LIZA ROBERTS: What politics divides, art can bring together
Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2022 -- We share dismay over the issues that divide us. But we also share something constructive, something profound, and something deeply North Carolinian. We share the art of this state.
Posted — UpdatedIn the wake of the contentious midterm elections, North Carolina can seem especially divided. In some ways it undoubtedly is. But we all share something bigger, more meaningful, and certainly more unifying than partisan politics. That thing is art. It is more powerful than any party, more capable of generating dialogue and community, and we have more of it here – and better examples of it – than many states twice our size.
Indeed, our artists live in every corner of our state. They are native North Carolinians and newcomers; they are urban and rural; they represent different backgrounds, points of view, mediums, and messages. They are painters and sculptors and welders, they are weavers and blacksmiths and glass blowers, they make art out of tissue paper and wax and steel and canvas and paint, they make it from strips of silk, cut up wallpaper, discarded quilts, and shredded documents. They make it out of North Carolina clay.
This matters now more than ever because the art they make here opens our minds to new perspectives. It spotlights beauty and it offers solace. It asks difficult questions in new languages; it invites fresh insights and unlikely answers. It opens the door to empathy. It tells the story of this place, and in the process, it tells the story of our times.
These are just a few examples among countless others of North Carolina artists making work on a national and world stage. There are many thousands more making world-class art here that stays here, art that enriches our North Carolina lives, that challenges us, that emboldens us, that asks us to appreciate the beauty around us and the state we all call home.
Regardless of party, there is a great deal we share. Yes, we share dismay over the issues that divide us. But we also share something constructive, something profound, and something deeply North Carolinian. We share the art of this state, and this is something worth celebrating.
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