Art Is For Everyone

There is a very integral part of every performance that all of us have been part of at one time or another: The Audience. Each time I sit in the audience of a performance, or consume my favorite media online, I am reminded that ART IS FOR EVERYONE.

Art is transformative. Seeing a play or a concert can help us sift through grief. Our favorite song can lift our spirits or make us feel 12 years old again. A short documentary can help us to name a problem we didn't even realize needed a name. A narrator can touch our psyche and put us at ease to prepare us to receive ideas that are typically beyond comprehension. A voiceover artist can save your life. Our cofounder, Betsy, has voiced hundreds of characters over her career. And in doing so, she gives the audience space to laugh, think, feel, and heal.

Art and artists remind us that we can have an artist's response to this human experience. Our responses don't have to be "right." We can create because we are human, and that is enough. Creativity is a human right.

I wouldn't describe myself as a creative person. But I love to create. Sewing and writing are my hobbies. My work includes grant writing, which I consider to be an art form as well. Taking raw material, like program data and participant demographics, and weaving a story to tell a multifaceted, complex idea to a person who does not know you and may have never heard of your organization before is a true creative process. It is a vulnerable thing to put your heart and effort and mission into an application and send it out to the world. In true artist form, Betsy frames our grant applications as "auditions," which has helped me immensely in not taking rejections personally.

Art and artists remind us that we can have an artist's response to this human experience. Our responses don't have to be "right." We can create because we are human, and that is enough. Creativity is a human right.

My art forms are very individual pursuits. My writings usually consist of journaling ideas that will never see the light of day. And although I'd love to take a sewing class or join a quilting guild, I have not done so yet. Grantwriting, for sure, is not a spectator sport. And so, I am in awe of folks who can do their art publicly. A writer who can publish their work, or an actress who can deliver lines despite jitters. A dancer who can seemlessly meld worlds with two differnt dance styles. A voiceover artist who knows exactly how long to pause after an error and can repeat lines in a multitude of rhythms to get just the right phrasing, timing, and cadence.

Maybe one day, I will get to a point where I can publish something that is near, dear, and personal. Until then, thank you to all of the artists doing the healing work publicly and taking the audience along for the journey.