When even the artists don’t see

Once upon a time, it was artists – painters, writers, poets – who took on the challenge of stimulating radical, progressive politics. They helped us dream of new ways to be; catalysed paradigm shifts in how we saw the world; gave us rich new lenses of empathy, awareness and insight.

One of the deep themes of our conference Play’s The Thing: Creative Approaches to Wellbeing argues that, nowadays, the arts are merely a sideshow. A way of diverting attention as the ship of consumerist capitalism leaks its oily life-blood into the increasingly barren ocean.

For where are the boldly envisioned alternatives to the systems we have all bought into?

It seems that consumerist capitalism has won: captured minds and reduced hearts. Even though we know we are consuming the planet’s resources at a much faster rate than they can be replenished; despite the evidence that we are failing to serve the wellbeing of so many Western, let alone global, citizens; regardless of the fact that we are continuing to stimulate global warming; and as we witness the quaking, shaky central pillar of our societal strength, the economy… Even after all this most of us see no other option.

Songs which once opened our eyes and spirits are now more likely to bring to mind the product they’ve been used to advertise. Festivals where people once met to experience and share different approaches to life are now generously and prominently sponsored by big brands. And just this year, England sacrificed two seed beds of critical thinking and imagining – free education and public access to knowledge – to finance our economy, the untouchable engine of our success story. (Certainly a better option than taxing bankers’ bonuses. We couldn’t risk losing the top talent.)

Yes, we may be facing a serious economic crisis, but that debt-driven consumerist capitalism which brought us to this pass – heedless of its external impact on the planet, trapping us a bubble of status and thwarted aspiration – is surely the only route of escape. We all know that…don’t we?

But that is precisely the note of doubt that Play’s The Thing seeks to amplify. What is the alternative? Where can one look to envision a more promising future? Economic science; evolutionary psychology; new platforms of technology; innovative social and community enterprises; secular and spiritual practices… Each of these may hold a piece of the puzzle. We hope to begin to put together the overall picture.

And from these diverse elements, might a leading role for artists in reimagining their society be forged anew?