(Skip down for Art & Artist Q’s).
Antelope Valley Arts Blog is teaming up with some local dynamos to create a new arts publication for the Antelope Valley. The goal is to make life a little more interesting, give artists a new (albeit small) platform wherein to express themselves and reach an audience.
And as always, it is Antelope Valley Arts Blog’s goal to bring people together around and through the arts here in the Antelope Valley.
The publication is set to include original creative writing and visual art, artist interviews, reviews of gallery shows and theatre performances, news about upcoming events, auditions, and points of interest, gallery listings, and anything else that fits the general project.
AV Arts Blog would like to pose some questions to the artists and non-artists in our community as to their thoughts on where art fits into our lives and our communities. What follows here are several (hopefully) open ended questions on art and being an artist. Some of the items can be easily interpreted and answered by all, some of the items are more apt for individuals who create. The goal, however, is not to be exclusive. To the contrary, the goal here is to present an opportunity to participate in a discussion on what art means for us, today, in the Antelope Valley and everywhere. Please respond with as much or as little as you’d like. All posts will be considered for inclusion in the upcoming AV Arts Magazine. If you’d rather email responses send them to: poeticwax@rocketmail.com
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What is the artist’s role in our communities/society?
How do you see yourself and your art fulfilling that role?
Does expressive art, in today’s world, have a necessary relationship with identity?
How does your work deal with identity, if it does? If it does not deal with identity, how do you intentionally avoid this theme/concept?
Is expressive art more important to our culture and society today than it was one hundred years ago? Less important?
Does the artist, in a social context, have any particular responsibilities? Freedoms? Are there any particular subjects or topics that you feel it is incumbent for the artist to address or confront?
Answering for yourself, is there a particular set of subjects that you feel are necessary and unavoidable?
What is your art about?
Can you articulate your essential project as an artist?
Antelope Valley Arts 
Can you clarify what you mean by “expressive art?”
Please consider the questions – and their phrasing – in whatever way seems most conducive to discussion.
Feel free to re-phrase, co-opt, or parse any item into a subject that you feel warrants a thoughtful response.
The goal here is simply to offer a platform for discussion and the questions are meant to present starting points only, not to limit or contain the conversation.
Thank you for participating!