“I am enough of the artist to draw freely upon my imagination. Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.”
Albert Einstein
If one of the greatest scientific minds of last century holds imagination in such high esteem, it shows you how much we should validate it generally and in artists specifically!
In my humble opinion, the ability to create is probably second in man’s achievements only bested by his ability to help.
If, individually and as a society, we focused a lot more attention on those two things, helping and creating, the happiness of the individual members and the survival potential of the individual and this society would be immeasurably boosted.