“I am an artist because I’m part of a cycle,
I am an artist because I pull
Myself together after every failure
and keep pushing forward even when I’m unsure.
I am an artist because I am inspired,
I am an artist because I want to inspire.”
– Robert Snihur, second-year music student at Mt. A
Sometimes finding a reason to keep making art and finding inspiration in the face of serious world events is hard. Sometimes those same events are what pushes to create and share. Looking back at the art that was made during the times of crisis, we can see what the artists were concerned with, what they agreed and disagreed with, what saddened, angered, radicalized them, and why they made it into art.
There are as many ways and reasons to create art as there are people. These reasons can be personal, vulnerable, and exciting. Nevertheless, there are a few reasons why members of the Mt. A community continue to make art, as shared by the artists themselves.
Art unites us. It can be something that brings joy and makes us laugh together, as for
Eva Lucas, an actor, musician, and previous Mt. A student says that they “create art to provide a necessary medicine to the general public, including myself: A Goddamn good laugh.”
Laylia Bennett, a beadwork artist based in Sackville, defined art as “a tool for healing and processing grief but can also be used to unite us as people. Art grounds me and keeps me alive in times where everything seems impossible. Art is a tool we use to tell our stories; about who we are, to connect with our community, to share our visions and our dreams about the world.”
One of the respondents shared a personal story of making music with a friend and almost abandoning it after the friend passed away. The words of their music teacher made them reconsider: “she told me that if I closed myself off from music entirely then I wouldn’t have anything left of him but my grief to hold on to, and that out of all the weight that came from his death, I should get to choose what to carry, and I should choose what made us so happy.”
Making art is rewarding in a community that welcomes you as you are, inspires you to create and provides space for it. “I do art because my community is welcoming and it is something that I see myself for years to come. It is also something that I can present to my community and I thrive on that positive reaction that I get from my work,” shared Rachael Liddell, third-year drama and classics student at Mt. A.
Rohil Basapa, Health & Wellness Residence Life Coordinator at Mt. A makes art “to create emotional resonance to political and social messages without commodifying or objectifying people or things.”
For many people, art is a source for self expression, a way to process emotions and tell a story. Cate McNair, a third-year drama student at Mt. A says: “I do art, because sometimes it’s the only way I can get my emotions out,“ and for Caye Bromley, one of The Argosy’s Arts & Culture reporters, art is a way “to express my inner feelings, to create and explore the beauty of emotions and the world around me.”
Emma Yee, a Mt. A. and Argosy alumna, writes that “art appeals to our emotions and helps us tell stories that nothing else can. Art helps us process through feelings that are too complex to figure out otherwise. Art is a release, an escape, and yet a reflection of our lives.”
Art is many different things and can be a great source of power, self expression and realization. Art connects people in happy and troublesome times. Art is community. Art is emotion. Art is suicide prevention. Art is political. Art is self. Art is everything.
