the next day i didn't really feel any older, but i was hurting a little bit from having a little too much fun on a tuesday. but i got it together, rolled out of bed and biked to temple university for a late morning conversation between two brilliant political artist/designers: my pal josh macphee and ganzeer, from egypt. i always appreciate hearing josh speak about art and politics and his ideas always open up space for my own insights to emerge. it was two years ago to the date that he spoke at university of the arts on an unseasonably hot april evening on the commons and maintaining the historical memory of social movements through art. his comments about justseeds helped inspire a whole new way of approaching my graduate research. it was a breakthrough moment, making me realize i had to look toward groups and collectives instead of individual activists and artists surviving and transforming the current society.
this time josh spoke about how in this culture that only values profit-making, it is essential to take risks--to counter that dominant logic by building better relationships with people in our lives. if we focus on fostering healthier communities together then we won't need to compete with each other in the capitalist market anymore. he shared the risk he took early on, decidiing to only produce culture within the realm of civil society--outside of both the commercial and governmental spheres. we need to take risks to create the kind of world we want to live in.
and i'm ready for it. it's not enough to just talk about it now. i'm finally getting some writing done on my zine project and next month i will launch a crowdfunding campaign to help me quit my job and follow my dreams. anything is possible... < 3
oh, and later that day i got to meet the amazing adrienne maree brown--hosting an event with her at the wooden shoe around octavia's brood, the new collection of visionary fiction she co-edited. i have so much love and respect for adrienne and it was absolutely the best event we have ever hosted. so, a good birthday overall and magical kickoff of spring '15!
