Arts (general)

So, you've created your hills and valleys, charted the shorelines and tracked the migrations of the orc tribes across the wasteland, so what is there left to do?  When the bones of your world are lain, and the tendons of politics are established, it's time to pile on the flesh.  What makes this community distinct from another?  There are innumerable ways to attempt it from political format to mode of dress, but a method that feels mostly overlooked is use of the Arts.
    Music is thought to be a universal reality for humans.  Different ethnic, social and religious groups have created different kinds of music.  Different climates, materials and philosophies evolve different kinds of musical expression.  Some require instruments that are very portable because the makers were nomads or herdsmen.  It is sometimes designed to make your feet tap, your whole body move, or your spirit soar.  Some music is martial, some is serene.  Those who make the music may be held in contempt or high regard.  The same can be said of those who construct the instruments.  Music's use, and the place it holds in a culture, intermingles with celebrations, religious occasions and sombre self reflection.
    Unless a structure is truly out of the ordinary, I find architecture is often underutilized as a storytelling device.  What kind of joining does the log cabin have?  That will inform a fair amount on the abilities of the builder.  What tells you that the structure is Gothic?  or Baroque?  Does your world even have these architectural movements?  I've never been to a city that was constructed all in one style (though Brasilia was close).  How are the older parts different from the new?  Does it represent a culture on the rise or the decline?  The buildings tell a city's story much better then any history lesson.
    Theater and street performance are present in many cultures.  Shakespeare wrote for the high and the low.  The aristocracy would sometimes donate last year's wardrobe to the players for their productions.  Theater was both an entertainment and a forum for social commentary.  In times before television and radio, the arts were widely and avidly attended by the masses.  Performances by troupes of players, circuses, acrobats, and so on, were occasions for celebration.  When doesn't the presence of a mime on a street corner make a scene more interesting?
    Painting, sculpture, pottery and so on all have long traditions and a variety of applications both religious and secular.  The prevalence and the form of each would be largely reliant on the materials available in the region.  Italian marble was an extremely popular material for its purity.  The ingredients use to create the pigments in oil paints could be hard to find and/or highly toxic.  Terracotta was an extremely popular medium in warmer climes, but was not commonly employed in northern Europe (unless trying to emulate Mediterranean style).  Walls were decorated in painted figures before the creation of wallpaper (which dates back to the 17th C or so), perhaps in interior decoration when exterior shows are frowned upon.  Symbolism utilized in these works was widely understood in a time when literacy rates were low.
     There is so much more to human culture than politics and warfare that should not be ignored.  The arts create a cultural framework for the characters to function within while creating a richer world.  What social values a given culture holds can be widely interpreted from its art.  These elements inform the reader about culture and, by extension, your characters which are part of it.