art is essential

Dr. Fancourt calls engaging in the arts “the forgotten fifth pillar of health,” alongside diet, sleep, exercise and nature. Yet, we have reduced it to a form of entertainment, she writes in her new book, “Art Cure: The Science of How the Arts Save Lives.”

And you don’t have to be good at any of these things to reap the health benefits, she added.... See more

In a world fast being shaped by collapse and complexity, artists are not a luxury. They are a necessity. They don’t just interpret culture — they recreate it. They hold space for grief, birth, possibility, and spark the kinds of insights that can’t be beta-tested but must be lived.

It’s time to stop grasping for certainty by asking what is... See more

It’s not that Irish people have more historical trauma to mine, she said, or that Americans love Irish shit. It’s that her civilization believes art matters — and funds it accordingly, as part of public infrastructure. They believe art makes life navigable. Its actual value is beyond measure, and like a lot of invaluable things, its survival hinges... See more

That idea stuck with me. If art shapes how we perceive, connect, and innovate—why isn’t it considered essential in the same way food, clothing, and shelter are?

Creative Infrastructure Is the New Public Good

We build roads, bridges, and broadband — but who’s funding museums, media, and meaning?

Cultural infrastructure is what keeps society inspired, informed, and humane. It’s not charity. It’s civilization.

Founders, investors, and artists who understand this are designing the blueprint for the next economy —... See more

Research shows that for each dollar spent at a local movie theater, an additional $1.50 is spent in surrounding businesses—restaurants, bars, transportation. Theaters are not just retail outlets. They are, as Cinema United’s Michael O’Leary put it, “cultural and economic anchors of communities of all sizes.”

When those anchors disappear, communities... See more

The real “Culture Warriors” are filmmakers and movie stars and novelists and pop icons and playwrights and painters and illustrators and composers and comedians and dancers and sculptors and architects and much, much more.

They’re studying story structure or practicing scales or grinding away at the barre or slaving inside a studio or rehearsing... See more