directly monetary terms, then to offer some other numeric answer – bums on seats, tourists attracted, employability improved or town centres regenerated. Then art might be something worth investing in. And art might well contribute to those areas, but we don‘t really think that that‘s what it‘s about, do we? There are those other, more elusive values, more difficult to express, partly for what they might reveal about our inner lives. That it enriches and nourishes the place in us that, as a secularist, I struggle to find words for. That it reminds us that we are connected to one another, much as we try to ignore or deny it. That life can be lifesize, larger than the everyday dullness it‘s so easy to get bogged down in. That we are moved and touched and curious, not just cynical and apathetic. It lets us imagine how things might be different. It can give hidden things a shape and a form. I‘ve exposed enough of myself and my pretentions to do us all for a long while, so I‘ll end with someone else‘s
thoughts on the value of art education. This time, it‘s the painter George Shaw. ‘The whole point of education is change, same as drinking. You don‘t want to end up the same person at the end of the evening. That‘s a waste of money.’