Daily Times

The doctrine of art refers to the human application and physical manifestation of creativity which are found in the landscape of human cultures and societies through talent and imagination. The major constituents of the arts are visual, literary, and performing art. Art and creativity have no fear of perfection to shut our eyes to see what we can’t through our open eyes. However, both even have a healing power to cleanse our society from the challenges of mental illnesses, behavioral complications, and other progressive neurological ailments. Proven research has revealed that music and creative arts can reduce anxiety and loneliness to stimulate composure in people who are hospitalized or homebound due to the spectrum of illnesses.

The 21st Century stands at our doorstep to retell, we are a society of loopholes which is deficient to yield the power of art. In the vicious cycle of lack of art, we still can treasure the dancing miracles of art at the stage of the disturbing world, which also reminds us art is as important as the piece of bread for our children.

Art is also a responsibility – throughout art history, humanity has been enchanted and inspired by the different constituents of art to harbor an extravagant gift of life. Moreover, there are wider economic benefits of art literacy in society. Think about Apple founder Steve Jobs, who famously took only a few courses at UC Berkeley before dropping out. One of those courses was on calligraphy which benefited his design philosophy for the operating systems from Apple’s first computers all the way to the iPhone.

Similarly, Mark Elliot Zuckerberg, known for co-founding Facebook, he became the world’s youngest self-made billionaire. His father taught him Atari BASIC Programming in the 1990s and friends who were artists inspired him to build games. Some children played computer games, Mark created them. Zuckerberg revealed in an interview – I had a bunch of friends who were artists. They would come over, draw stuff, and I would build a game out of it.”
Undoubtedly, artworks silently in our life when the rest of the world sleeps to reshape our natural talents for the license to win. For instance, the theme song for the James Bond film ‘No Time to Die’ scores the biggest opening in February 2020 which landed the Bond franchise’s biggest-ever opening in the history of the franchise’s 57 years. The song, which was co-written and produced by Billie Eilish at the age of 18, racked up 10.6 million streams in the first seven days of its release.  As a result, Billie stands the youngest ever artist and the first female to take a Bond theme to the top of the Official Singles Chart.

For days it was hard for me to understand how a young girl with the Midas touch, at such a young age rethought the James Bond theme for a new generation and presented a block blaster hit.  It was only a Power of art which positioned Billie at the heights of her success, despite her own challenges. Known for her deep and often dark songs, much of Billie’s music and style is inspired by her own passion and respect for art.

Billie’s inspiration arises from a treehouse in the backyard that was built by her dad. She also revealed in an interview her parents encouraged her to express and explore whatever she wanted, including art, dancing, and acting. Billie’s parents played a vibrant role to focus on things she was really interested in instead of being taught things that you don’t really need to know.  While Billie was home-schooled, her mother taught her the basics of songwriting, at a very early age thus, Billie started writing songs for class assignments.

These superstars who are clearly ‘licensed to win’ knocked at the door of the world with the gifts of their magnificent ideas, songs, and innovations that were deeply inspired by their own desire for art.  We also discover from the above success stories the role of parents to nurture their children with art and creative learning was a turning point. Consequently, these gigantic personalities reshaped the landscape of the entire world with the power of art and creativity.

Over the past decades in Pakistan, the prospects to profess art and creativity in Children’s education have been the least important priority of every Government which has elevated serious concerns about the survival of art. Insufficient opportunities for creational art, drama, and music in Pakistan have sickened the entire society. As a result, such activities are now perceived less important to our society which is heart-breaking. The state’s lack of attention in the fields of arts should be taken as a prospect by parents to fill the emptiness. In more developed education systems around the world earlier classes normally emphasize creational activities such as painting, making music, and learning at least one instrument mandatory.

From what we have learned from Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg, and Billie’s life so far, they used the power of art to transform our society to rule the world. Perhaps, this is why Billie’s fans often comment on her videos that they “feel her pain” and are “crying along with her”. A society that forgets art risks losing its soul. With the power of art, we can torch candles to bring life to those who are facing religious oppression, mental health problems, PTSD, and racial inequalities.

Given the alarming situation of Pakistan, as a society, we have to think about what we have to offer our children as a parent. The foremost question in our society also do we want to become Billie’s parents to build a treehouse for our children or to encourage them to achieve what they are interested in? We also have to contemplate are we active listeners of our children to navigate their talents?  We shouldn’t forget “Every child is an artist; the problem is staying an artist when you grow up”.

In conclusion, without art our hearts are a solid piece of stone, our children’s lives are crumbly like sandcastles by the seaside. Traveling through the sequence of my own grim childhood my own world was gloomy and delicate like a sandcastle without the power of art.  This is my story, maybe yours, however, this story belongs to many of us – Welcome to the world of sandcastles!

Writer is based in London – Has earned an MBA from Pakistan, studied leadership in 21st Century organizations from Copenhagen Business School, and Specializes Health informatics from Johns Hopkins University