Art Matters with Kendell Geers

For Kendell Geers, the ability to make art is uniquely human and the definition of civilisation. Art has existed since the origin of our species and so much more than just a form of expression. For every generation until today, it has been a witness to our faith, politics and culture. Art is the embodiment of our humanity, giving form to experiences, emotions and ideas that cannot always be expressed in words.

At a time when our sense of shared humanity is increasingly under threat, this gives art a particular urgency. It can help us see ourselves in one another, bridge different perspectives and, perhaps, restore a sense of hope.

Art also creates a space in which difficult questions can be asked, including those that may have no answer. It does not need to resolve contradiction or reduce complexity. Instead, it can open us to other possibilities and different ways of understanding ourselves and the world around us.

This is where its power lies. Art can give words to the wordless and form to what we cannot quite name. In doing so, it has the capacity, as Geers puts it, to “change the world, one perception at a time.”

“Art matters because it is our humanity. Without art, there is no humanity.”