--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In today's climate in our country, which…" description: "\"In today's climate in our country, which is sickened with the pollution of pollution, threatened with the prominence of AIDS, riddled with burgeoning r..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d91/maya-angelou-104_art_in-today-s-climate-in-our-country-which_3166051.png" --- # In today's climate in our country, which is sickened with… ![“In today's climate in our country, which is sickened with the pollution of pollution, threatened with the prominence of AIDS, riddled with burgeoning racism, rife with growing huddles of the homeless, we need art and we need art in all forms. We need all methods of art to be present, everywhere…” quote by Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d91/maya-angelou-104_art_in-today-s-climate-in-our-country-which_3166051.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d91/maya-angelou-104_art_in-today-s-climate-in-our-country-which_3166051.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d91/maya-angelou-104_art_in-today-s-climate-in-our-country-which_3166051.png) > “In today's climate in our country, which is sickened with the pollution of pollution, threatened with the prominence of AIDS, riddled with burgeoning racism, rife with growing huddles of the homeless, we need art and we need art in all forms. We need all methods of art to be present, everywhere present, and all the time present.” [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Art in all its forms is essential to address societal crises and foster collective healing. **In simple terms:** Art is vital for societal healing. Key Takeaway Promote diverse artistic expression everywhere. Themes art social justice healing community Mood hopeful urgent Type activist philosophical When to use this quote - urban spaces - education - media campaigns Key Concepts cultural theory activism Questions to Reflect On - Which art forms best mobilize change? - How can art be made accessible to marginalized groups? A Different Perspective Art alone cannot solve systemic issues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/country/) [Racism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/racism/) ## Related quotes > [The art we need is the art of bearing the unbearable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-bernhard/the-art-we-need-is-the-art-of-bearing-the-unbearable/) [Thomas Bernhard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-bernhard/) > [We need art as much as we need good works. You need it like food. You need it for inspiration to keep going on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meryl-streep/we-need-art-as-much-as-we-need-good-works-you-need-it-like-food-you/) [Meryl Streep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meryl-streep/) > [I do worry because it takes all types to make our culture, to make our art. We need it to be available to all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neve-mcintosh/i-do-worry-because-it-takes-all-types-to-make-our-culture-to-make-our/) [Neve McIntosh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neve-mcintosh/) > [“Art is at present the only construction complete unto itself, about which nothing more can be said, it is such richness, vitality, sense, wisdom.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tristan-tzara/art-is-at-present-the-only-construction-complete-unto-itself-about/) [Tristan Tzara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tristan-tzara/) > [At a certain point, I had so much artwork that I decided to respect the art and present them in a nice way, not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iliza-shlesinger/at-a-certain-point-i-had-so-much-artwork-that-i-decided-to-respect/) [Iliza Shlesinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iliza-shlesinger/) > [All a work of art can do is present the surface. I can't know the insides of people. I know very little about the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-banville/all-a-work-of-art-can-do-is-present-the-surface-i-can-t-know-the/) [John Banville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-banville/) > [...it is in the nature of original contemporary art to present itself as a bad risk. And we the public...should be proud of being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-steinberg/it-is-in-the-nature-of-original-contemporary-art-to-present-itself-as/) [Leo Steinberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-steinberg/) > [“That is one of the functions of art: to present what the narrow and desperately practical perspectives of real life exclude.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/that-is-one-of-the-functions-of-art-to-present-what-the-narrow-and/) [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) > [Every single day, I wake up and take a glimpse of where I am now compared to where I was before, and the work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mj-rodriguez/every-single-day-i-wake-up-and-take-a-glimpse-of-where-i-am-now/) [Mj Rodriguez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mj-rodriguez/) > [“In art, the present is the eternal.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kakuz-okakura/in-art-the-present-is-the-eternal/) [Kakuzo Okakura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kakuz-okakura/) > [The purpose of art is to re-present nature, not represent it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josef-albers/the-purpose-of-art-is-to-re-present-nature-not-represent-it/) [Josef Albers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josef-albers/) > [In art, there is neither past nor future. The art that is not in the present will never be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/in-art-there-is-neither-past-nor-future-the-art-that-is-not-in-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [Good art has everything you need to know about it in the work, not on a wall label. Art is here to take us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-darby-bannard/good-art-has-everything-you-need-to-know-about-it-in-the-work-not-on/) [Walter Darby Bannard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-darby-bannard/) > [We don't need to be taught to make art, but sometimes we need permission to do so. Following instructions is overrated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/we-don-t-need-to-be-taught-to-make-art-but-sometimes-we-need/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [One of the challenges to our nation today is overcoming the notion that art is kind of a nice-to-have, when in reality art is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-maeda/one-of-the-challenges-to-our-nation-today-is-overcoming-the-notion/) [John Maeda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-maeda/) ## More by Maya Angelou > [Courage: the most important of all the virtues because without courage, you can't practice any other virtue consistently](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/courage-the-most-important-of-all-the-virtues-because-without-courage/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [If we accept being talked to any kind of a way, then we are telling ourselves we are not quite worth the best. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/if-we-accept-being-talked-to-any-kind-of-a-way-then-we-are-telling/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [You should be angry. You must not be bitter. Bitterness is like cancer. It eats upon the host. It doesn't do anything to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-should-be-angry-you-must-not-be-bitter-bitterness-is-like-cancer/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [“You are very kind and very intelligent and those elements are not always found together. Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt, Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune, and my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-are-very-kind-and-very-intelligent-and-those-elements-are-not/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [I agreed a long time ago, I would not live at any cost. If I am moved or forced away from what I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/i-agreed-a-long-time-ago-i-would-not-live-at-any-cost-if-i-am-moved/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [You want me to do something... tell me I can't do it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-want-me-to-do-something-tell-me-i-can-t-do-it/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Intelligence is a separate gift, for the benefit of students, so that they may think of themselves as intellectual and not very intelligent, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/intelligence-is-a-separate-gift-for-the-benefit-of-students-so-that/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Life is going to give you just what you put in it. Put your whole heart in everything you do, and pray, then you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/life-is-going-to-give-you-just-what-you-put-in-it-put-your-whole/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [“You may write me down in history With your bitter, twisted lies, You may tread me in the very dirt But still, like dust,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-may-write-me-down-in-history-with-your-bitter-twisted-lies-you/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [The more you know of your history, the more liberated you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/the-more-you-know-of-your-history-the-more-liberated-you-are/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Life offers us tickets to places which we have not knowingly asked for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/life-offers-us-tickets-to-places-which-we-have-not-knowingly-asked-for/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Every person needs to take one day away. A day in which one consciously separates the past from the future. Jobs, family, employers, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/every-person-needs-to-take-one-day-away-a-day-in-which-one/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [I'm working at trying to be a Christian, and that's serious business. It's like trying to be a good Jew, a good Muslim, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/i-m-working-at-trying-to-be-a-christian-and-that-s-serious-business/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Nathaniel Hawthorne once said that easy reading is damn hard writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/nathaniel-hawthorne-once-said-that-easy-reading-is-damn-hard-writing/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Sunday, if I'm lucky, I'll go to church or listen to some good spiritual advice on the television or on the radio. I take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/sunday-if-i-m-lucky-i-ll-go-to-church-or-listen-to-some-good/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) [Explore all 1,313 Maya Angelou quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) ## More Art quotes > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) Taf Teh > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [“The only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/) [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/) > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) [Browse all 48,643 Art quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "In today's climate in our country, which is sickened with the pollution of pollution, threatened with the prominence of AIDS, riddled with burgeoning racism, rife with growing huddles of the homeless, we need art and we need art in all forms. 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