills, and a motivation to learn.

These facts haven't gone unnoticed. In the same publication, NASSA reports that 93% of Americans agree that arts are vital to a child's well-rounded education, and 83% believe that arts education helps teach children to communicate effectively with adults and peers. These statistics alone communicate how people view arts education, an how it impacts the lives of children. If a vast majority of our nation's citizens support and understand the importance of the arts, then why are we trying to deny our student's access to arts education? It goes beyond just benefiting the education of our country's youth. So many people make their living off of these industries. According to the Motion Picture Association of America, the movie and tv industry contributes $40 billion each year in payments to more than 330,000 local businesses in the U.S. It supports almost 2 million workers, generating $47 billion in wages. There is an obvious demand for these industries that contribute greatly to our nation's economy, so why does it make sense to cut the education opportunities that would allow students to explore, and then later work in these fields. It's priceless exposure, and it's available right in our public schools.

The arts change people's lives; Just ask any artist, musician, or actor. It provides a creative outlet that so many people desperately need. Without arts programs we wouldn't be able to enjoy the works of Robin Williams, Nina Simone, or even J.K. Rowling (and who wants to live in a world without Harry Potter, honestly). As humans, we crave contact and interaction, and the arts provide that. For hundreds of years, we have been writing, painting, playing, and creating art. Entire institutions- theaters, museums, schools- are dedicated to these practices. Art is the expression and preservation of the human experience, and the minute that we start to ignore the importance of this fact, we will start to lose what makes us special, what makes us feel special.

The best thing a supporter of the arts can do today is to educate themselves. Understand what the endowment cuts mean, and learn how to participate/be an advocate. Americans for the Arts is a great association to start with. Also, learn about your local public arts programs. You can go to PBS and NPR to learn more. There are also tons of ways that you can take your passion and make your voice heard. Support petitions , advocate on any platform at your disposal, and donate to your local arts educations programs (like the ones run by PBS for example). Only when we decide to raise our voices will they be heard, and I imagine it will sound like steady hammers on stone, triumphant horns, soulful choirs, and a thousand love poems.