Arts Intranet

Caron Atlas

In her book A Paradise Built in Hell, Rebecca Solnit describes the extraordinary communities that come together in response to disaster and how these ephemeral moments in time can enable us to improvise more meaningful lives in a more egalitarian society.

What if these moments of solidarity and transformation were more than just short moments in time?

What does it look like when we embrace a future of creative possibility and reject a future paralyzed in fear?

People's Potlucks, a series of artist-led conversations and meals about interdependence, took place across New York City this past summer, carrying on the legacy of Sekou Sundiata’s America Project.

The Arts & Democracy Project hosted a People’s Potluck in Brooklyn, facilitated by playwright and director Talvin Wilks. Drawing on several historical declarations, Talvin asked, "What are we are willing to declare, stand up for up for, and commit to over time?"

Anamika Goyal

Stunned.

It’s really the only word to describe my reaction to all of the previous posts. As a newly-minted, 21-year-old college graduate, I become quickly overwhelmed by the plethora of next steps available to me.

And, after reading the posts from all of this week's bloggers--socially responsible, creative, like-minded people doing good and interesting work--I felt exactly that.

It’s odd to me that being presented with so many interesting and feasible options elicits such angst. I would imagine that many people in the same situation would be excited, elated even. I can’t help but feel immediately burdened by the inevitable ‘choice.’ I immediately start thinking that I need to pick one and begin to fear that I might pick wrong.

So yesterday, after Googling all of the organizations and projects mentioned in the posts and finding a number of groups doing things that intrigued me, I jotted down keywords of particular interest on Post-Its and stuck them on a wall in my apartment.

‘Community’, ‘arts’, ‘engagement’, ‘interactive’, ‘installation’, ‘industrial’, ‘design’, ‘redesign’, ‘urban’, and ‘group’ were all words that kept popping up.

It felt good to write them down, but then I found myself a little stuck again. I feel like this process tends to leave me with more questions than answers, which I will now pose to you all: