“The Importance of the Arts in the Lives of Young People” (Michelle Obama)
METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART FEATURE STORY
(excerpted from the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s art education email newsletter)
First Lady Michelle Obama Speaks to the Importance of the Arts in the Lives of Young People Here follows an excerpt from the First Lady’s remarks on the occasion of the inauguration of The New American Wing on May 18, 2009: “I am delighted to be here with you to celebrate American history through the arts. From the beginning of our nation, the inspired works of our artists and artisans have reflected the ingenuity, creativity, independence, and beauty of this nation. It is the painter, the potter, the weaver, the silversmith, the architect, the designer whose work continues to create an identity for America that is respected and recognized around the world as distinctive and new.
“The American Wing of The Metropolitan Museum of Art captures the spirit in presenting a variety of American art forms and providing a link to history for us to learn from, appreciate, and be inspired by. Our future as an innovative country depends on ensuring that everyone has access to the arts and to cultural opportunity. Nearly six million people make their living in the nonprofit arts industry, and arts and cultural activities contribute more than $160 billion to our economy every year. And trust me, I try to do my part to add to that number.
“The President included an additional $50 million in funding to the NEA [National Endowment for the Arts] in the stimulus package to preserve jobs in state art agencies and regional art organizations in order to keep them up and running during the economic downturn. But the intersection of creativity and commerce is about more than economic stimulus. It’s also about who we are as people. The President and I want to ensure that all children have access to great works of art at museums like the one here. We want them to have access to great poets and musicians and theaters around the country, to arts education in their schools and community workshops. We want all children who believe in their talent to see a way to create a future for themselves in the arts community, be it as a hobby or as a profession. The arts are not just a nice thing to have or to do if there’s free time or if one can afford it. Rather, paintings and poetry, music and fashion design, and dialogue—they all define who we are as a people and provide an account of our history for the next generation…
“I want to applaud The Metropolitan Museum of Art for all of the outreach that you do, for having kids like these here today to be involved in this and to experience this and to share this with us, because this is your place too. So we’re very proud of the Met for the work that they’ve done.”
