Rethinking The Social Impacts Of The Arts

Eleonora Belfiore & Oliver Bennett

The arts cannot properly thrive in a community without support from its community and government. Aside from statistical evidence of the impacts of art on society, there is a certain attitude and value towards the arts which allows for its presence in local communities to persist. In a historical study conducted by the Centre for Cultural Policy Studies, University of Warwick, the origins of social perspectives towards the arts in the United Kingdom are examined and analyzed. Utilizing historical analyses, the author draws back to Greek and European culture and approaches to art, further determining the manner in which societies have responded and perceived art over time. Also examining works of ancient philosophers such as Plato and Aristotle, the notion of the arts as a, “form of ‘useful delight’” which became central to “European thinking on the function of the arts…” is considered and applied to the contemporary art scene in the United Kingdom (Belfiore). This study seeks to understand how and why societies came to value art, before the positive fruits of the arts were reaped. The author focuses on the manner in which art is perceived both positively and negatively in society, and utilizes the historical context which was compiled to support such cases. Access the entire study here.