Why artist is the profession of the future

Book review "A whole New Mind" by Daniel H. Pink

Among all the negative messages about the future of the arts, other voices pop up every now and then. For me, one of the most impressive dissenting voices is the book "A whole new mind" by Daniel H. Pink. According to Daniel, artists and creatives are going to make it all happen in the next few years. This is because, according to him, we are in a transition period. From the agrarian age, we have moved through the industrial age into the information age. And now we are at the beginning of a new period, which he calls the conceptual era.

In the information age, people with a well-developed left hemisphere were at an advantage. This is because the left part of our brain is responsible for processing facts.

We were encouraged to choose professions with a strong focus on processing information. Like, for example, accountant, lawyer or computer programmer. People in these kinds of professions are generally successful and earn well.

Daniel believes these types of professions will be much less sought after in the conceptual age. People with a well-developed right brain are strong at making connections establishing relationships. And let those be the very things that are going to be crucial in the conceptual age

But why is it that there will be less and less demand for information-oriented professions? He gives 3 causes:

1. We live in an age of abundance, with more and more people having their basic needs met, increasing the need for luxury
2. Many typical "left-brain tasks" (e.g. ICT) will be outsourced to Asian countries, causing the demand for these occupations to fall here
3. Many routine tasks will increasingly be performed by computers, and this too will reduce the demand for certain "left-brain professions"

Daniel gives some great examples of situations where "right-brain skills" are integrated into traditional training and professions. I share a few in which there is an explicit role for art and creativity.

• At the Yale School of Medicine, students take observation classes at the Yale Center for British Art because it has been found that students who know how to observe art are much better at perceiving subtle details in the states of their patients.
• Unilever UK employs painters, poets and cartoonists to provide its staff with inspiration.
• Studies have shown that patients in a more attractively decorated hospital room need less medication and can go home 2 days earlier on average.

To conclude, he describes 6 skills that are going to become much more important in the conceptual age:

Design: the ability to shape things and make them more beautiful

Story: the ability to tell a story

Symphony: the ability to create coherence and harmony

Empathy: the ability to sympathise with others

Play: the ability to make things more fun

Meaning: the ability to give meaning

For each of these skills, he gives exercises that help to strengthen these skills in yourself. For artists, of course, these exercises are not necessary. They are born "right-brainers".

Above all, Daniel's book has given me even more hope. The numerous examples and scientific evidence articulate something I have known and felt for much longer. There are plenty of opportunities for creatives. Do you have a great example of a surprising way to add value as an artist? If so, I would love to read your response.