Listening these past weeks to the news - a compilation of water, fire and further government meltdown - felt a bit like the beginning of a disaster movie, missing only an asteroid or two. But I can't help but point with glee that we humans are showing ourselves to be way more than those movies ever allow us to be, way more than cut-throat-only-the-strong-survive, way more that what I was taught in history class. Like Rebecca Solnit explores in her book A Paradise Built in Hell, we are "falling together." These disasters bring forth a generosity and commitment to contribution unlike anything else, filling a need to serve one another that maybe some didn't even know they had. (Seriously, read that article!)
So our question is - how do we get there, stay there, without having to go through a disaster?
I believe there is no greater call for the artist in these times, to create work that connects the dots, work that brings the human heart to deeper listening, and the mind to new wider questions. Art to support us to stay AWAKE with one another.
On October 29th, I'm curating a night of writers at the Hotel Utah that do just that, in their stories and songs. Kin, Carl Oser, Motaz Attalla - I love them. More info here.