The Importance of Art in Society and Economy.

myermovement.medium.com/the-importance-of-art-in-society-and-economy-f80e18b299ef

June 5, 2020

Written by Rayden Sia, Edited by Rifqi Faisal, Researched by Ellysha Najwa and
Managed by Edwin Goh.

“The arts are not a way to make a living. They are a very human way of making life more
bearable. Practicing an art, no matter how well or badly, is a way to make your soul grow,
for heaven’s sake. Sing in the shower. Dance to the radio. Tell stories. Write a poem to a
friend, even a lousy poem. Do it as well as you possibly can. You will get an enormous
reward. You will have created something.”

Kurt Vonnegut, A Man Without a Country.

Humans have been creating art for as long as we have been around. Our ability to
appreciate beauty, to spin stories, to write love songs and sad poems is uniquely human.
Even in the most difficult of times, humans have turned to art to seek comfort and
express their innermost desires. And in this time of Covid-19, racial tensions and
broken dreams, art is ever more important.

Despite Malaysia’s rich history of art and modern attempts to stimulate the industry,
the arts have been sorely neglected. According to Cendana in their Kuala Lumpur As A
Cultural And Creative City Report, factors such as the lack of systems to support the

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growth of the cultural economy, the underdeveloped culture of entrepreneurship across
the sector and the shortage of effective support of the arts and cultural sector, among
others pose huge challenges to the development of the Malaysian art industry.

To Malaysian students wishing to enter the field of arts, the biggest barrier is perhaps
the widely held belief that creative education is not a realistic path for personal and
professional development.

In short, the arts are not a money-making machine, and in the eyes of many parents,
nothing is worse than having their children end up starving artists. Throughout this
month, MYER will be tackling the big issues about art such as its importance in society
and the economy, the state of art in education, and how we can better appreciate art. In
this article, we’ll be focusing just on the former.

The Importance of Art in Society.

In the past decade, as digital technology has developed, it has become much easier for
people to create, distribute, and access art of all forms. As mainstream art has evolved
to become less tangible, the benefits of art are anything but intangible.

Research has shown that creating art for 45 minutes produced immediate benefits
among test subjects in the form of reduced cortisol levels (a good measure for the
experience of stress in humans). Numerous research articles have also related
expressive writing, music and art to long-term improvements of health, reduction of
negative emotions and enhancement of positive emotions, and therapeutic effects in
reducing stress and anxiety among patients with serious health issues.

For students, art can be an invaluable tool for self-expression, better studying and stress
reduction. Furthermore, research says that art is often used as a coping mechanism
because of its ability to begin a healing process by self-expression when communicating
with others can not.

Not everyone is a naturally gifted speaker or maths whiz, and not everyone has the
capacity to excel in the STEM disciplines. The arts provide students with an avenue to
exercise their creativity and explore off the beaten path. Students whose talents lie in
the arts may feel neglected and forced against the wall when made to study a scientific
syllabus.

By pursuing an arts-based education, these students may find their talents to be better
utilized. After all, not all brains are created equal. For students already pursuing their
studies in the STEM subjects, a 2014 study concluded that arts-integrated instruction
was significantly more effective than conventional teaching methods in helping
students, particularly basic readers to retain scientific lessons. These results were
further enforced in a 2019 study by the same author. All students regardless of talents
or background can definitely benefit from the stress-reducing effects of arts education.

The arts have also been the medium of choice for promoting social change. Artists
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with huge followings are capable of instigating change on a global scale. This is
especially important during periods of social fragility and unrest. The fight against
racism, sexism and homophobia has been greatly aided by positive representations of
minorities in popular media such as creative writing, movies and music. In times of
social crises like the death of George Floyd, graffiti has been plastered on countless
walls to express grief and sadness over his death and to serve as a reminder of the
problems of the American judiciary system.

Humans may not all speak the same language, but we all understand the language of
beauty, music and poetry. Documentaries provide important visual imagery that
enables us to empathize with and better understand their subjects. For example, Al
Gore’s acclaimed documentary, An Inconvenient Truth has been credited for raising
international public awareness of global warming, changing public opinion on the
matter and bringing it to the forefront of mainstream discussion.

Furthermore, the arts can bring communities together by reducing isolation and
making people feel safer. They have been shown to increase empathy towards others,
thus reducing social tension and discrimination. A 2014 evidence review by Arts
Council England showed that “There is strong evidence that participation in the arts can
contribute to community cohesion, reduce social exclusion and isolation, and/or make
communities feel safer and stronger.” The same review also indicated that “Culture and
sport volunteers are more likely than average to be involved and influential in their
local communities.” They also found that “High-school students who engaged in the arts
at school are twice as likely to volunteer than those who don’t engage in the arts and are
20 percent more likely to vote as young adults.”

When it comes to protests against injustice, the arts can be an invaluable weapon.
Sometimes, more memorable than the protests themselves is the imagery associated
with the protests. Though the exact details of protests and activism may fade from our
memories, their symbols endure. Take for example the rainbow flag that has become the
banner of the LGBTQ+ acceptance movement, the pink ribbon that has come to
symbolize the fight against breast cancer, and the raised fist that has become one of the
most recognizable logos of the Black Lives Matter movement.

No matter where you stand on these matters, it is undeniable that these symbols have
become a part of our collective awareness. The same can be said for music. Since 1982,
hip hop music has been associated with protest. Modern hip hop deals with issues such
as police brutality, systematic racism and political disagreement. Since its release, the
success of the 1985 charity single “We Are the World” succeeded in raising over $147
million in present-day currency for humanitarian aid in Africa and the US.

The Importance of Art in the Economy.

For many, the most daunting challenge in pursuing a career in the arts is the prospect of
financial instability. As of 2016, 2.1% of Kuala Lumpur’s total population was employed
in the cultural and creative industry, contributing to 2.4% (RM11.2b) of KL’s total GDP.
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According to the UNCTAD report CREATIVE ECONOMY OUTLOOK: Trends in
international trade in creative industries 2002–2015, the size of the global market for
creative goods has expanded substantially more than doubling in size from $208 billion
in 2002 to $509 billion in 2015.

In 2015, four of the top ten exporters of creative goods worldwide were from Asia, with
China leading by a wide margin. Worldwide, the creative economy employed nearly 30
million people and generated $2.25 trillion in revenue, making up 3 percent of the
world’s GDP. The Cendana report cites Kuala Lumpur as a burgeoning global creative
hub. With an ethnically diverse and growing international population of 7 million, the
city has the potential to compete with other urban and developing cities of Southeast
Asia as a major centre for trade, innovation and culture.

In 2004, the Malaysian Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) set out to achieve the
daunting goal of producing an expansive animated world with Saladdin: the Animated
Series. Though this did not pan out as expected, other efforts such as Les’ Coqaque’s
long-running Upin and Ipin series, Animonsta Studios’ BoBoiBoy and WAU
Animation’s Ejen Ali have not only appealed to the Malaysian market but even
penetrated the Singaporean, Indonesian, and Bruneian markets. Notably, Ejen Ali: The
Movie, produced by MDEC with the support of Primeworks Studios in collaboration
with Wau Animation achieved its targeted RM20 million in only 14 days of screening.

The movie has surpassed BoBoiBoy Movie 2 after 43 days to be the highest-grossing
Malaysian animated film. Ejen Ali: The Movie was made on a budget of RM5.5 million
and financed hundreds of jobs in the Malaysian creative industry.

Besides, the benefits of a country’s growing arts and cultural industry also spillover into
its tourism industry. In 2018, Ipoh was featured on The New York Times as a city to
travel to. The article highlighted the murals of Lithuanian artist Ernest Zacharevic, who
had also done work in Penang’s Georgetown, as one of the main draws of the city. The
recent boom of uniquely furnished and very ‘Instragrammable’ hip cafes all over the city
was cited as the main reason for its emergence in the global spotlight.

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 Artist Ong Kim Seng

This proves that the interior design and architectural merit of a building is just as
important as its structural soundness. Georgetown in Penang has also been a top travel
destination for visitors coming to Malaysia. The town’s characteristic blend of diverse
cultural elements, its architectural heritage and modern street art installations have
been attracting tourists for years. Artist Ong Kim Seng’s art career proves that art is able
to posses economic value and it doesn’t always have to be just-a-hobby.

According to the Malaysia Tourists Profile 2018 By Selected Market, shopping has been
the biggest tourist expenditure component since 2015. The top shopping items
purchased by tourists include handicrafts/souvenirs, apparel/clothing, and foodstuff.
98.8% of tourists report purchasing handicrafts while 96.2% of tourists reported
purchasing apparel during their travels in Malaysia. This shows that there is still a
market for traditional Malaysian crafts such as batik, jewelry, and earthenware.

Thus, it is clear that there is immense potential in the Malaysian arts and cultural
industry. Perhaps the biggest issue Malaysian artists face is not the lack of demand, but
rather the lack of strategic, structural and regulatory systems to propel the growth of
the economy.

A recent example would be Malaysian singer-songwriter Yuna’s recounting of her

experience meeting with a Malaysian label executive to market her English songs. The
label executive in question turned down her request to help market her English songs
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and proposed that she record an album consisting of 9 Malay songs and 1 English song
because he believed that no one would want to listen to her English music. She then
went on to sign a deal with Fader Label, an independent record label based in New York
City. She became the first and only Malaysian singer to be listed on the US Billboard
Top 10 R&B Chart.

According to CENDANA, “The creative industry in Malaysia has a reputation as a low-

income generator compared to other fields of work.” This is due in part to poor
marketing and promotion of the arts. Many new artists are relying solely on social
media to promote their work. Far too often, Malaysian talent goes undiscovered.
Perhaps with formalized support and regulatory systems, more Malaysian artists can be
taken into the mainstream, as music labels become more dynamic and less risk-averse
due to guaranteed support from the systems in place.

The Future of Arts in Malaysia — Why you should be a part of it.

It would seem that, with the proper regulatory support, the arts can become an
attractive field for talented Malaysians. CENDANA has identified 5 main building
blocks for Kuala Lumpur’s cultural and creative economy. These include:

1. Improving cultural and creative education to produce a creative workforce.

2. Creative hubs and infrastructure.
3. Nurturing the creative market.
4. Business support & investment.
5. Creative place-making, livability and tourism.

With concerted action requiring a mix of public and private sector investment and
management, Malaysia’s art industry may just one day claim a prominent place in the
global cultural and creative landscape. To the youths of Malaysia, don’t give up just yet
on your dream of dedicating your life to the creative arts. There is limitless potential in
the Malaysian arts industry just waiting to be discovered. The world isn’t in short
supply of stock traders or bankers, but we could definitely do with more artists.

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