The view that art is not a well paying career is prevalent, yet the demand for artistic people who can think outside the box and the sudden demand for art has proven this view to be untrue. This could come from the fact that a big part of current trends value jobs that are either stable or needs little to no work. Unfortunately, the Visual Arts industry often is not as stable, and needs a lot of effort and education to be successful.
Possibly because of the view that every artist is “starving”, students who are taking the arts as their primary course are declining ever since 2016. The view of art as a luxury piece or something lavish also hinders its importance. Art is to be appreciated by everyone. Proper spread of information may mitigate this problem.
With the lack of interest comes the lack of funding. With this comes shortages of qualified art teachers. The quality is not up to the same standards as of that in places that do appreciate the field, and it became more challenging because there are not enough teachers to teach those who are interested. Aside from teachers, facilities to teach art are also lacking. The quality of education available to the masses isn’t good.
One of the root problems that the cultural domain faces is the lack of awareness and promotion. This is one of the reasons why there’s still a common stigma about the field as a career choice. Using technology that allows users to reach people from around the country (e.g. social media platforms) as a medium for promotion and awareness for the domain could greatly help the situation.
Implementing more lessons and topics about our culture, and in-turn the field of visual arts, in our educational system ensures that the young generation will always know that our history and culture is important. This, along with providing support for those who are interested in the passion of visual arts, would ensure that Filipino painters, filmmakers, photographers, and artists still exist in the future.