I write occasionally about the large proportion of young people who are not interested in the arts. When I do so, I am often excoriated by my readers who are young, passionate about the arts and believe that I am out of touch with their generation.
I do stick to my conviction that far too many of our young people have not had access to the arts and, therefore, do not make the arts a part of their lives. I believe that older generations have failed these young people by reducing access to the arts in schools and, at best, delayed their opportunity to enjoy and benefit from arts participation. I spend a good deal of my time trying to remedy this situation; the Kennedy Center's new Millennials Project is one effort to do so.
But, of course, there is still a large segment of our younger population that does embrace the arts and are as passionate about them as anyone of my generation. In trying to lobby for access for all younger people, I am not intentionally minimizing their involvement or contributions to the arts.
I had an opportunity to witness younger people in action recently in Miami at the annual YoungArts week. YoungArts is a wonderful organization that provides life-changing opportunities for high school musicians, dancers, writers, etc. (I have had the great pleasure of serving as a consultant to YoungArts and am excited about their ambitious plans for the future.)
During YoungArts week, talented high school students have the opportunity to learn from world class experts (e.g., Robert Redford teaching a master class on filmmaking), to share experiences with their peers, and to create performances of their own. For many of them, this week represents the highlight of their high school years.
(YoungArts also produces an HBO series MASTERCLASS that features major artists like Plácido Domingo or Michael Tilson Thomas teaching younger students. There is also a teacher's guide for teachers in all subject areas to use these programs to teach about leadership, discipline and focus.)
Watching these young people perform is truly life-affirming for those of us who care deeply about the future of the arts in America. One recognizes that while not every child today has the opportunity to dance, act, sing or play an instrument, there will always be a group of extraordinary people who have a need to express themselves and the have ability to do so. We need to continue to provide vehicles for these young artists to develop their talents as well as a stage on which they can perform.
Nonetheless, I still want to make the arts accessible to every child and I still believe that those young people who have the opportunity to exercise their creative muscles will be better able to function in what is now a creative economy.
And I want to ensure that there are audiences in the future who can enjoy performances by those young artists I had the pleasure of seeing in Miami and the thousands more like them across the nation.