Every Monday I go into the ArtMix office, a bit sluggish, generally yawning, and almost always about 10 minutes later than I had planned. (I still haven’t mastered the sleep schedule adjustment from weekends to weeknights.) I sit down at my desk, sometimes forgetting to turn on the lights overhead, and look at my to-do list for the week. Many of my tasks start with the word “Create.” I find that very fitting considering the work we do at ArtMix, where we transform the lives of people with disabilities through the creation of art.
Urban Artisans working hard on their unique creations.
The definition of create is “to bring [something] into existence;” or “to cause [something] to happen as a result of one’s actions.” Anyone can create. I create things on a daily basis, and most other people do too. But I’ve started asking myself, what is the purpose for the things I create? What am I hoping happens as a result of my creations? The answers will vary from task to task, yet I think there should always be an overarching answer to these questions. For example, I create a flyer for an event we are hosting. Purpose: to spread the word and increase attendance. But what is my motivation behind doing that? Why do I want to have high attendance at our event?
These questions seem a little silly. Who wouldn’t want to have high attendance for an event they’re planning? The emphasis of these questions, however, is self. What is my purpose in doing these things? Why do I want this to be successful? I’ve realized that my answer to these questions stems from a place of passion, and though the question is focused on self, my answer is not. My passion at ArtMix is for the people we serve. I’ve met just a handful of the people we work with, yet I feel a sense of connection to all the people we are serving.
I recently heard a talk where the speaker discussed love. He got me thinking, how do we show love through our work? How do I make sure my work reflects the passion that I have? I don’t know if I have the answer to that, but I’ve started recognizing the passion behind my work. I know that my love and passion are motivating my actions, and I can only hope that those are visible in the outcomes of my work.
As I reflect on these questions, I think about an event that we recently hosted. On Wednesday, July 20th ArtMix hosted the Arts for All Fest. The purpose of the event is to bring community members together to see the opportunities offered by ArtMix and other community partners. Because ArtMix is an arts organization working with people with disabilities, our community partners were a mix of arts organizations and disability services. The Arts for All Fest was free and open to the public. People of all ages and abilities were welcome to come see the adaptive ArtMix studios, the ArtMix Gallery, and participate in fun art activities. To the right is a flyer that I created for the event.
The event was very successful! I know the hard work that went into planning the event, and I think our work really showed through the success we had. Each of our community partners had an activity for attendees to participate in. There are some photos to help describe what some of these were.
“What is one thing you would do as Governor?” Participants share what they would do if they were governor.
“Send a postcard to your representative.” Participants made a collage postcards to be sent to their representatives.
To the left is the photo of the postcards. Many of the postcards were about the importance of art. Some may not have words, but the creativity displayed through the collages show the things the participants care about. I’ve learned that art and creativity are very personal things, and in order to create art one must be vulnerable. I think you can learn a lot about a person by the things they create and how they express themselves.
My favorite is the picture to the right. The “If I were Governor…” scroll. If you look closely you can read some of the things people wrote. The list includes raising minimum wage, helping the poor, creating gun control laws, building homes for the homeless, giving free passes to the zoo, having a free ice cream day, giving everyone a trampoline, and making the world a better place. It’s clear that most of these were written by children, when you look at the handwriting and misspellings. But I find it inspiring to see what kids care about. I am impressed with the amount of awareness some children have. Many of the more controversial or politicized issues looked like they were written by children. It gives me hope that these children will grow up to make the world a better place, using their passions to drive them to create things for the betterment of all.
I challenge anyone reading this to think about the things you’re passionate about. What would have written down on that scroll? What is it that motivates the work you do? And how do you show your passion in your work?