QUEER ARTISTS SERIES: 2SLGBTQIAP IN FOCUS

Just as it is the nature of water to be wet and for birds to fly, so it is the nature of the queer to create.

While all people can be creative, only the few create art. It takes courage, a willingness to entertain uncertainty, to struggle, to grapple with and to plumb the depths of our own innate emotions, biases, inadequacies and dreams. To think a thought that we have never thought before is the only way to birth something new into a world bound by its history and frayed opportunities.

As a minority in this world – it’s easy for us to fall into the victim role, projecting neediness, embodying the division of the Us and Them game. Yet, the facts are that we are all a part of this life. Together we thrive!

To heal this broken system, with its politics of separation – it is vital that we find and work to create connection and not division!

By engaging in art, we bring forth creative constructions. These ideas once formed and shared  can reverberate continually; taking on a life of their own. Like children from the creative’s core they affect the culture and confront and nurture the community at large. Art becomes a means for more connection, not less.  For understanding – not division;  and perhaps most importantly – livelihood.

Minority groups throughout history have had to learn tricks and techniques to keep their families safe in environments that have not been healthy for them. Art has excelled in this role for millenia.

Renee and Ri have shed their past traditions and previous solutions many times. Shapeshifting, reinventing, repurposing old knowledge and at times – profoundly struggling in order to push themselves farther than they had gone before. All in the search for meaning and creativity straight from the trenches from which it arises.

Their stories of suffering, laughter, success and failures help guide us to our own understanding of how we too can find the creative spark within.

A new thought won’t kill you, but it just might set you free.