Most Inspiring Interview with Eric Booth

The Australia Council for the Arts featured Eric Booth, one of America's leading key note speaker and expert on arts learning and creativity in an interview.

A Podcast of the interview can be viewed at the Australia Council for the Arts Arts Research Hub.

I've had the honour and absolute joy listening and speaking with Eric twice when he visited Australia.

The first time I saw Eric was at the "ArtSpeak" Conference, and again for a one day seminar "Brokering Artists in Communities" in Brisbane.

He was the most inspiring speaker imaginable. His words resonated still a long time after. Rarely have I heard so relevant ideas and such a passionate, and open-minded person, willing to admit his own shortcomings and that of the arts industry.

He has written, "The Music Teaching Bible" brilliant for any art teacher, and "The Everyday Work of Art: How Artistic Experience Can Transform Your Life", bot available at Amazon.

He speaks about the irrelevance between artists and the community, a gap emerged more than 50 years ago and getting bigger and bigger.

Eric Booth has a way of making aware how important it is to bring relevance back between the artists and their community.

Realizing that it is not just enough to use means of increasing clever marketing methods, when the art as such,in fact has no relevance to the community. Virtually trying to suck as many people into the arts, just for the arts sake. And he opened ways of how one can connect with the community to bring this relevance back.

Giving an example he told us that he will speak a Shakespeare Sonnet in 3 minutes. After a short moment of silence he asked "What did you just thought when I said this...., no I am mean what you really thought." He suggested that we probably would not jump up in utter joy to welcome such offer.

He then went on asking to answer some questions first before his demonstration of the sonnet. I cannot recall all of them, but the first was, to remember a time in our lives when you were really deeply down. So down, that it can't go any lower than that. We were to remember those moments and to write down in one word how we would describe this.

One of the following questions were to think about two very typical reactions we usually have in those situations, such as withdrawal, wanting to be alone etc.

And last he asked, if we had any means at our disposal, what could make us come out of this situation?

He then spoke the Sheakspheare sonnet. I have never in my live, heard Sheakespheare like this before. A 400 year old text became utter relvant to myself, so deeply resonating became those words.

I was astonished and stunned by the fact how littel personal involvement and input is needed to give personal relevance to an art form, I usually would not be interested in.

And there was so much more to digest. His ideas were fresh, new and totally inspiring.

But you just listen for yourself.

Eric Booths Interview

http://www.australiacouncil.gov.au/research/community_arts/reports_and_publication /eric_booth_in_conversation

Martina Pook

Co-Director

Artrillium House