To think that Art is a very important subject?

[malificent7]

I adore Art however i wasn't brave enough to pursue a career in it due to stories of financial insecurity etc..however i do it as a hobby.
I think that it is massively undervalued as most things have been designed and it's a good outlet for creativity. Aibu to think that it's important as it requires skills such as maths, dexterity and problem solving aswell as creativity?

I love what Happysonhappymum wrote. YANBU. I am blessed that the fact that all of my dcs left school with A.s in art my DD left school with 2×A and a* in art. Me their mum can not draw a dog! But they are talented and I am well happy with them oh they had outher good gcse as well but they all exceeded in art. My DD is hopefully going to be the next big interiear designer. She is a mother atm going to uni soon. Sorry about my spelling!

When I was at school 20 yrs ago the focus in Art was not really on economically productive areas that would lead to a career that you could earn actual money from. It was on "skills" which are lovely but which people won't really pay you for any more (hand drawing, painting, clay modelling and the like).

A shift to things more linked to where jobs are (e.g. computer aided design & manufacture processes), especially with a focus on areas where UK creative industries are strong (eg game design) could be very valuable.

To say "art is good for mental health" would need a proper study over thousands of people. There must be loads of kids who dread art, and get very anxious as the lesson approaches

That's more to do with the way it's taught I would say. Same as PE, exercise is good, being forced to play team sports when you're crap isn't good.

I hated art at school. I was rubbish at it and the teacher made sure everyone knew it. Had to choose art or PE as a non exam subject for options so art was lesser of two evils. We had a different teacher and she was fabulous - lots of free rein, 'what interests you' learning.

I still can't draw but I love seeing art, going to galleries, watching Landscape / Portrait artist of the year etc.

I took Economics and Graphics at GCSE, and Economics at A Level. Economics was a doss subject (easy A), Graphics actually required some effort throughout the two years.

I have made a living through having that background in Art, Music and Drama. Nobody has ever been impressed by an A Level in Economics, but being able to knock up a great poster presentation, well formatted and attractive documentation and resources or displays has worked out for me every time.

YABU to say that art is important rather than the creative arts as a group. People may be good at one and not at another - I have a very musical dc who cannot draw for toffee. But it is a massive failing that our education system does not value the creative arts as it should. (DD who wants to be a musician was asked by her English teacher whether her piano practice was more important than her English GCSE - teacher did not like the answer) OK that's an anecdote but it epitomises her school's attitude to creative rather than STEM subjects. Personally I think that the creative arts will become increasingly important and STEM less so as technology advances and takes over a lot of STEM jobs. The one thing that no one has managed to do is get AI to replicate creative work on anything like the same level as a talented human.

Personally I think that the school art curriculum should be brought more in line with those for music drama and dance so that there has to be a written element on the history of art and less practical work as I know lots of my DC's friends end up dropping art as the workload is too much.

Londonmummy makes some critical points here - "art" as a school subject is just one part of a portfolio of creative arts skills that are pretty vital to the way we as a society function, and not just for leisure.

A pp pointed out that we have a massive creative industry in the UK - think of our film and TV production, or something like the computer gaming industry. To suggest that these are economically unimportant is a little insulting: there is a very good reason why European gaming is largely located in the UK rather than, say, Germany - it's because the talent is monetised here and not valued there.

But there is a deeper issue about the interdependency between creative arts and the purer academic disciplines. Mitzi got it spot on by suggesting that visually representing our STEM thinking is just as important as the thinking itself. Take climate change. The science and its evidence is pretty compelling and yet we still have climate change deniers, still have those who see no need to make even minute changes to their own lifestyles. The evidence is a starting point, but individual behaviour - which will in turn change societal and institutional behaviour - will only be changed by building a compelling, persuasive narrative. And that is within the sphere of the creative arts.

Art as in painting? Drawing? Pottery? Sculpture? Poetry? Writing? Jewellery making? Calligraphy? Music? Embroidery? Composition?
"Art" is important if it's what you're into. You'll never be good at it if you aren't enthused by it

I still remember the embarrassment and humiliation of my pottery teacher at school throwing my pot in the bin.

I'm 54 and don't feel that my life is lacking anything because I can't draw (and have no desire to learn)

But any children will never know if they're good at these things if they never get to try them at school.

Children should have 9 years of art and music lessons at school before they start to specialise. Jewellery making, embroidery and calligraphy might be a bit niche (though I made jewellery in metalwork lessons in the 1970s), but everyone should learn to play an instrument and to compose in music lessons. Everyone should be exposed to drawing, painting and sculpture/pottery in art lessons. And everyone should be exposed to poetry and creative writing in English lessons.

Those who are enthused by them will want to carry on with them, though not necessarily at school. Those who don't, won't.

Personally I think that the creative arts will become increasingly important and STEM less so as technology advances and takes over a lot of STEM jobs. The one thing that no one has managed to do is get AI to replicate creative work on anything like the same level as a talented human.

Hum, that suggests you've not got too much of an idea about what a lot of STEM jobs entail - many are hugely 'creative'.

Visually representing science is quite a major part of what I do, but the science itself is key and computers are still in many ways our dumb slaves.

Instead of STEM subjects, many schools and organisations want people to study STEAM subjects.

It's finally been recognised as relatively important....

At least these days, students can choose art along with more "academic" subjects. When I was at school, more than 50 years ago, being an "A" streamer, Latin and French were compulsory, but I was unable to pursue art beyond Form 4. Art was only for the absolutely hopeless, lower than homecraft/typing. Appalling, and so frustrating for girls like me who had real talent that we were unable to develop. I had no aptitude for science, but had to study it, while gazing longingly at the girls busy in the art room..

How does it involve maths (to a meaningful degree) or problem solving? It is a lovely subject and basic art skills and basic art history as well as artistic analysis skills are essential to a good education but I think you are unnecessarily overstating it’s value. As many philosophers would agree aesthetic appreciation is an important part of being human, the study of art this refines our humanity.

@TheCanterburyWhales art lessons should be both practical and (mostly) theoretical. The basics of art history and aesthetics are pretty essential to a fully formed adult. The ability to draw not so much.

YABU.

Many people are not at all arty or creative, so Art is a complete waste of their time, just as Physics would be a complete waste of time for someone who is innumerate and would never consider a STEM related career.

“But if I'd paid more attention to economics and business studies, I might be a bit better at selling my art.”

It’s sales that would make you good at selling art not business studies

I’m rubbish at art, but art is something I really enjoy.

My friend (shameless plug here!) does a regular art based podcast called talkart, definitely worth a listen.

It depends to me.

I think art/music/drama are important and more should be done to broaden cultural capital and appreciation of the arts.

However, too often as a subject in school it becomes more about practical in limited areas (e.g drawing and painting) which is often time consuming for those who I've the subject and are good at it, and a fairly large waste of time for those who aren't terribly competent and are unlikely to become competent.

Art is very important.
But I feel the way art courses are marketed at the typical undergraduate in the UK is well, disingenuous. Very few artists make enough money to survive on art alone. Some make a fortune. Most don’t, and graduate with massive debt and poor employment prospects.
The truth is you can be a good artist without studying the subject in one of Britain’s elite institutions (royal college, slade, etc) but the art world (financial market) hasn’t levelled up to this idea yet.
So if you’re a woman you still may have to sleep with an influential MAN in the British art elite to rise to the surface if you haven’t been lucky enough to embellish your cv accordingly.
At least you would stroke the egos of a select few individuals. Perhaps you’d associate yourself a male British figurative painter like Freud, Hockney, Bacon or similar. Say how they influenced your work. Instagram is beginning to democratise the art world to some extent. Maybe in the States more so than here. But it’ll probably take another ten years before we finally stop wanking over privileged British men that have dominated the art world here in the last 100 years.
I’m an artist. But spending years in lectures about these men did zilch for my career.

Creative writing and art has already dwindled in primary schools which is sad.
And most kids enjoy making things from recycled thing(and how we love finding house room for it at the end of the year)

I enjoyed Art in school and I valued it highly, but I wouldn’t say it’s overly important in comparison to other subjects. I discovered a love of drawing when I was roughly 7 years old, most of my spare time at home was dedicated to it and still is when I have the energy (have twin two year olds so it is rare!). I’ve been told I’m not half bad at it, but unfortunately I prefer traditional drawing to digital but the work I do is geared towards character and costume designs, scenery for video games, comic book art etc and most companies prefer digital mediums to be used for this. Even if I did manage to get the tech (very expensive!) and master it i’d still struggle to find work in the industry.

I think for any of the creative subjects it’s important to have them, but for those who have a true enjoyment/passion for them, most of the work goes in outside of school

I did an art degree. I enjoyed it, but it hasn't helped me life at all, in fact I think it has made life more difficult for me. I wouldn't advise anyone to do an art degree.

If you want to be an artist, what you really need is a business education. Hardly anyone makes a living from art. Hardly anyone buys art in this country. There isn't the market for it, sadly.

Art is great hobby, but not a career for most people who have studied art.

My child is very talented at art and predicted A in GCSE. Despite this she is choosing not to do it at A level as she doesn’t feel it is a usual art. She’s going to choose media. I am sad about this for her - we talk about this a lot, and I try to get her to see it does have value but I think she’s going to keep it as a hobby instead

*useful!

Pookie, I think your child is very wise. Media is probably a much more valuable and relevant course to take right now. It can still be creative. Many creative people lack the technical/business skills they need to make a career out of an artistic talent.