During the pandemic, the creative sector’s marginalisation exposed longstanding cultural biases. It’s time for education systems to reframe the arts not as luxury or leisure, but as critical to civic identity, wellbeing and resilience.
Are you an RSA Fellow? Submit your original article to Circle and it could be featured as the next Comment spotlight.
The disruptions of the early 2020s laid bare a longstanding imbalance: our systems consistently treat the arts as expendable. During the global pandemic, creative sectors were among the first to be paused or sidelined, a move that revealed not just logistical priorities but deeper cultural assumptions. Even now, in a world that has essentially reopened, the legacy of this marginalisation persists.
This moment calls for more than recovery. It demands reimagining the role of the arts not as optional extras but as civic infrastructure essential to resilience, connection and identity.
In truth, moments of crisis reveal the arts’ most vital functions. The arts provide tools for emotional processing, social connection and psychological resilience. They are not distractions from the crisis; they are integral responses to it. Yet this perspective remains underrepresented in public policy, funding priorities and educational strategy.
A key reason is how we are educated to perceive the arts. The marginalisation of creative disciplines in schools is not the result of isolated decisions but of longstanding cultural frameworks that position the arts as secondary to science, technology and commerce. The arts are often presented as enrichment or self-expression: valuable, perhaps, but ultimately elective.
The arts provide tools for emotional processing, social connection and psychological resilience. They are not distractions from the crisis; they are integral responses to it.
To shift this narrative, we need systemic change, both in pedagogy and in public discourse. Arts education must be reconceptualised as foundational to civic life, cultural identity and human development.
This conviction shaped a deliberate shift in my own career. Initially trained as a performer and composer, I pursued a doctorate in music education during the pandemic. This was not simply to accumulate qualifications, but to address a larger question: how can arts practitioners help rebuild societies that value creativity as a civic asset?
My doctoral research explored how non-Western rhythmic systems could inform a more inclusive, globally literate approach to aural training in higher education. This work reaffirmed that pedagogy is never neutral; it can either reinforce narrow hierarchies or open up new pathways for access, belonging and relevance.
Alongside research, my teaching across private studios, community settings and higher education underscored the same truth: students engage with music not only to hone technical skills but also to make sense of themselves and their world. Especially during periods of uncertainty, music becomes a tool for emotional regulation, social bonding and personal growth. These are not incidental benefits. They are the very reasons why the arts matter.
For education systems and cultural institutions seeking to rebuild in the post-crisis era, there is a rare opportunity to embed this understanding more deeply. Valuing the arts must go beyond slogans or symbolic gestures; it must be reflected in how we train teachers, allocate resources and design curricula. Arts education should not be treated as a decorative add-on; it is central to developing resilient, empathetic and adaptable citizens.
This is not a romantic ideal. It is a call to recognise the practical, measurable utility of the arts: fostering critical thinking, supporting mental health and strengthening communities. As Fellows of the RSA and stakeholders in social innovation, we have a responsibility to challenge outdated hierarchies and advocate for educational models that position creativity as a fundamental human resource.
The arts are not a luxury. They are essential. Our language, our funding and our practice must reflect that reality.
Dr Eugene Seow is a Singapore-based music educator, composer-arranger, and multi-instrumentalist, with a global career spanning higher education, contemporary performance and credential design.
This Comment is part of our Spotlight series highlighting the most engaging articles submitted to the Comment space on Circle from Fellows. If you have an article you would like to share with the Fellowship, click the link to upload it now.
