Arts & International Affairs: Volume 2, Number 2 | Page 120

to stop and process emotions. In the same way that someone might have
a bath to unwind, time is carved out to go through the (e)motions using
someone else’s artistic expression. But it is important to note that cultural
experiences do not solely elicit positive emotions. Moments with culture are
intentionally set up to feel different—to see the world through someone
else’s eyes, hear it through their ears, or feel it as they would across the full
range of human emotions.
If we accept that this is a core role of arts and culture across societies, we
must also consider whose experiences are being shared. We must challenge
the dominant voices, eyes, and ears to ensure that a full range of perspectives
are being represented. If art enables us to feel the way someone else does,
we should embrace and encourage the opportunity to represent a range of
people and emotions.
Debate has moved beyond whether arts and culture are useful ways of eliciting
empathy. It is time now to redouble efforts to access and amplify those people
whose circumstances make them less likely to share their feelings in this
way.Art provides the opportunity to reimagine the human experience. As
divisions grow between nations, communities, and generations it can act as
an interpreter of global emotional experience. One of the best ways to change
the world is to enable people to understand it from another’s perspective.
This necessitates a full range of human emotions being expressed from a
full range of humans.
Reference
DeNora, Tia. (����) Music in Everyday Life. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge
University Press
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