The Role of Education in the Cultural and Artistic Development of the Individual: Developing Artistic and Creative Skills.

Education should be the most efficient way of arousing the individual's cultural consciousness. A concept of "interculturality" now exists, signifying the importance of the interaction between different cultures. There must no longer be a distinction between the "high class" culture of the erudite and the "low class" culture of the lower social strata. It is necessary to recognize all of the influences upon the culture of the developing nation, even those influences that spring from former colonizers. Identity of self evolves through knowledge of the other. It is impossible to understand a nation's culture without understanding its arts. Any sound education develops personal expression and social integration, and art in particular contributes to such development. To be effective, art education must relate artistic production with aesthetic appreciation and historical information. Education must pay attention to visual literacy, to prepare children to understand and evaluate all sorts of images. Furthermore, in learning to appreciate and decodify works of art, children develop creativity. Art education also mediates between art and the general public. Training in art is important economically as well, in that many jobs relate directly or indirectly to art. Art is also critical for emotional development. It is impossible to conduct emotional and intellectual education without art. (SG)