Whether it be an unsatisfactory illustration, a clay vase that broke or a music piece that went all too wrong, many students have faced at least one form of discouragement when it comes to art. However, the staff of the Brookline Arts Center (BAC) offer their insights on the value that art can bring to a community.
Before its renovation in 1968, the BAC was Fire Station #3, located on the border between Brookline and Boston. Since its renovation, it has served the community through art classes, exhibitions and outreach programs and aims to provide the community with meaningful art experiences. Staff at the Brookline Arts Center hold many insights about how to overcome the discouragement and pressure that many aspiring artists face.
Executive Director of the BAC Gabrielle Domb said that when artists are underpaid, it is not a career everyone can pursue. Domb said she wishes that careers in the arts would be more economically sustainable.
“I think there’s a tremendous undervaluing of the arts and the humanities,” Domb said. “We see a lot of understanding of the value of science and technology, but I think there’s very little understanding of the forms of understanding and analysis that can come through art and literature.”
BAC teacher Zoe Schein instructs many classes, from drawing and comics to art history. Schein said one thing they love is when students say that they just want to do art to feel good.
“People come in and say, ‘I really liked painting when I was nine, and then I got discouraged, and I haven’t done it since. I am a grown-up now, and I realized I shouldn’t have been intimidated, but now I don’t know where to start,’” Schein said. “It’s a spiritual practice for some people, a way to be in touch with a part of yourself.”
Schein said that many adult beginners are surprised by how much they are able to improve because they think they need artistic skill. However, Schein said that art is teachable.
“I wouldn’t be an art teacher if I didn’t think art could be taught, and I think that’s a barrier that a lot of people experience. Math is also hard to learn, but it is teachable,” Schein said. “There are people for whom that kind of spatial reasoning comes very easily, and that’s great, but you can absolutely learn it.”
Program Coordinator Molly O’Donnell said she supports teachers and artists, which is something she is passionate about. O’Donnell said there is more to success than becoming famous for your art.
“You’re kind of trained to want to be represented in galleries and museums,” O’Donnell said. “I think a lot of art can just be made for you and yourself and can teach you a lot about the world, and doesn’t necessarily need the affirmation of other people.”
Schein said the people they see having lifelong artistic practice are those who believe that art isn’t who they are, but rather, a way they connect with the world.
“I think that, when young people identify too strongly as an artist, they eventually hit a point at which it’s not enough,” Schein said. “That leads a lot of people to quit forever.”
O’Donell said that your success as an artist goes beyond your age, education or fame and what matters is the community you surround yourself with.
“I often compared myself to other people and I was never as successful at that point,” O’Donnell said. “I became a successful artist when I trusted my intuition and found my community of people and friends that I could talk to about art. I feel like that happens here at community art centers.”
