In times of turmoil, where do artists find their place?
Over the last week alone we’ve seen headlines of staggering violence: Charlie Kirk killed at a campus event in Utah, stabbings in Charleston, Israeli bombings on Qatar, and even an attempted overthrow abroad. In these moments I ask this question: where are the artists?
When I’m sitting in class learning about large, impactful historical events, I sometimes ask myself this question: where are the artists? Whether it’s Picasso’s Guernica during the Second World War, or Coldplay’s Politik after 9/11, artists have often been the ones to translate crisis into a language people can feel.
Over the last week alone we’ve seen headlines of staggering violence: Charlie Kirk killed at a campus event in Utah, stabbings in Charleston, Israeli bombings on Qatar, and even an attempted overthrow abroad. I am not here to argue whether these events are good or bad (though I never stand for violence, even against those I disagree with). My point is that these are only the things we see on the surface, countless other tragedies remain invisible or only felt in they communities in which they happen. For some of you guys reading this may hit really close to home. Events like these me wonder: how are artists reacting, and what should their reaction be?
Choosing whether to respond to tragedy is itself a choice, and neither path is wrong. Some artists may feel called to confront violence directly, to bear witness and speak for those silenced. Others may decide not to react outwardly, making work rooted instead in personal experiences, memory, or joy. Both are valid. Sometimes art is protest; sometimes art is refuge, sometimes art is just...art
Still, the question lingers. If today’s artists are forthcoming in times like this then what role does art play in helping us process constant instability, and if (and when) it happens, how do we even process it? When its so common to hear about mass shootings, protests and tragedies its easy to be so overstimulated with information.
In my own journey, I ponder if I should be redirecting my art in a way that reflects the world around us now.
In the end, I don’t think there’s a single “correct” response. But what history shows us is that art matters most when it refuses to look away completely.
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