backstory: Art and empathy
Back in March of 2017, Darren Walker, the head of the Ford Foundation, gave a talk at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC titled “The Art of Democracy: Creative Expression and American Greatness.”
During that talk he observed succinctly and poetically, “Without art, there is no empathy. Without empathy, there is no justice.”
He continued:
The arts have the power to lead us forward, to heal us, to bring us together and help us bridge real divides. The arts are the key to building and rebuilding bridges in our society—between cities and rural counties; between the poor and the prosperous; between the past, the present, and the possible. And in this way, investment in the arts is an investment in moral imagination, in our capacity for empathy—an investment in the kind of greatness that comes with a deeper, richer understanding of one another and ourselves.
Our investment in the arts, in moral imagination, in empathy, is more important right now, on this very day, than ever.
Be well. Stay safe.
He continued:
The arts have the power to lead us forward, to heal us, to bring us together and help us bridge real divides. The arts are the key to building and rebuilding bridges in our society—between cities and rural counties; between the poor and the prosperous; between the past, the present, and the possible. And in this way, investment in the arts is an investment in moral imagination, in our capacity for empathy—an investment in the kind of greatness that comes with a deeper, richer understanding of one another and ourselves.
Our investment in the arts, in moral imagination, in empathy, is more important right now, on this very day, than ever.
Be well. Stay safe.
Tracy Fitzpatrick
Director
Neuberger Museum of Art
Find me on Twitter @tracyfitzart
p.s. You can find the complete text of the talk here.