Art is a term that describes a diverse range of human activities and the products of those activities, but is most often understood to refer to painting, film, photography, sculpture, and other visual media. Music, theatre, dance, literature, and interactive media are included in a broader definition of art or the arts. Until the 17th century, art referred to any skill or mastery and was not differentiated from crafts or sciences, but in modern usage the fine arts are distinguished from acquired skills in general.

Many definitions of art have been proposed by philosophers and others who have characterized art in terms of mimesis, expression, communication of emotion, or other values. During the Romantic period, art came to be seen as "a special faculty of the human mind to be classified with religion and science".

The nature of art, and related concepts such as creativity and interpretation, are explored in a branch of philosophy known as aesthetics.

The Encyclopædia Britannica Online defines art as "the use of skill and imagination in the creation of aesthetic objects, environments, or experiences that can be shared with others". By this definition of the word, artistic works have existed for almost as long as humankind: from early pre-historic art to contemporary art; however, some theories restrict the concept to modern Western societies. The first and broadest sense of art is the one that has remained closest to the older Latin meaning, which roughly translates to "skill" or "craft." A few examples where this meaning proves very broad include artifact, artificial, artifice, medical arts, and military arts. However, there are many other colloquial uses of the word, all with some relation to its etymology.

Bran Ferren is a co-founder and Chief Creative Officer of Applied Minds and is an American designer of movie and theater special effects.

Bran Ferren is the former president of research and development of Walt Disney Imagineering, as well as the co-founder of Associates and Ferren, a visual effects company who supplied visual effects for Star Trek V, Altered States, Little Shop of Horrors, and The Manhattan Project.

Chris Lake is a Scottish House music DJ/producer who lives in West London. Lake first became recognized for his bootleg remixes of The Prodigy's "Climbatize", Leftfield's "Phat Planet", and Eurythmics "Sweet Dreams". which he did under the alias "Cristophe D'Abuc". His 2006 track with vocals from Laura V, "Changes", reached the UK Singles Chart, peaking at #27. "Changes" was first released in 2005 on Alternative Route Recordings and was licensed to Universal Music for a full worldwide release in Summer 2006. It reached #10 on Billboard's Hot Dance Airplay chart. His 2007 single, "Carry Me Away" (featuring Emma Hewitt), topped the Billboard Hot Dance Airplay Chart. He scored his third consecutive top ten hit on the US dance chart with "Only One". "If You Knew" featuring Nastala, became his fourth consecutive top ten single on the US dance chart. A debut album is planned for release in 2009.

Lake has been a guest DJ on many radio shows such as Pete Tong's Radio 1. Tong hailed Lake as the "best thing to come out of Scotland since Mylo."

Loleatta Holloway (November 5, 1946 – March 21, 2011) was an American singer, mainly known for disco songs such as "Hit and Run" and "Love Sensation", both of which have been sampled extensively.

Holloway began singing gospel with her mother in the Holloway Community Singers and recorded with Albertina Walker in the Caravans gospel group. Holloway was also a cast member of the Chicago troupe of Don't Bother Me, I Can't Cope. Around this time, she met her future producer, manager, and husband Floyd Smith, and recorded "Rainbow ’71" in 1971, a Curtis Mayfield song that Gene Chandler had recorded in 1963. It was initially released on the Apache label, but shortly thereafter, it got picked up for national distribution by Galaxy Records.

In the early 1970s, Holloway signed a recording contract with the Atlanta-based soul music label Aware, part of the General Recording Corporation (GRC), owned by Michael Thevis. Holloway recorded two albums for the label, both of them produced by Floyd Smith—Loleatta (1973) and Cry to Me (1975). Holloway later married Smith. Her first single from the second album, the ballad "Cry to Me" rose to #10 Billboard R&B and #68 on the Hot 100, but before the label could really establish Holloway, it went out of business.

Noah Becker is a painter, art writer and publisher. Becker is also a jazz saxophonist. He has exhibited his paintings in the Vancouver Art Gallery group exhibition How Soon is Now in 2009

Becker is the founder and editor-in-chief of Whitehot Magazine of Contemporary Art, an online art magazine. He is also a contributing writer for Art in America Magazine, Canadian Art Magazine and the Huffington Post.

In 2009 Becker was one of 15 artists nominated for the RBC (Royal Bank of Canada) Painting Prize in 2009. This exhibition toured Becker's painting to Musée D'Art Contemporain De Montréal and the Power Plant in Toronto.

Becker has exhibited in Switzerland, New York, and Miami at NADA Art Fair.

Becker's first Jazz CD "Where We Are" features guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel. Becker's recent recordings as a sideman have been with Canadian hip hop artist Moka Only.