The idea of “Art as a practice of Liberation” reminds me of the previous few months when I helped the People For Peace Art Collective, a non profit artistic cooperative based largely out of South Eastern Wisconsin. I met a few of the artists at an event where they were doing live painting and displaying work with the accompaniment of a few talented Dj’s. At their events they display a tarot deck that they created, each artist painting one card of the deck, and they often hold a booth to paint, collage, or draw with them.
In just a few minutes gazing at the piles of artwork they had created, i heard many conversations about the tarot, and the meaning that it carries for people. Stories of growth, perseverance, as well as the feeling of importance and confidence that the tarot has sparked in people. These people were becoming liberated from the antagonisms of daily life through the artwork of their community members. Dis-empowered ravers finding strength and hope in the brushstrokes of their neighbors. This was an incredible thing to be seeing, and at the raves of Milwaukee, a city pushed to the edge by racism and economic imbalance, i was surprised to say the least.
This liberation from feelings of oppression is crucial in enacting societal change, because currently people are feeling dis-empowered and overwhelmed. This perception of a lack of power is fatal, because it robs us of our motivation to make a change. Returning to my example of Milwaukee, the scene that i see all too often, is that of working people in an abused town, working too hard with nothing to show for it, drinking away the pain that their very ignorance perpetuates.
Bringing meaningful artwork to a community like Milwaukee is a lot like graffiti artists spray-painting powerful images in allies. Sharing a message with the community in such a public and accessible way in order to empower the abused. By working from the “bottom” to inspire people to create, you uncover many perspectives and stories from those who are most often abused and forgotten. Artistic creations help to free one’s self from the pains of life, liberating the artist from barriers of day to day life.
artforsocietalchange 