The arts usually justify themselves on economic or 'aesthetic' grounds. This video series uses non-artist industry leaders to promote the idea that arts education in schools teaches more than aesthetics, it provides valuable life skills. Learning to think like an artist is central to contemporary success no matter the industry. Via this series (featuring Deepak Chopra, Chelsea Clinton, Condoleeza Rice, and others) we raise awareness of Lincoln Center Education and its focus on the power of thinking like an artist. This series also heightened awareness bringing donations to Lincoln Center Education and increasing advocacy for arts education.
To create the original five Think Like an Artist videos, we leveraged existing connections to engage well known individuals for this series. The first five interviewees were author/speaker Deepak Chopra, Clinton Global Initiative Board Member Chelsea Clinton, serial entrepreneur Michael Lazerow, JetBlue Airways Chairman Joel Peterson, and former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. We felt that this selection of individuals came from diverse industries, yet they all were able to speak to how they had used their arts backgrounds to enrich their professional lives. For instance, Condoleeza Rice discusses how artists engage both sides of their brains and they learn the value of discipline and grit. The video series lives on Lincoln Center Education's website along with information on how to advocate for arts education. Each video is promoted on the social pages of Lincoln Center Education and Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts and the interview subjects are encouraged to promote the videos themselves.
These videos offer a unique take on the power of arts education and present complex concepts in a friendly, child appropriate, easy to digest manner.
The power of these videos can be seen in the level of engagement they've fostered socially. Some videos have reached over 300,000 people on Facebook and Twitter. Each of the videos has generated a spirited conversation and raised awareness for this important subject.
