One of the courses I'm taking this semester is called Art Administration. The course outlines how to create and run an art-related non-profit organization. I took it as a filler elective; it sounded interesting enough, and I thought the information might come in handy one day. For our first assignment, we had to come up with an idea for a fake non-profit that we would use as our model for the rest of the semester. I came up with some art therapy thing, and many other students had great ideas, but one in particular caught my attention.
This student had an idea about busking. She wanted to set up an organization that connected small artists to locations around the city, starting with Boston, so they could play their music outside and provide free public art. This got some gears turning in my head. It hadn't yet occurred to me to think about the visuals of Boston outside of the brownstones being academia chic. I noticed a few times when there were murals or buskers, but I didn't really notice if they weren't there. The student then went on to talk about the benefits of public art, and how it's strange and isolating to always make people pay to see music/art/theatre. I was hooked. A million questions and thoughts sprung up in my mind about this topic. It was strange. Art, one of the most amazing tools in providing community, communication, and joy, has turned into a product. You have to pay to play.
Now of course, I'm not saying we shouldn't have to pay for concerts and art should be free. We already live in this system, and artists deserve to be paid for their hard work as much as anyone else. Art is one of the few things I don't mind spending money on because it has so much value to me. But I wonder if there's a space for free art. I wonder what some of the benefits might be if our cities and suburbs had good, accessible art all around us. Art breathes life. It provides color, texture, context. Even if it's not live musicians, imagine a world where different music is played outside. A subtle backdrop on a walk or a shopping trip. Even stores and restaurants have to pay to stream music for their patrons, and the license they pay for only covers music played inside the confines of their establishment. It's so strict. God forbid a melody hit the outdoors.
Obviously, busking does exist, and public art projects go on all the time in the form of murals or free shows. I just don't know that everyone appreciates it. I know I didn't. It's time to pour back into our communities and support the change we want to see.
Written by Alexa Marie
Edited by David Nathaniel