YouTube has connected creative people from across the world and is arguably more than a website and a cultural phenomenon. It is an art museum. Many significant contemporary artists upload videos to YouTube, and the world's most famous museums all have YouTube pages, but surprisingly, there is no visual arts category. There is a movement currently underway to communicate to the decision makers at YouTube, that a visual arts category is needed.

At the moment, there is no category for visual artists to upload to. The closest three categories are “howto& style”, “education” and “film&animation”. Howto&style is dominated by makeup tutorials, workout videos and fashion tips. The Education category does not have a visual arts subcategory, and that is especially scary in a time when so many schools have totally eliminated the arts from their curriculums. Film and animation is the closest match but its classification is much more limiting than a Visual Arts category.

History has taught us art can be taken for granted by the generation that creates it and that art has to age like wine before it is excavated, appreciated and placed in museums. If you are considering signing our change.org petition, I am challenging you to think ahead of our time and see that the Louvre of the 21st century is forming before our eyes.

YouTube Artists are realizing a dream in social history in that everyone is welcome! We are all curators and stars and ground breaking art is uploaded to YouTube every day. Artists can now connect with other artists in distant corners of the world and share ideas, learn new techniques and make friends. I am inspired by the awesomeness of YouTube every day; but there is one glaring oversight, that can easily be fixed. Please consider signing this petition to help us advocate for a visual arts category on YouTube.

Sincerely,

The YouTube Art Community