Art as Policy Proposal

I am an everyday advocate for the arts to be part of the public and government policy conversation. But I don't have any idea how many artists are directly engaging elected officials. I know many are making art that includes political commentary but suspect that very few are applying their creativity to the workaday world of government. By chance, I've come across an artist that has made communication with elected officials her medium. And she's asking artists to join her in applying their creative ability to generate ideas to improve our country.

Sheryl Oring is videotaping artists as they explain in one minute what they would do to fix the country if they could do anything at all, and then posting them on YouTube. This project, called "Creative Fix," began on Thursday at UC San Diego and will move to a San Diego gallery on May 2nd and a Los Angeles gallery on May 30. (Details are below) I have the impression she'd like to take the project to other cities too, so please consider inviting her.

The first 18 videos are now posted at Sheryl's You Tube channel. The ideas verbalized in them are a mix of serious and silly. Though each person is asked to be brief, this project is a chance for everyone to see if artists can contribute a new and useful perspective to our national challenges. Of course, instead of discovering a new super idea from these artists, I think the real benefit is reminding the participants and viewers that we all can and should have a voice in the future of our nation.

I had a chance to see the results of her recent "I Wish to Say" project when I attended the UCSD Open Studios earlier this month. Her work stood out to me because it invited everyone it came in contact with to become a participant and contribute their own voice to the whole. I didn't see this Washington Post video that day but think it will give you an idea of her sensibility and choice to be a recorder instead of an editorialist for her collaborators.



All artists are invited to be part of this new project - writers, musicians, actors, dancers, architects, visual artists, etc. Whether or not they are as creative with their "fixes" as with their own art doesn't really matter. Simply having artists participate is a "creative fix" I'm thrilled to see happening. Hopefully, they won't view this chance to share their solution as an isolated moment but continue to be part of the dialogue to improve our country.

The upcoming sessions will be:

May 2 from 3 to 6pm at Agitprop
2837 University Ave, (entrance on Utah St.) - North Park in San Diego

May 30 from 3 to 7pm at compactspace
105 E 6th St, Los Angeles

More information can be found here.