How Art Reflects Culture

Friends and Artists,
This week we will be exploring how art reflects the deeper issues and feelings that fact-based historical records cannot express. The arts translate experiences across time, allowing people from different cultures and times to communicate through images, sounds, and stories. A song, film, or painting can rouse emotions in us that give insights on how we view and understand the world around us.
In all eras, in all walks of life, art preserves how it feels to exist in a particular space at a particular time. Painting, sculpture, music, literature, and other art forms are often considered to be a precious voice of a society's collective memory. They represent elements of our shared human experience and can bring a sense of belonging and solidarity in how we relate to each other.
But history has also shown that art can function as a window into the unfamiliar, helping us to understand and empathize with the experiences, joys, and struggles of those who are different from us. Art is often a vehicle for social change, giving voice to disadvantaged and marginalized populations in our history. The arts are an effective tool for spreading awareness, generating empathy, starting a dialogue, an sparking new ideas.
Our commonly held beliefs, activities, and social norms are all a representation of our culture. As we continue to create, share, and consume art, we can also let art teach us how to reflect ourselves back into our culture. Art is beautiful because it has the power to move us, entertain us, express us, and challenge us. Together we can explore how art can expand our sense of community, self-acceptance, creativity, equality, unity, and freedom.
In the coming weeks, we will continue to be a source of hope, inspiration and moral support. For more information about our mission, visit our website, or contact us at [hidden email]. Until next week!
Sincerely,
The SWCA Team
And Now For This Week’s Top Picks…

ARTS | Virtual First Friday
Join us tomorrow for Vancouver's Virtual First Friday art walk! Vancouver's Downtown Association is hosting local galleries online as we explore this month's collection of new artwork. Check out VDA's Facebook page for more details!

MUSIC | VSO Encore Podcast
Vancouver Symphony Orchestra looks back on past performances through special interviews and never-before-released recordings. Dive in for a unique perspective into the minds of the artists behind the music.

FILM | The Buffalo Soldiers
This upcoming documentary film explores the sacrifices and contributions of six, all-black cavalry and infantry regiments in the Pacific Northwest in 1866. They came to be known as Buffalo Soldiers.

DANCE | Summer Programs
Columbia Dance is planning three weeks of amazing summer camps for kids ages 3-7. From waltzing, to folk dancing, to hip hop and games, kids can create friendships and get their groove on all summer long! See site for updates.

LITERATURE | Inclusive Reads for Kids
Embrace Race has created a list of 31 children's books that support conversations on race, equality, and empowerment for ages 3 and up. Literature and early learning are among the most effective and practical tools for raising conscious youth.

LOCAL BUSINESS | Supporting Black-Owned Businesses
As we continue to look for ways to support our small business community, Visit Vancouver USA has highlighted a list of Black-owned businesses in Vancouver and Clark County.

WELLNESS | Virtual Personal Training
Looking for a local gym with virtual workout options? Introducing virtual group training from Northwest Personal Training on Facebook Live! Members get unlimited access to this 4-week training program.