To be creative, artists need to reflect the truth as they see it. Autumn Wilson understood that concept when she performed a blues song she wrote in front of more than 100 people at last week’s Arts Summit, a program presented by the Plymouth Public Schools. To rousing applause and laughter, the 10-year-old Hedge Elementary School student belted out her composition, which began this way:
I woke up the mornin’ and I couldn’t find my bag
I woke up the mornin’ and I couldn’t find my bag
And now my momma’s screamin,’ ‘cause my sense of lack.
Held Wednesday at the Plymouth Center for the Arts, the summit was all about stressing that music, painting, and other art forms are essential to public education and everyday life.
Local educators, school administrators, and others participated in the daylong forum, which came at a time when funding for the arts across the country is being cut and politicized.
“The arts provide a vehicle for all children, no matter what they want to study or if they just want to become better human beings,” said event organizer Mike Caple, visual and performing arts coordinator for Plymouth’s public schools. They teach “‘soft skills’ of how to problem-solve, how to be creative, how to work with others, how to collaborate,” Caple said. “We’re here to see what we can do better and how can we serve our kids better. We’re facing real financial issues, so we want to remind the community that the arts matter.”
In addition to the blues performance, the Arts Summit included a rehearsal by the Plymouth North High School Chorus so attendees could see how students learn the finer points of a piece, as well as a music recital by a group of elementary school students, and pop/rock songs by the Plymouth South High School Gig Band.
“The arts in school are more than just being creative,” said Sydney Alfano, a Plymouth music teacher who led and played with the students. “You learn how to be patient with others and patient with yourself. With my younger band students, they make a lot of weird noises and they learn how to roll with those punches. Ideally, as they grow, they learn to handle pressure with grace and take everything as a growing opportunity.”
The crux of the Arts Summit was highlighted during a presentation by Dawn Benski, arts content support lead in Literacy and Humanities at the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. She discussed the Arts & Cultural Vitality Index, a state program currently being adopted in Plymouth Public Schools.
The index is a resource to support the development and sustainability of arts in schools by tracking data that pinpoint areas of strength or needed support. Over the next five years, Plymouth will assess how district arts programs are working and where they need improvement.
“We have to submit to the state how many kids are taking arts, music, theater, and other classes every year,” Caple said. “There is a tremendous amount of data that we keep track of. We’ll have a team of about 20 people, including students, to evaluate this information and determine what the impact is.”
“The point is to elevate the conversation about the importance of the arts and how it affects everyone,” he continued. “We want to be on the forefront of communicating what impact the arts have on students, so the community looks at it holistically and doesn’t see it as low-hanging fruit.”
In other words, he doesn’t want it viewed as an area that rises to the top of the list of potential cuts when the budget gets tight, as it is in Plymouth today.
The summit attracted an array of people from across the cultural and commercial spectrum of Plymouth. Steven Karidoyanes, music director of the Plymouth Philharmonic Orchestra, was keenly interested in the forum.
“This is an investment in the future,” he said. “We just saw the young instrumentalists. Am I scouting for future musicians? You bet I am. We’re also scouting for everyone. We’re scouting for the future music lover. We’re here to create beauty and quality of life through the arts. From my point of view, music specifically, but the arts in general. The idea is to discover how we can serve our community better through the arts.”
From a business standpoint, supporting the arts has economic value, according to Amy Naples, executive director of the Plymouth Area Chamber of Commerce.
“The arts are such an important part of the landscape of Plymouth,” Naples said. “Much of what visitors spend here is attributed to the arts. That trickles down and supports our restaurants and retailers, so this conversation is really important.”
Katherine Jackson attended in part because of her position as a School Committee member, but also because of her love of the arts. She gave up a lucrative career in finance to pursue architectural photography.
“Success doesn’t always mean being in a high-paying job,” she said. “For me, success is finding something that soothes your soul. I feel it is important to support the creativity of students and support the arts in the way we support science and math.”
Superintendent of Schools Christopher Campbell was also in the audience. Campbell said he believes the arts are a critical part of society, helping to transform lives and enabling Plymouth to prosper. As an example, he cited his daughter, Bridget, whom he is “very proud of.” She studied French and theater in college and is working on her MFA at George Washington University.
“Will she become a professional actor some day? Campbell said. “That’s not the point. The experiences she has had through the Plymouth Public Schools through an early age have helped her find her passion.”
Dave Kindy, a self-described history geek, is a longtime Plymouth resident who writes for the Washington Post, Boston Globe, National Geographic, Smithsonian and other publications. He can be reached at davidkindy1832@gmail.com.