Zaire Knight 12/29/24 Zaire Knight 12/29/24

Art Is a Human Right

My Philosophies

As someone who grew up in a marginalized community art has always been a tool for change, not only to express myself but to be heard, to process trauma and grief, to help me understand new concepts and interact with my environment. Art operates in many ways and for me, one of those ways is the ability to reach people with my work and propel them into new ways of thinking. I research the things that matter most to me and I express my concerns about mental health, about the effects of racism and systemic oppression on myself, my friends, and my family. The fact that art is so often being treated as a luxury instead of as a right when the UN has acknowledged the relevance of art to build societies that can self-reflect, and acknowledge differing perspectives, is the erasure of the people’s voices and involvement in the direction of their society to me.

The Harlem Renaissance is a perfect example of not only why art is important, but why It should be seen as a human right. African Americans developed extensive socio-political awareness and experienced a massive artistic movement in the 1920’s and 30’s that caused an immense change in the way the U.S. viewed African Americans. Langston Hughes's contributions during this time amplified marginalized voices, if we deny access to the arts we silence those voices. Art is the language of the oppressed and helps us define ourselves outside of white supremacist and Eurocentric standards, to feel beautiful and intelligent even when others all over the world call us ugly. Our cultural identities were celebrated at a time when we weren’t wanted anywhere, escaping Jim Crow. Art brings communities together and gives them the freedom to celebrate their diversity and embrace who they are.

Art gives us the ability to acknowledge and accept other perspectives and we will find that a lack of this ability is at the root of our feuds and wars with other nations. Treating art as a human right in my mind is synonymous with acknowledging that a peaceful civilization doesn’t exist without freedom of expression. When we see that AI is less centered on relieving the pressures of our everyday lives and instead being used to generate entertainment, something many of us would love to do, we have to critically examine why our nation values our struggle more than our happiness. It is another motion to further establish a society where happiness, comfort, and resources for our mental and physical health, are monetized and this is something I deeply disagree with.

When we introduce the arts to impoverished and crime-ridden communities we see decreases in criminal activity and increases in academic involvement. In our classrooms when students are not interested in our content we see a dramatic shift in engagement when we introduce creativity and visual and performance representations of content such as demonstration videos and animations, posters, academic games, etc. I know that when I play calming music in the mornings for my students, they start their days more at peace, instead of grumpy, tense, and uninterested.

My students deserve to share their stories. The Visual and Performing Arts programs are always the first to suffer budget cuts, but the arts are a way of telling our stories and to deny us the arts is to deny us the right to share our stories. These socio-economic barriers perpetuate inequities between classist systems. No one should get to decide who can make art. For many of us, Art is a part of our cultures which we have already been denied access to in so many ways due to imperialism. Article 15 of the International Covenant of the Economic Social and Cultural Rights states that everyone has the right to participate in cultural life. General Comment 21 (2009) of the Committee of this convention has specified that this is an individual and also a collective right.

Art helped me with my mental health struggles growing up, it saved my life on numerous occasions. I spent much of my childhood self-harming and not wanting to live because I felt there was no place in the world for me. I felt ugly and unwanted because I was bullied for the dark shade of my skin and also for being poor. White children made fun of me for being Black, and Black and Brown children called me ugly for being so dark. I began to hate myself and began self-harming at the age of four. When I was much older sitting in a room with my psychiatrist and my mother at an intervention essentially for another attempt I had made at taking my life, I had lost the words to describe the pain I felt and went mute. I was still drawing though and because I was drawing the doc’ took a look at my sketchbook, analyzed the image I had produced, and generated conversation with me through my art. I had made a person with empty eye sockets and a Barcode over the mouth. I was drawing that I felt unheard, and like my words didn’t matter because money was seemingly worth more than my sanity. I delved even deeper into the arts and eventually found myself replacing more damaging habits with passionate curious creations and activism to represent people like me. Art kept me alive when my will to live waned.

My Lesson “It Takes A Village” is an extension of my Philosophy in that it uses art to represent unity and individual experiences. My project is about understanding how important it is to come together as a community as well as the importance of being able to tell your story and others through creativity. By engaging in this project students build on their abilities to collaborate and through this lesson foster deeper understandings of each other’s perspectives, deepening empathy towards others and encouraging the curiosity needed to think critically, research, and ask questions to build an understanding instead of forming their perspective without considering any others. This lesson pushes students to dig into history and culture and engage in oral and visual storytelling. The students build on their teamwork but also begin to understand the arts as a tool for societal progress and the development of nations.

Zaire Knight 5/28/19 Zaire Knight 5/28/19

Blog Post Title Two

It all begins with an idea.

It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

Don’t worry about sounding professional. Sound like you. There are over 1.5 billion websites out there, but your story is what’s going to separate this one from the rest. If you read the words back and don’t hear your own voice in your head, that’s a good sign you still have more work to do.

Be clear, be confident and don’t overthink it. The beauty of your story is that it’s going to continue to evolve and your site can evolve with it. Your goal should be to make it feel right for right now. Later will take care of itself. It always does.