Art is considered an essential part of all cultures throughout the world. However, these days fewer and fewer people appreciate art and turn their focus to science, technology and business. Why do you think that is? What could be done to encourage more people to take interest in the arts?

From ancient time, art has always been a crucial part of civilisations which served as not only a sophisticated medium for people to express their perception of the world but also an invaluable mean to archive the progression of human evolution. There has been an idea indicating that in modern time, people are shifting their focus towards other aspects such as science, technology and business and losing their interest in art. Though partly agree with this opinion, personally I do not think that is the case and will be discussing the reason why such impression exists and how to improve the current situation. Studies from various reputable universities including Oxford and Cambridge have shown that more than half of students who possessed a degree of art had to switch to another career path after 5 years and the number increased significantly after 10 years of graduation. One of the major contributing factors is that the employment market for an art student is extremely competitive if he or she is not oriented correctly during university time. They will often end up as freelancers or self-employed rather than being official employees in companies or organisations. This might not guarantee them a stable source of income and will require working overtime or taking on multiple projects simultaneously to compensate that. It might have been the psychological consequences of the depreciation of art coming from medias when most of the praises were for other science or business-related fields. However, with the advancement of technology, artists are adapting to the changes and being recognised more for their work even greater than before. They can publish their work online via platforms such as Facebook, Instagram or Telegram to gain followers which mean they can earn their living via this profession if they are refined enough with their talents and skills. It is a fair market and I believe many people are considering this as an opportunity if they decide to step into the field of art. Having said that, support from the government and organisations are also mandatory to encourage this development. Activities such as orientation for students, career fairs, budget increases in exhibitions are always welcome for students to feel confident in their choice in art.