One of the most poignant four minutes of TV since COVID hit our shores, can be found in Luke McGregor’s impassioned plea for the arts.
McGregor joined The Weekly With Charlie Pickering for his regular ‘Lukenomics’ segment a few weeks ago and was instantly elevated to hero status in the arts world.
If you missed it, WATCH IT HERE to the end.
I’ve seen it three times now and each time I cry – particularly at his last line.
“We don’t need the arts to survive, but I would argue the arts gives us a reason to.”
Can you imagine a life without books, art, movies, stories, TV, music, theatre, comedy or dance? I can’t and I’d be extremely hard pressed to find a reason for living if they didn’t exist. The arts are so infused in our daily lives that we take them for granted. They’re as integral to our wellbeing as the air we breathe and the food we eat.
Our government clearly does not value the arts, despite the proof that it is a massive contributor to the economy (111 billion dollars in 2016-17) outdoing many other industries and sectors. Why would a government seek to demoralise and diminish their worth, particularly as they’re the very thing to give us hope in our fragile world right now? I have a little theory about this, but it’s a private conversation to have over zoom with a glass of wine rather than in this forum.
An argument based only on the economic validity of the arts, is both facile and ruinous. What about its contribution to the rebuilding and strengthening of our society? A society without the arts, is no society at all and certainly not one I want to be a part of. The arts give life meaning, and meaning is immeasurable in monetary terms.
Perhaps we’re all a little guilty of devaluing the arts? Perhaps we all have a role to play in helping this sector thrive? Is there ever a more perfect time for it? I’m always seeking ways to do that. If you’ve got some ideas, hit me with them. I’m all ears.
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PS If you missed my recent podcast Conversations on The Coronation. Listen here
About me: I’m a Purpose Educator and author of The Purpose Project. I help leaders attract and retain the best people by harnessing the power of deep purpose and storytelling. I do this through The Purpose Project for Companies, a customised consultative process for co-creating a new purpose statement and The Purpose Project Course, a 7-step online course to help employees bring their own why to work.
