One rather ironic fact about Walter Gropius, founder of the Bauhaus art and design movement that began in 1919 in Germany, is that he couldn鈥檛 actually draw. Gropius was more of an ideas man, and his ideas were so revolutionary they changed the course of design history.
Like other cultural movements, such as punk in Thatcher鈥檚 economically and socially broken Britain, Bauhaus was a reaction to a deeply turbulent time. Following the聽horrors of the First World War, Gropius said he suddenly realised that 鈥渢he old stuff was out鈥. Time to rip it up and start again.聽
That drive to聽spark a cultural聽resurgence in the face of upheaval has surfaced聽once again, with European聽Commission聽president Ursula von der Leyen ,聽with a focus on sustainability as part of Europe鈥檚 鈧750bn coronavirus recovery plan. The aim of this new Bauhaus is to kick-start a cultural movement and a space where聽artists, engineers,聽students and聽designers can work together.
The European Commission鈥檚 plan can be seen as a hugely positive force in these dark times.
What we鈥檙e living through today, from the widening divisions between rich and poor to the increasingly toxic political sphere, has many disturbing echoes of the past.聽During the Bauhaus movement, the聽political landscape in Germany grew increasingly polarised聽and the Bauhaus was eventually shut down by the Nazis.聽The grim resurgence of the far right聽around the world shows that, in many ways, there is nothing聽鈥渦nprecedented" about the times we live in.聽
To catch hold, cultural movements don鈥檛 just require momentum and聽influence behind them, they need聽investment. The already massively underfunded arts industry in the UK has been decimated by this crisis, and the support required to carry it through this period is nowhere in sight. There have even been , for which he has received condemnation from prominent musicians,聽authors and actors.
Affirmative action and聽investment in the creative sector could help us begin again.聽
We also need to move away from pervading isolationist attitudes and towards working with our European neighbours on key cultural projects like the new Bauhaus that encourage the best and brightest creative minds to flourish and look to the future.聽
The next generation of talent is faced with an overwhelming number of obstacles but there is a lot that business and brands can do to help. The business world and the commercial sector can offer some of the investment, support and influence necessary to help fuel positive new cultural and creative networks that transcend borders. There is, of course, a mutual imperative for this sort of alliance 鈥 businesses and brands need to connect with the next generation in order to survive. These sorts of movements could help propel us into a new era, where protecting people and the planet becomes the priority and creativity and cultural diversity are championed, not diminished.聽
When he was a child, Gropius was asked what his favourite colour was. His answer was 鈥渕ulti-coloured鈥. His was a mind that was never limited to one possibility, but open to all. We should adopt a similarly inclusive, creative and outward-looking approach to brighten up the future that awaits us.
Vicki Maguire is chief creative officer of Havas London