We often look to artists to capture the sense of place, to make the spirit of a place tangible. At the highest level of achievement art belongs to the world, and transcends its place of origin by its universality. But many artists will draw inspiration, subject, and style from what surrounds them in a particular place. Craftsmen using local materials and drawing on regional traditions become part of the texture of a place. Theatre groups that develop some of their material from local experience help to shape the common perception of a community.
There is sometimes a discontinuity between Culture and culture—that is, between the high arts and the informal, indigenous culture (and even the local history of high culture). But arts and culture make a huge contribution to the quality of life and are among the things people value most highly in the places they live. And artists will contribute richly to the process of understanding the character of place in their communities.
It is character of place that unifies culture and Culture, that links the arts and crafts that are inextricably local with the artistic achievements that lift us into a greater community. In New York City, a great center of world theatre, the seeds of new creation often spring up in neighborhoods, part of whose distinctiveness is that they make creation possible. Art which aspires to the heavens has roots in the earth, in a place.