Well, it’s election time. PLEASE GO VOTE TODAY WE NEED YOU!! We are being bombarded by politicians, pundits, and the public all talking about the problems facing America today and how they are going to fix it, or not fix it!!! So I thought it was time for an article about how our entrepreneurial projects can effect political and social change.
Let’s say that you are upset by the lack of funding for live performances or the lack of music education in the schools. Maybe you are worried about the refugee crisis or the lack of opportunities for inner city children. In today’s election cycle, education, the refugee crisis, and lack of opportunity for the poor are among the many talking points of people running for office and for all of us listening to them.
It’s exciting for entrepreneurs to realize that they are working to effect change on some of the big issues confronting our society. Perhaps we should re-frame our descriptions of our projects to include how we as artists are dedicated to--and are having impact on--some of the great issues confronting our country.
You might be saying:
"I’m a flutist, a musician, an artist... how can my project have an impact? Classical music hardly registers at all these days. I don’t know what you’re talking about!!!"
Here’s what I think, and I’d love to have your thoughts, too. The more artists talk about the impact of their work (especially their entrepreneurial social impact projects) on communities nationally and internationally, the more seriously artists will be taken and the better they will be able to leverage funding and community support. If we want to have an impact on the policies of our country, we need to be seen and heard and not think of ourselves as outside the mainstream as artists so often see themselves. I’m calling on us to wake up and make our voices heard so that the beautiful and profound work that musical entrepreneurs are doing to effect change can have a chance to be effective. VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE!!!!!
