On June 16, 2022, Basement Cultural Foundation held the third public debate in the activity of ‘Spaces’ for this year. The debate dealt with the thesis “Art contributes to the development of society…for or against?” It includes two teams, each of which consists four participants, and they are as follows:

Thesis team:

1- Amani Fawad Al-Maqtari

2- Abdullah Ahmed Al-Wattari

3- Huda Abdul Rahman Khurshid

4- Ali Abdul-Khaleq Hujaira

The team opposing the thesis

1- Nouf Khaled Al-Sami

2- Dhi Yazan Abdullah Sharhan

3- Siham Ali Abdul Malik

4- Eman Abdul Rahman Al-Siblani

Ma’ab Al-Hajj facilitated the media debate, the trainee in the Space Project.

Before the start of the debate, the result of the primary vote by the audience was as follows:

• 75% support for the thesis
• 25% vote against the thesis.

The debate witnessed four confrontations, in which each opponent faced his counterpart from the other team. Six separate interventions were devoted to the audience. The attendees participated in presenting their views and observations on the arguments presented during the debate.

The team supporting the thesis sought to recall the historical role that art played in promoting the principles of patriotism and coexistence among peoples, and its role in documenting history through inscriptions and monuments left by ancient civilizations, as it conveyed to us the truth of events that we would not have known without the presence of art. In addition to the great role of art and artists around the world in promoting relief campaigns and supporting donations for patients with cancer and other incurable diseases, as well as the efforts of art in advocating community issues, directing public opinion and putting pressure on lawmakers. As well as pointing to the importance of art in being a primary source of income for a large group of creators who cannot find another source of livelihood. With reference to the extent of the great interdependence between arts, innovations and production, the fact that inventors and innovators urgently need to possess artistic sense and imagination.

On the other hand, the participants in the team opposing the thesis affirmed that they do not oppose the importance of art, but rather they do not agree with considering it as one of the factors of community development. The team opposing the thesis pointed to the responsibility of art in promoting and spreading the culture of physical and verbal violence and the spread of bad habits and phenomena among society. The team was also keen to confirm that art belongs to the category of “luxuries” that are far from the basics needed for the advancement of society, such as education, economy and health. The team also cited the experiences of many developed countries such as China and South Korea, which did not need art to reach the ranks of developed countries. Remembering that the great development that our world is experiencing today did not come as a result of an artistic revolution, but rather as a result of the intellectual and industrial revolutions during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

After the end of the confrontations between the two teams, and to determine the winning team in the debate, the debate facilitator asked the audience to cast their votes in the (post-voting), and the result was as follows:

Supporting thesis team: 76%

By increasing one vote more than the result of the pre-vote

Anti-thesis team: 24%

By losing one vote from the result of the pre-vote

Thus, the team supporting the thesis was declared the winner of the debate after it managed to change the number of votes in its favour (from 75 votes before the debate to 76 votes after the debate).