Thursday 3 May 2012

The Politics of Making

It's a big day for local politics here today - We're voting for our next mayor. I'm quite a political person, although I try and hide it away on here.
I'm an old school socialist who believes in a big welfare state and paying as much tax as you can afford.
I believe in the value of art and culture for the masses and I believe this should be subsidised by the state.
I believe theatres have a duty to fund youth theatres and engage with their communities, and that if funding for these activities is tight then raising money to support them should be a priority.
I believe that making and mending is a political statement about moving away from thoughtless consumerism which does nothing but oil the machinery of capitalism and move the rich and the poor further and further apart.
I therefore am distressed to find myself working for a theatre which has disbanded it's education department, living in a city with a Conservative mayor (though hopefully for not much longer) and a country with an only slightly watered down Conservative government whose lives are totally detached from the majority of the people they serve.
So there you are, I have little money and even less spare time, but I will be running craft club in Pinner library this evening for free because I believe in the power of making and mending, and the importance of those skills being passed on. I charge much less for my toddler art workshop than I could or perhaps should because I believe that everyone should have access to art in their community.
But more than any of this I believe in democracy, and so even if you vote for a party I would never support, please make the time to vote today. It's really important.

1 comment:

Life through the Slim Lens said...

Thought provoking post Robyn quite moved by it!

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