A visual artist shares how creation multiplies learning and community well-being.

In her workshop and in the classrooms of the National School of Visual Arts, which she now directs, Iris Pérez Romero has found a way to turn creation into shared learning. ‘I live and create in the Dominican Republic; everything I do comes from here,’ she says. With more than three decades of experience in drawing, painting, photography and ceramics, she combines artistic practice, teaching and cultural management. Her work engages with everyday life and the memory of communities, while her teaching serves as a bridge to new generations. Iris's vision is based on a conviction: art first transforms the creator and then society.


Art is so extraordinary that it first “does something to you”, it transforms you, and after it transforms you, it reaches others and changes and transforms societies, entire societies; so it is very important that there are people who continue to make art.


In the classroom and workshop, this transformation becomes shared learning: each work raises questions, each class provides tools, each project invites participation. Thus, art asserts itself as a public good that broadens horizons, strengthens capabilities, and builds community.

Even with this potential, artistic careers are often marked by interruptions and gaps in social protection. For Iris, choosing art as a career path meant building confidence around a vocation. "The first challenge comes from the family. I had to prove to my parents that this profession could be my livelihood. For many families, a “serious” career is to be a doctor, lawyer or nurse; dedicating oneself to the arts is often incomprehensible. Today, as a teacher, I see young people crying because their parents do not accept their decision to study art."

Recognising creation as work remains a starting point for policies that guarantee the sustainability of professional careers. ‘Then there are other challenges,’ explains Iris: materials, spaces and support to produce quality work. Many ideas fall by the wayside due to a lack of resources. And there is something structural: the intermittent nature of income. ‘There are periods when I generate income by teaching, creating or managing, and others when I need time to research, write and plan. That creative time is neither paid nor protected,’ she points out. The consequence is well known: processes that are interrupted, projects that are postponed and artists who seek income in activities unrelated to their vocation.

Recognising art as work with rights


Artistic practice also involves occupational hazards: handling toxic materials, workshops without adequate air conditioning, or working at heights. ‘Many work their entire lives without social security. When they grow old or fall ill, they face uncertainty.’ Hence his conviction: art is work and must be protected by rights.

Behind every work of art there are personal sacrifices. People see the result, but not the lack of guarantees to support oneself as an artist and maintain a family. What we do must be valued and remunerated, and when it is not, there must be some kind of support so that proposals can materialise.

ARTSECURE: a protective framework for creators


In this context, ARTSECURE emerges as an inter-institutional response: to build a legal framework for social protection for artists and cultural professionals in the Dominican Republic, led by the Ministry of Culture, implemented by UNESCO and funded by the European Union. The proposal is based on a reality identified by the country: the informality of the cultural sector increases vulnerability to social and economic risks.

ARTSECURE is part of the third phase (2023–2026) of the European Union/UNESCO Programme ‘Policy Development for Creativity’, which aims to provide technical assistance to Member States in the formulation of evidence-based policies to enhance the contribution of cultural and creative industries to sustainable development, under the 2005 Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions. The implementation roadmap integrates diagnosis, multisectoral dialogue, exchange of experiences and technical drafting of the legal instrument, with a view to its adoption and implementation. It is a commitment to the professionalisation, stability and projection of the sector, which recognises the contribution of creation to the country's sustainable development.

For Iris, this horizon has an immediate effect on the continuity of careers:

 

If we manage to build a social security system for artists, we will strengthen the work of new generations. Today, many young people abandon creativity because they see no stability or support. They devote themselves to other professions, losing the richness of artistic research and reflection.

Her reflection returns to the public meaning of art and its value in terms of identity: ‘Art is a mirror that reminds us who we are, what our ancestors did and what defines us as a nation. It transforms societies, raises awareness and generates profound changes. Without it, we would lose our identity and historical memory. If artists disappear, our essence disappears.’

With initiatives such as ARTSECURE, UNESCO and the European Union, together with the Ministry of Culture of the Dominican Republic, are strengthening the country's institutional capacity to protect those who create, so that no one has to choose between creating and being protected. Caring for creative work means caring for living memory: guaranteeing conditions for artists and cultural workers expands opportunities, strengthens communities and ensures that creation continues to transform lives.