Here are three arts+activist takeaways for your week:
- Observe without reacting.
- Mindfully choose a creative medium for expression.
- Take one small, focused step.
Years ago, I was waiting to go onto a local television talk show. Just before the producer called me into the broadcast studio, a dancer in full classical ballet attire came out and into the green room.
Hands placed on her hips, above a perfectly rigid and white tutu, she exhaled, “Lots of arms!”
Looking at me, she went on to explain to me that the space in which she in which to dance in front of the television cameras was too small for her spins and leaps. So, she compensated with facial expressions and, well, an abundance of arm movements.
Now there is an arts analogy for our times.
This correlation touches on something therapists often address: the balance between activity and meaningful, purposeful action. Wasted energy or “busy work” can sometimes be a way to avoid deeper emotional work or confronting difficult challenges.
The purpose of Abbetuck is to encourage artists (and arts enthusiasts) to embrace the visual, performing and literary arts as splendid platforms for activism.
So, rather than waving “lots of arms,” we will revisit those three takeaways:
Observe without reacting
This one is difficult for me. Instead of immediately responding to thoughts or emotions, mindfulness invites us to simply notice them. Even then, wait. Decide what it is you want to creatively address.
Tumble it around in your mind. Exercise those critical thinking skills and (apparently evil) empathy you have. What message, opportunity, or compatriot appeared and is sticking in your heart or mind?
Oh, and be sure to watch the magician’s other hand.
Mindfully choose a creative medium for expression
You may draw or paint. You might write music. You might be inclined to communicate through the written word. You may envision yourself as an art enthusiast rather than a creator. With what form of creative expression can you take advantage of to lift your observation, shape it, and put it into a public realm.
Post your words online or submit them to the Letters to the Editor. Print and illustrate sticky-notes you can post on bathroom stall walls. Thank a bar musician for playing a song that encourages social change. Purchase a work of protest art.
Take one, small, focused step
Sometimes, people get caught up in activities to avoid deeper emotions or difficult tasks.
Just like in the ballet analogy, distraction may serve to avoid acknowledging where progress is really needed. Someone may spend hours on social media to avoid feeling sadness, fear, or anxiety. This “busyness” is an avoidance strategy.
And, to have arts+activism impact, you do not need to write a three-act opera with full orchestration.
This week, scale back on waving your arms, take what you have observed, select your artistic medium or opportunity, and do the one thing.
Meaningful and simple ‘artivism’ is the perfect place to begin.
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