Get involved! The arts are about creativity and self-expression, so whatever your passion, get out there and enjoy the art. Arts are broad, including drawing, painting, performing, street theater, making murals, crafting, engaging the community in artistic projects and much more, so there are plenty of things to explore and find your own artistic niche within.
- If you haven’t yet discovered the activity that’s for you, find out about free or cheap tester classes you can join. Ask if you can borrow materials initially, or look online for many cheap options such as auctions of art materials people no longer need.
Do some reading. Go to your local library and find books on photography, art, ballet or even the art of performance.
- Read up on these arts online, whatever your particular interests are. There are many reviews and articles on all of the arts available for free. That frees your budget to make knowledgeable purchases from local artists.
Go to a museum or art gallery. Find an art, ballet, photo or performance museum. If you can’t go in person, see online exhibits if they are available.
- When on vacation, visit museums and galleries in your vacation area. You’ll broaden your appreciation of your favorite arts and appreciate your local artists’ works even more by deepening your knowledge. You’re on vacation anyway, so why not see what artists and musicians, etc., are producing in the cool place you visited? If you take vacations in the same place every year as some people enjoy doing, you can become an annual regular and support particular artists — the local painter in your holiday spot, the little pub that always has good Celtic music, that theatre, the opera house.
- If you like opera, definitely get at least bargain tickets and experience it live. Opera houses operate on a shoestring despite the number of millionaires that donate. They need to sell those empty cheap student seats at the back and it’s a wonderful experience. The productions cost so much and involve so many live people not only performing but doing all the work of creating the production that they’re always operating at a brutal budget. If you’re an opera lover who lives near an opera house, consider volunteering your time and effort to help keep the house going.
Donate to charities who support the arts or donate to organizations directly.For example, the National Endowment for the Arts, who help art programs throughout America. Donate to art programs You can donate to programs in your school or city.
- Organize a monthly art hop. Sign up various art venues in your area that will open their doors on one evening per month. A map and list could be offered in advance to help those planning their tours. Finger foods and beverages could be served at each spot.
- Donate directly to local theatres, performance companies and arts events. Many of them accept donations. Your local arts council and local theatre troupe may need the donations more than something as big as the National Endowment for the Arts.
- Support PBS. Make a steady annual donation or watch when their pledge drive auctions and bid on things you want. Volunteer to work the phones at PBS pledge drives. PBS always needs it, everywhere, and doing this will also get more of your favorite programming purchased by your local PBS station. They listen to fan requests.
- Purchase new copies of your favorite books at full price from living authors and donate them to your local library. The community will be better for it, those that can’t afford it will get to read it sooner, those that might never have found your favorite author may wind up buying their own copy when they have to return it. Everyone wins, and your author is more likely to continue writing instead of taking up something else because the bills need to be paid.
Get out there and experience it! The only way to boost your appreciation and support of the arts is to experience as many performances as possible. Be open-minded and you never know which new genres you will discover.
- To save money, opt for cheaper seats or buy last-minute tickets from discount websites.
- If you can’t afford original paintings from your favorite painters, consider their smaller works, sketches or limited edition prints. Whether you opt for lower priced works from the newest indie unknowns or the lower priced works by more successful artists, you will always be supporting the arts — and that supports the economy both local and national.
Get to know the artists. All of the arts are about communication. Forming relationships with artists and artisans, studying art appreciation and encouraging those that are growing in their arts also improves the quality of your own life. From furnishings and objects that you enjoy more than mass produced goods, to the social success of becoming more refined and knowledgeable to the inner spiritual growth that comes from awareness of beauty, supporting the arts will enrich your life in more ways than you would expect.
