Art as Social Justice, Art as Change, Art that Brings Joy and Elevates the Spirit
Art is a Gift
What if you transformed the kindness you have experienced in your life and payed it forward?
Be it the generosity of time, talent, finances or spirit you have experienced.
What would happen if you payed it forward?
Recently I have been privileged to witness the creation of a work celebrating those that are disenfranchised. Those who the polite society in trendy towns try to ignore and exclude. Those who the Haywood Street fresco project embraced in a timeless medium of art on a precipice of an island in between main roads and interstates. I have watched the process from its inception, seeing the initial watercolor proof – to each individual subject sketch to cartoon and completion. There are no words for the magic of this process. Fresco, a medium once used to immortalize nobility and pay homage to patrons of the arts, is making sure in 2020 that we see those marginalized by society in living color.
I have attended the services at this house of worship. Watched as the attendees became the speakers to the word. What is offered here is not your standard fare. This is something different. Come as you are. Come when you are able. Be treated with dignity and respect. Share your experience. Help one another. Yes, help one another. Here, the sky is the limit and all are welcome. These folks cannot be categorized, and neither can this work of art.
I am honored.
Being witness to this project from ideation to completion: fund raising, implementation and celebration, has influenced my humanity in a profound way. This work of art transcends and for Peace Doodle it is notable. The subjects informed the art. Honoring them was and is the point. Volunteers, pastor, faith leaders, healer, addicts, homeless – these informed the art.
The service for the unveiling to the public took my breathe away. Not only were there no seats available, but the folks inside spanned every facet of human experience. Hopeless to those who seemingly sit on top of the world. I sat in the back and marveled at the tapestry woven in celebration. Living proof that all are welcome here.
Looking up to the finished piece I witnessed a drawing forth. For me, I was so micro focused on each aspect of the whole, I had not noticed the movement of the piece. Mary, the central character is heralding the welcome table forth TO the homeless on the ground, in repose, in the shadows. With sure steps and a proud air about her. The table above and the helpers behind urging this abundance forward.
As if they are saying: “We will not be deterred. We are sharing the grace with all and anyone in our midst.” The principal artist, Christopher Holt, made this drawing forth real. He, and the other artists, selflessly transferred the gifts and kindness in their lives to transform the lives of not only the people in the fresco but anyone lucky enough to view the fresco in person.
Timelessly paying it forward in word and deed – The Haywood Street fresco.