Art Matters

Because Your Imagination Can Change the World

By: Neil Gaiman, Chris Riddell

Narrated by: Neil Gaiman

A stunning and timely creative call-to-arms combining four extraordinary written pieces by Neil Gaiman.

“The world always seems brighter when you’ve just made something that wasn’t there before.”—Neil Gaiman

Drawn from Gaiman’s trove of published speeches, poems, and creative manifestos, Art Matters is an embodiment of this remarkable multi-media artist’s vision—an exploration of how reading, imagining, and creating can transform the world and our lives.

Art Matters bring together four of Gaiman’s most beloved writings on creativity and artistry:

• “Credo,” his remarkably concise and relevant manifesto on free expression, first delivered in the wake of the Charlie Hebdo shootings
• “Make Good Art,” his famous 2012 commencement address delivered at the Philadelphia University of the Arts
• “Making a Chair,” a poem about the joys of creating something, even when words won’t come
• “On Libraries,” an impassioned argument for libraries that illuminates their importance to our future and celebrates how they foster readers and daydreamers.

Art Matters is a stirring testament to the freedom of ideas that inspires us to make art in the face of adversity, and dares us to choose to be bold.

Brilliant but short.

Beautiful. The only thing I wish is that there were more of it. Neil is witty, kind and elegant.

Short and insightful

4 essays. Two are only a few minutes long. The other two are less then half an hour each. In them he distills some of tje wisfom he's acquired over the years, like encourage children to read for fun so that they'll read more. The last essay is probably of most value to those who want a careerin the arts. But all the essays are enjoyable.

Yep yep yup!

Essential listening, essential reading and definitely digestible stuff. Thanks Neil G. This creative definitely looks for the clipboards still!!!

“Make good art”

Encouraging, thoughtful, helpful, wise, and insightful! Enjoyed the simplicity of the message and yet profound delivery of the importance of literature and sharing with all generations especially the younger generations!

About the importance of reading

It's a collection of speeches/essays about reading for fun, literacy, library funding, and in general, the pursue of artistic endeavors. It's not especially inspirational, like Steve Job's commencement speech. It's a good reflection on instilling the joy of reading in children.