Cross-polinating

I do not have a lot to comment on this week, but after the "New Approaches to Teaching" Class yesterday, I would like to pose a question for us to munch on. As artists in the 21-st century, do we need to band together with other creative artists (authors, dancers, philosophers) to help more clearly define the necessity of our arts to a population who may deem them frivolous? And if so, should we be spending more time learning about each others creative processes?