Millennials consume information in
headlines, texts and tweets: all breadth and no depth . Elena Sheppard
wrote recently in The New York Times, "We've been famously pegged
as “the me, me, me generation.” If you type “millennials are…” in Google,
the auto fill is “lazy.” Artistically, we've been called “the lamest generation.”
Hmm.
On the other hand, arts evaluation writer Joe Patti
proposes in his blog Butts
in the Seats that arts
and cultural experiences are pretty well suited to Millenials. “The experience
is transient and can’t be possessed as a concrete object. It can provide a
sense of community and opportunity for relationship building and can make a
statement about the person to others.” In other words, the
arts are right up the millennial alley of enlarging friend circles and building
intelligent public images.
Hmm.
On another hand, Forbes Magazine contributor,
Jason Nazar challenges that “Creativity, thoughtfulness and thinking skills are
freed when you’re forced to read a full book cover to cover.” We could ascribe
the same benefits to attending a Shakespeare play, a Poetry Slam or National
Geographic Live! environmental education program. Or volunteering to help
produce fantastic arts events like Spark! Mesa’s Festival of Creativity or the
Dia de los Muertos Festival. Or enrolling in a class to learn a new skill such
as blacksmithing, photography or dance.
Creativity, thoughtfulness and thinking
skills.
Mr. Nazar has
a good point. Perhaps it’s time to take on a challenge. Maybe it’s the
day to say, “I have lived here all my life, this is the first time I have been
to the Mesa Arts Center, but it’s not going to be my last.
By LaDawn Lingard
