ABSTRACT
This 2011 article by Elizabeth Grierson considers how art and creativity are valued (and devalued) in relation to trends impacting education more widely in the twenty-first century. Grierson focuses particularly on the move towards an economic orientation towards education, wherein educational studies and principles are valued according to their worth within the free-market global economy. In this context, creativity becomes valued in connection to the need for innovation in industry and is commonly regarded as a general skill transferable across domains. This is in stark departure from the way creativity is understood in art and in art education. It is also in clear contrast to the views of creativity, as it intersects with arts and culture, in philosophy. Here, Grierson considers the philosophies of Heidegger and Nietzsche. Today, the value of art has been reoriented towards the needs of industry and is increasingly defined in terms of the advancement of technology and information transfer. As Grierson concludes, the true power of art and creativity are obscured in this case, by their being folded into an industrial paradigm of knowledge. There is thus a need to reconsider the value of art and creativity in education going forward. By focusing on art and creativity in education, this chapter highlights the implications of neoliberalism in a particular sphere and domain, spelling out general principles that have been well elucidated elsewhere in terms of specific challenges and agendas in the early twenty-first century.
