Art is both the process and product of human ingenuity or creativity. The word art is taken from the greek word 'Ars' which means skills, also drawn from the greek word 'techno' meaning technique.
Art can only be made by man and not non-human. For instance, a bird nest might look artistic but isn't a form of art because it is not made by human.
The relevance and usefulness of art cannot be overemphasized, it has been of great benefit to the society, civil world and even to the individuals (both the artists and the non-artists)
Functional/Utilitarian Importance.
Art is functional for daily use in cases of decoration, ornamentation, landscaping, and architectural designs. It is used frequently by different people for various reasons.
Cultural Importance
Art is used in expressing and preserving culture. For instance, you can identify the culture of a person by listening attentively to his speech and the intonations used or even in the way they dress. We have lots of artworks that tell stories of the orgin of a particular place and how life was in the past. Art is indeed a mirror of the society and it seeks to preserve the cultural indices of any society.
Communicative Importance
One of the main relevance of art is communication. An art piece speaks volume to different people. We have over 6,000 languages in the world, but you don't need anyone to interpret an artwork for you. You interpret art in a way that you understand it.
Philosophical Importance
Art affects the reasoning and the way man thinks. It has a capacity of pushing someone to think beyond and even out of the box. For instance when you look at an artwork, many imaginations, ideas and concepts run through your mind.
Employment Opportunities
Art is a broad field encompassing areas such as photography, painting, ceramics, textiles, fashion designs, pottery, web designing and lots more. Some of these areas require just little capital/equipments to start up. There are lots of online classes and even youtube toturials that can help you grow if you are a novice. Hundreds of people all over the world are making decent earnings everyday from art. Not only that, some people partake in art simply as a side gig to earn extra income. Art has created many opportunities for the youth and especially when the white collar jobs are not working out.
In conclusion, art is basically anything we do with our hands and it has always been useful for our day-to-day activities.