Art for therapy. For enrichment. For community. Art for good.

"Art shakes off the dust accumulated in everyday life from the soul," said Pablo Picasso.

And when, if not in these times of crisis and pandemic, does art not present itself to us as a safe and creative space, as a means of evasion and comfort?

In fact, art has always been more than just a means of expression and a search for beauty, it has been, and still is, a means of alleviating fears, of support and help.

In Singapore, since some years, there is a social enterprise project that connects art with people and acts as a bridge among community members. “Art for good” is a social enterprise which help communities by doing good through art, promoting mental well being through visual art creative expression, conducting art therapy, art enrichment workshops and community art projects. With more than 62 projects completed and about 335 children helped, the project is growing a lot and having a great impact at social and community level. A fundamental aspect to underline is that in local realities the financing of art projects also involves an enhancement of the territory and an added value for its inhabitants who, in this way, can feel personally connected to the cause and to the company that supports it. Giving back through community art projects gives meaning, a sense of appreciation since community art creates a more inclusive society by involvement and engagement. Their mission in clearly understandable from the following sentence:

“We believe that art and good mental health is for everyone and it is important to start from an early age. Our vision is using art help as many children as possible!”.

What they do is mainly based on art therapy. The focus is on artistic creation as a means of catharsis and inner expression, not of aesthetic research and linked to the idea of perfection, since art is seen as an expression of one's emotional state and as a means to outsource this one: through human developmental and psychological theories (educational, psychodynamic, cognitive and other) they encourages self-expression to explore problems using a range of art materials, enabling positive change and personal growth reconciling emotional conflicts, developing social skills, managing behaviour, solving problems, aiding reality orientation etc. Added to this, there are the Art Enrichment part with technical learning courses and the numerous collaborations that have resulted in various projects over the years. We are not talking about technicality or artistic individualism. Art is exchange, collaboration, a meeting point. A sort of “do ut des”, where the “des” is a social externality of great value on a personal and community level.

However, with the pandemic situation circulating now for more than a year, Singapore recorded a loss of at least $2.6 million just considering the nine major arts companies, thus excluding all small associations, foundations and social enterprises.

But what if, paradoxically, would be exactly this the moment to invest in art? What if it were time for start-ups and entrepreneurs to look for innovative ways responding to the needs of art, artists and society itself?

Think for example about the “Sustain the Arts (start) found”, introduced by the National Arts Council to catalyse giving and develop the organisational capabilities of these small arts organisations, ensuring that they are better equipped to sustain their practice for the long term.

In the wake of this initiative, entrepreneurs and businesses should invest in the sector, seeking to dispel the well-established myth that art and business are a dichotomous pair. All the more so at a time of such chaos, of a return to essentiality and of greater concentration on the intimate sphere, the world of business should also recognise art as a means of escape and healing that is needed now more than ever: starting from this awareness, it should therefore exploit the presence of unfulfilled demand and consider the enormous externalities both on a social-community level and for the individual.

What if we do the opposite of what Theodor Adorno believed ("The current task of art is to introduce chaos into order") and used artistic expression as a lever of order and support in such a complex historical moment?

We could talk about a sort of return to patronage (mecenatismo), but an ethical patronage, aiming at a health and therapeutic benefit for society at a time of difficult escapism through the arts, rather than a mere exaltation of the arts. Entrepreneurs should therefore be the new patrons, who take on a need in society through projects such as "Art for good", which are both socially based, support the arts and artists and directly produce art.