Nazarene Human Arts Fund

This is an excerpt of the full article from the NHAF website.

I’ve always held a particular reverence for the artists that I like because they are the source of what that I use for imagining. There is so much happening within my head that exists solely because someone spent a moment of their lives producing something wonderful. Without them, my daydreams would be far emptier, and I therefore feel indebted towards them for providing so much color to who I am and how I think.

Downstream from this is my strongly held belief that art isn’t just a consumable, which is woefully how it is often observed and interacted with in these times. It is almost a living, breathing presence that provides meaning. It interfaces with our emotions indiscriminately. Those who make art aren’t content creators, a most despicable and soulless term that chars all great things down to its stimulative potential, but contributors to the whole heritage of humanity.

It is reasonable for artists to make of their art a livelihood, from which great art happens. It is necessary for the betterment of society that we receive great art. If we subtract society from great art, then society will be unforgivably lessened. It is therefore imperative that we have artists who are artists, instead of baristas that are also artists, or janitors that are also artists, or cashiers that are also artists. We need great men that find purpose in art and invests their soul into it.

This investment of soul is impossible with the distraction of labor. We have seen throughout history the greatest artists live because their labor has been art. Therefore, to have great artists, we need to recreate the individual artist whose autonomous and independent art is their labor and their place in society.

We have not, however, sustained a society that is conducive to the existence of the independent, individual artist. We have made their works easier to reach but harder to live on. We have also developed existential threats to human artistry, such as generative artificial intelligence. There is much work to do if we want to restore the prestige of the individual artist.

I long liked the prospect of being personally responsible for the economics of artists, as a subtle but contributing presence to their success, more as a friend and as an enjoyer of art than a financial patron. I’ve liked being friends with artists and having a personal window into the goings-on of their work. Yet, I’ve never found individual contributions to be enough.

This is why I launched the Nazarene Human Arts Fund. It serves to structure donations and to, hopefully, collect funds from third parties who also hold a similar reverence for artists. The organization will remain guided by me, including the choice of recipients. For the time being, it will be privately and personally funded by me, and it may remain that way.

Read the rest over at the NHAF’s website.