“Art is not a luxury, it’s actually sustenance”

Ethan Hawke

The arts are what make life meaningful. We cannot only define our world with numbers and formulas (not to say STEM is not crucial and necessary to humankind) stripping the world down to its absolutes and losing the poetry of what it means to be a human being. That’s the beauty of the arts - they needn’t come with a simple prescribed answer. To put it simply, art is the outlet for how humans feel and that will always be beautifully complicated.

Art is everywhere and it’s what we live for - in a world now dominated by AI we are seeing the arts and humanities scene disintegrate before our very own eyes; we no longer place as much value on man-made art; our essays no longer come from a place of passion - wanting to prove ourselves, art no longer created with a purpose as we value efficiency over intellectualism. The art of emotion is fading with our complacency. AI does not have a soul; it cannot possibly imitate such a human trait like passion. It does not create through joy, through anguish, through hardships. No.

It is simply a regurgitation of all the art man has made beforehand.

The humanities keep intellectualism and critical thinking alive; they preserve literacy and keeps us curious. Imagine a world in which we lacked creativity and empathy, without the humanities we would not ask the questions which would help better us as individuals and push. Imagine living in a wholly practical world where everything was systematically created with the sheer aim of functionality. It would be dull, lifeless, and extremely unproductive. To quote John Keating: “Medicine, law, business, engineering - these are noble pursuits necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay alive for.”  Without science there is no change but without art there is no want for change; one cannot exist without the other and that’s beautiful.

So go and draw, write, paint, sculpt, act, sing, play, because that is the most human thing you can do

“We don’t read and write poetry because it’s cute, we read and write poetry because we are members of the human race, and the human race is filled with passion”- Robin Williams

Thank you Isabelle for that passionate and inspiring piece of writing. If your child is similarly inspired, please do point them at Isabelle, Georgia or Hashnavy in Year 12. They are the editors of the LGS Young Arts and Humanities Journal and they are always keen to support pupils in showcasing their passions.

One of the wonderful things about Art is its ability to transcend boundaries. We are proud to be hosting a display of artwork by pupils from Ukraine who have been affected by the war there. You are welcome to drop in and view it in the foyer, or you can see some of the pieces via this link.

I will finish by sharing the fantastic news that LGS was awarded School of the Year at the Tennis Leicestershire Annual Awards on Monday evening - www.lgs-senior.org.uk/tennis-school-of-the-year. This is well-earned tribute to Mr Godsmark, who leads our tennis programme, and all of the pupils who have worked so hard over the years to develop their games and represent the school.

With best wishes,

Magnus Anderson

Headmaster