This election cycle has been unlike any in our memory. The nation is profoundly conflicted. People are deeply divided with only their passion to unite them. Dissatisfied with the results of the election and its aftermath, our country is grieving. Instead of channeling our frustration into creating productive changes in our government, we are directing it at each other. The animosity and negativity are appalling. I have seen, heard, and witnessed friend turn against friend, family turn against family, and stranger against stranger. This division threatens to swell into a chasm that will swallow us all.

If we are to heal and move forward we must recognize the symbiotic nature of our society. We must find a way to come together and create a culture that respects and represents all of us.  Art can help to forge that connection.

Art has the ability to touch us on a mental, physical, and spiritual level. It can express complex thoughts and emotions and transcend barriers of race, religion, economics, regions, and politics. The artist’s genius has always been their ability to make connections. In the artist’s hands the most incongruous become self-evident. The foreign grows familiar. 

Artists have the ability to challenge cultural norms, expand the dialogue, and promote reflection around complex social issues.  In a 2013 essay entitled “Change the Culture, Change the World,” Favianna Rodriguez states that “Artists are central, not peripheral, to social change. To have the movements that make the wave, you need cultural workers.”  For this reason artists have been a part of social transformation throughout history; Diego Rivera, Banksy. Picasso, Woody Guthrie, Barbara Kruger, Bill T. Jones.

Two recent very different and powerful examples are Simone Shepherds #MannequinChallenge and Matthew Chavez’ “Subway Therapy” installation. Shepherd, told TIME that she “felt compelled to use her large social media following to bring awareness to the racial profiling and police violence that the black community faces…Black Lives Matter is an issue that’s important to me,” she said. “I felt that it was important to make sure that people didn’t forget those moments.”

Matthew Chavez has created a public art project named “Subway Therapy” in a tunnel near the 14th Street subway station in New York City. New Yorkers are writing messages on Post-its and sticking them to a wall where others can read them. People are expressing their confusion and anger, their hopes and their fears. Some of the messages read “I need a hug” and “We’ will be okay.”  The interactive installation transforms personal pain and confusion into a shared experience. Strangers come together to vent and to support each other during this difficult and complex time.

I urge you to use your gift for dance, music, painting, and acting to raise  critical consciousness, build community and inspire positive action. Create experiences that are emotional, thoughtful, and provocative. Spread your passion like sunshine to drive out the night. I have always believed in the transformative power of art. I urge you to use it to transform our country into a shining example of peace, love, and acceptance. Ready, set, go!