There is great power in building and supporting an artistic community. How? Great question. Every community is full of people from all walks of life. People are different. Different is not bad, it is just different.

When we celebrate our differences, we start to build a community together. Every person has a unique story to tell and a unique way to tell it.

Some folks will sit and write their feelings for others to read, others will create a rhythm, still yet, others find physical activity is the best way to communicate.

Not all of us have the gift of gab or even feel that we are creative enough to tell our own stories but through building an artistically-minded community, we all can tell our stories in meaningful ways.

As artists we find ourselves in constant struggle. We want to create art. Music. Dance. Painting. Sculpture. Crochet. Movies. Video games. Graphic design. Theater. These mediums are all around us, constantly.

However, as artists we are told that our art is only valuable if it can be sold or turn a profit. Increasingly so, art is being relegated to commercial spaces.

If art is not valued in your community, many valuable elements of our society will start to erode. While we see the most benefits to students, people of all ages can engage in the arts and better themselves and their communities.

I’ve worked in the theater industry for almost 20 years, so that’s where I am going to focus my data on, but these statements are true for all performing arts.

For this topic, this well-researched study, Theatre Counts: How Theatre Education Transforms Students’ Lives, helps to show the values of theater arts education. It speaks of the values that theater can teach students, which include, but are not limited to:

• Promotes identity development and growth.

• Builds empathy and relationships among peers.

• Builds public speaking skills.

• Enhances self-confidence.

• Builds prosocial behavior.

• Improves learning outcomes through creative thinking.

• Empowers participants to transform their understanding of their place in the world.

• Encourages students to embody other perspectives.

If we look at the last two bullets points in isolation, we can start to see how the theatrical arts start to develop a sense of empathy for others.

Empathy is a powerful tool.

By seeking to understand another person and all they have been through, we start to humanize the folks around us.

By encouraging and supporting the artistic community around us we start to look at our friends and neighbors as more than just the initial label we put on them.

By taking the time to allow the artists in your community to tell powerful and diverse stories that are important to them and your community, you are allowing a community to form. You are allowing trust to build. You are encouraging people to get to know each other and get involved.

When you build an empathetic community, you prioritize human interactions. Individual actions can build to large reverberating change.

When you welcome humanity into your community, you value it. That value can turn into visiting local restaurants, farmers markets, local artisans and other small businesses.

Additionally, supporting the arts supports the artist who will bring patrons to your community with benefits to local tourism spots, flower shops, hotels and more.

This also allows artists to not only give back to the community with their hard-earned dollars but also their creative talents.

Supporting the arts with your time, energy and talents, either as a participant or a patron, is a great way to invest in your community.

To value art as more than just a commercial proposition but as a way to celebrate the difference between us all ultimately helps to prop up the entire community.

When you welcome arts into your community, you help to build a community that easily trusts, empathizes and supports each other, both in and out of the marketplace.

Josh Darby is the artistic and education director at The Academy of Children's Theatre in Richland.