Dear Artists,
We’re all feeling it today, but remember this: the presence of the arts and their makers is the number one indicator of a safe space.
Where there is art, there is room for the Other.
Acts of creation are signposts, proving that places still exist where it is safe to freely make art. And this is something that feels very real to me, since (like all of you) I am descended from a long line of marginalized people; women, Holocaust survivors, escapees from traumatic regimes, former slaves, introverts, bibliophiles, academics, nomads, the poor, the mysterious, people who don’t quite fit, the long and thinning line of our now faceless, raceless ancestors.
This is extremely significant. You are extremely significant. And when I see you, my dear artists and friends, creating anything, sharing anything you poured your souls into, it shows me that there are outposts. Lanterns. Interstitial zones, thriving.
There are safe places where society’s outsiders can still utter our visions. Please do not withdraw… Every painting or sculpture or song you make designates a safe space, for makers, for outsiders, for Everyone Else.
This is a time for artists to claim these zones on the psychological map of the world. Keep making. Keep writing. Keep singing. Keep Happening.
Don’t disappear. We need you to make us feel safe. To make it better. To make what you will.
With love,
Your Stranger