Let me begin with a bit of housekeeping by inviting all our graduates and their families here today to please join us for a reception in the cafeteria immediately following the conclusion of today’s ceremony. And I want to welcome you all again. It is always so good to see not just our graduates, but their proud families on this very special and happy day.
And it is indeed a happy day. At the same time, I think it’s a serious moment. So, I would begin with a quote that is relevant as you launch into the next phase of your careers at this important milestone. To quote business guru Peter Drucker who said, “The best way to predict the future is to create it.”
And wow, are you all going out into the world at an interesting time to create those futures and build careers! You know—we all know—that the life of an artist is and has always been both exhilarating and challenging. So, the question becomes: how do you build the path for yourself and how will you make a life with your art, and make it relevant to people? How will you connect?
In your time here at Peabody, you’ve developed skills to answer those questions; now—how do you apply them in an evolving world? And to what end? I want to ask you to think about this today. Arts are more than great craft, intuitive beauty or even a profound statement of expression. Arts are about freedom of expression. But you then might ask, how can that be as great arts have existed in societies that were not free? I’ll come back to that in a moment.
But let’s suppose that great art requires a free voice, or at the very least, benefits from it. At their most basic, arts are uniquely human and express the human condition and that requires transparency, authenticity, and an ability to speak truth to power.
As Plato said, “Poetry is nearer to vital truth than history.”
So if arts require a free voice, do arts thrive in a democracy as a vehicle for change? We have seen arts often at the forefront of protest movements. Folk music in particular has a rich history of that in the United States. And the flip question is, if the arts weren’t imbued with such power, why would anti-democratic movements or societies censor them? Because they involve ideas, and ideas can be threatening especially within a context of fear.
And there is plenty of evidence of that in just the last 100 years.
In Nazi Germany, specific art movements like Expressionism and Impressionism and others were thought to be “degenerate art.” Of course the targeting of Jewish artists was monolithic, as well as deadly.
In circa 1930’s Soviet Union, Socialist Realism as it was called in the arts was the acceptable mode in celebration of the State. Other styles were considered unacceptably “bourgeois.” And it was all closely monitored and artists paid with their careers, and sometimes worse, for deviating from what was sanctioned as proper artistic expression. Or they carefully cloaked their true intentions within their creations for people to experience in a kind of language of code.
And during China’s Cultural Revolution, traditional art forms were shunned with the banning of what was called the “Four Olds” which targeted customs, culture, habits, and ideas. And again, failure to adhere to the government’s line often had serious consequences.
It is in this context that we consider that earlier this year, the overnight purge of this country’s national symbol for the arts, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, resulted in the immediate dismissal of its Board and Executive Leadership after more than a decade of stewardship. Following closely on the heels of this institutional upheaval, came the overturning of programming including artists that cancelled themselves out of protest, and artists whose shows were cancelled, largely targeting programs emphasizing diversity of performers and art forms, implying that these were not legitimate or part of our national story. Further changes at the National Endowment for the Arts have pulled the funding rug out from under independent artists and arts organizations of all sizes across the country.
Now I want to be clear that I’m not suggesting that these changes at the Kennedy Center and the NEA are the equivalent of the historical examples cited. And in fact, it is within the purview of a sitting administration to make changes.
But I do think recent events have raised important questions for artists and artistic organizations today—questions that some of you have grappled with in your time here at Peabody, but that may require reconsideration in today’s environment.
Does the responsibility of the artist go beyond making something beautiful or meaningful? What does that mean for the artist?
We know we must not take freedom of expression for granted in the arts world. There needs to be continued advocacy and a commitment to stand strong for the independence of artists. It is every bit as essential as the first amendment’s guarantee of freedom of speech that we hold so dear in this country. Indeed, it is a matter of artistic freedom of speech.
I have long advocated for artists to be flexible and adaptable. Circumstances today dictate we need that from artists more than ever as we find new ways to make our voices heard. And that means that you cannot just depend on your craft but on so many other skills that surround that craft. More than ever you have to be a proponent not just of your art, but of ideas and your own independent voice. And you must be able to convincingly prosecute your ideas.
And irrespective of this moment in which we find ourselves, remember that your career is not something done to you—you have agency. It is, as Peter Drucker noted, that “The best way to predict the future is to create it.”
It’s now up to you, as both artists and advocates, to create your future and the future of our field, and in that journey, to renew the diversity, energy and freedom of the arts in the world. It’s a lot on your shoulders, but we chose this field because it is a calling, and with your Peabody training you are ready for it. We’re counting on you, we believe in you, and we will continue to be here to support you in the important work ahead.
Tomorrow, you begin down that path. But today is a day for celebration. So here’s to all of you and everything you have already achieved in getting to this point—I offer my warmest congratulations to this great class of 2025!