Commemoration can also be an act of art activism
Create to Liberate Idea No. 24
April 19, 2025, is not only the 250th anniversary of start of the American Revolution, but also the 30th anniversary of the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City.
The deadliest act of homegrown terrorism in U.S. history stunned our nation.
(This was back in 1995 when Americans still had the capacity to be stunned.)
Delusional acts of “patriotism”
Motivated by anti-government sentiment and a desire for revenge for perceived government overreach, a terrorist executed the attack to coincide with the second anniversary of the Waco siege and the start of the American Revolution.
His delusional act of “patriotism” killed 168 people, including nineteen children, and ripped a city into years of horrified silence.
When anti-government malcontents choose to derail the rule of law and the very spirit of America, we can either continue to stay in the shadow of their tyranny or we can run toward the light.
Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum
In commemorating those who died, Oklahoma City community leaders, organizers planned and conducted an international design competition.
This resulted in a magnificent memorial that fully embraced the arts with architectural, sculptural, light, and landscaping elements. In addition, a museum presents artifacts and stories curated by artists and historians.
Operated as a private, non-profit organization, the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum is affiliated with the National Park Service and is an official National Memorial…
…which we suspect means that this administration will pull what little federal support the memorial receives for park rangers after President Bill Clinton speaks at the memorial’s 30th Anniversary Remembrance Ceremony.
Despite tragedy, we remember with art
In announcing April 19, 2025, as Create to Liberate, a day for art activism in the United States, friends in Oklahoma City expressed concern about the date. Still, this year, Oklahoma City and its National Memorial & Museum are remembering the tragedy with:
- “168 Days,” an online memorial to the 168 killed and survivors.
- A series of community events from thoughtful discussions and exhibitions of light to a traveling speaker program and even a marathon.
- A world premiere of a composition by renowned Chickasaw composer Jerod Impichchaachaaha’ Tate and performed by the Oklahoma City Philharmonic.
Additional acts of creative resistance would be to participate in, attend, or augment any of these memorial activities.
Art activism leads us to resolutely remember
We face tyranny today. It is easy to see that the populism, single-religion nationalism, and anti-government sentiment we are facing today also converged for the 1995 bombing.
For Create to Liberate on April 19, run toward the light of America’s promise and a return to its world standing.
And bring your art with you.
“The true art of memory is the art of attention.”
Samuel Johnson
We invite individual visual and performing artists, writers, bookstores, book clubs, brave non-profit or government organizations and other individuals or groups across the USA to independently “flood the zone” with creativity, for Create to Liberate, Saturday, April 19, 2025.
Think of the idea above as a pilot light for the creative fire within you (if yours needs to be lit.)
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Charles Porter’s 1996 Pulitzer Prize-winning photograph of Oklahoma City Fire Captain Chris Fields holding the body of Baylee Almon, April 19, 1995.
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