Signs and Solidarity

Art is there when you need it the most. And yes, art changes lives.

This month’s story is an immediate one—it happened on Saturday, June 14^th.

On that day, millions of people throughout the country came together and presented the largest performance event in our history.

Events were scheduled across the country, throughout the day. There were voices raised in speeches and song, handmade signs of every kind, speaking out in an environment that has cultivated fear and silence.

The marches and protests energized the creative spirits of all who participated. We all became makers in a fabric of protest that was also a brilliant show of solidarity. Songs that were generated from the 60’s and 70’s found their renewal in voices singing ‘We Shall Overcome,’ ‘Times, They are a Changin’ and ‘This Land is Your Land’ – words finding new significance in this time, at this moment.

Eyes filled with tears as voices raised to the sky—memories of times past and recognition of them in a new light.

Total strangers greeted each other as old friends. The sense of connection and kinship of purpose was palpably felt.

Cars passing by honked their solidarity—improvised musical accompaniment that continued throughout the day.

Hope was rekindled to overpower the sense of hopelessness that had been building. A sense of community surged and replaced our feelings of being lost, isolated, powerless, and alone.

June 14 exemplified how creative energy can generate and support change in our lives and communities, by engaging, by being present, by being bigger than ourselves, by making good choices and sticking with them, by making life more beautiful and having the courage to say NO. And our resilience, our creative power allowed us to simply say ‘We Can’ and believe it.

I am a creator of dances and performance and never considered myself a visual artist. But these signs are my personal tribute to how art saves lives. They sit ready for the next go round.