Written by Mags Delaney-Moffatt

Every year World Art Day on April 15th celebrates the fine arts and promotes awareness of creativity worldwide. The International Association of Art and UNESCO founded World Art Day in 2012. They chose the date of April 15th as it coincided with Leonardo da Vinci’s birthday. Known as one of the most famous artists in history, Leonardo da Vinci has become a symbol of peace, freedom of expression, tolerance, and brotherhood.

Anything where humans use their creative skills and imagination to create something in visual form is called ART. Some of the most popular types of art include painting, sculpting, drawing, photography, and calligraphy along with theatre, dance, and music.

Art has many benefits to offer including:
• generating a love for learning and creativity.
• strengthening focus, improving hand-eye coordination, and helping develop problem-solving.
• supporting emotional intelligence and helping people express complex feelings.
• reaching across racial stereotypes and religious barriers and helping to build communities.
• building self-esteem, increasing motivation, and improving holistic health.
• awakening the senses and helping people experience the world in new ways.

Dabbling in lots of different art forms like theatre, photography, and writing has helped me in so many ways to grow my confidence and improve my well-being over the years as well as being fun to do. The best advice I could give anyone would be to get involved with art in some way whether it is as part of a group or just for your own satisfaction.

Painting of The PumpHouse by Lynette Jolicoeur