When I arrived in Seattle fresh out of graduate school and started interviewing for nonprofit jobs, many people were confused. Why would a person with a Master of Divinity degree- who studied the Bible and theology and Hebrew- be interested in jobs related to social justice? How would my religious training in any way prepare me for leadership in the nonprofit world? More specific to my interest in working at Arts Corps- what is the relationship between social justice, faith, and the arts?
In some ways, these are fair questions. Many Christians in this country have either completely separated their personal faith from public life, seeing no connection between the two, or their faith has been co-opted by the Religious Right; their identity as Christians has become more influenced by cultural conservatism than by theological beliefs. (For a poignant reflection on this new brand of “Fox Evangelicalism,” read this NYT opinion piece.)
But while I understand how someone might question the relationship between social justice, faith, and the arts, to me it is clear. The role of the artist and the role of the prophet is one and the same- a critic of injustice and a harbinger of hope. In his classic book, The Prophetic Imagination, biblical scholar Walter Brueggemann writes that the tactics of the prophet include both “criticizing” and “energizing”. The prophet is called to publicly critique societal structures that dehumanize while also providing an energizing message that envisions a new reality grounded in love and justice. According to Brueggemann, prophets help us make connections between the world as it is and the world as it should be.
Singer Nina Simone once said, “An artist’s duty, as far as I’m concerned, is to reflect the times.” Art can penetrate our indifference and move us to empathy and action in a way that news articles and lectures simply can’t. Without literature, poetry and painting, how would we cultivate the imagination necessary to envision a better world? Without music and dance, where would we find the strength and joy to keep going when our souls get weary?
James Baldwin took it further and said that the role of the artist is to disturb the peace. This was definitely true of the biblical prophets. Jeremiah, a prophet in the Hebrew Bible, called out false prophets for claiming, “‘Peace, peace’, when there is no peace.” Jeremiah could not stand idly by while the religious leaders of his day condoned the injustices of his people and told them everything would be alright; that there would be no consequences for their behavior.
The prophetic role of the artist has never been so apparent to me as it was on a hot Saturday evening in July at Arts Corps’ community fundraiser, Art & Sol. Much of the art on display provided a fierce critique of some of the issues our nation faces- from our deepening epidemic of gun violence to the continual targeting of young black men by our police. At the same time, the beauty, joy, and hope elicited by the artists was truly inspiring (and brought tears to my eyes).
The program began with a powerful performance by young dancers under the direction of Arts Corps’ OST Arts Manager and co-founder of the AU Collective, Cheryl Delostrinos. The grace, strength, and flexibility of these beautiful young women awed all who were present. Dancing to a contemporary pop song, these young artists inspired audible oohs and aahs with the movement of their bodies.
Next up was Arts Corps alumna and outgoing board member, Carlynn Newhouse, who performed her poem, “The Sky is Falling.” Riffing off the folk character, Chicken Little, Carlynn gave a stinging critique of our nation’s historical and ongoing injustices, as well as a beautiful exhortation not to despair because, “What is the end of something if not the beginning?”
Midway through the program, master veteran teaching artist and Arts Corps’ Director of Creative Youth Development, Eduardo Mendonça, donned his guitar and contagious smile and provided us with a delightful reminder of our shared humanity and the universal language of music. His song, “O Pato”, (“Oh duck” in English), had audience members literally quacking in their seats.
Among the many other powerful works of art that left an impression on me that evening was a painting by Arts Corps teaching artist, Lester Pearson. Imbued with vivid color, the painting depicted two Black women radiating light and happiness. In a culture that too often dehumanizes women of color and portrays them only through caricatures and stereotypes, this piece conveyed their natural beauty and everyday joy; an honest and refreshing reflection of the world as it is.
The evening included too many notable works of art to describe them all in detail here, but I would be remiss not to mention the final performance of the evening by Kalei, an Arts Corps teaching artist who brings Hula Mai ‘Oe to Hazel Valley Elementary students. From the rapid movement of her hips to her gorgeous red attire to the interactive way she invited us into her culture, Kalei’s performance was stunning. It reminded me of the words of the late rabbi and civil rights activist, Abraham Heschel, who said, “Awareness of the Divine begins with wonder.” For Heschel, awe, wonder and radical amazement are the keys to authentic spirituality. All three were elicited in me last Saturday evening. I suspect all three were elicited in everyone who attended Art & Sol.
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Carlynn Newhouse is an African American poet, activist, actress, emcee, and performer. She holds the record for the only 3 time Youth Speaks Seattle Grand Slam Champion (2015, 2017, 2018) and competed in the Brave New Voices poetry festival in years 2015-2018. Carlynn has performed at well known venues such as Seattle Town Hall, Bumbershoot, the Kennedy Center, and others. Carlynn’s work has been featured in Crosscut, the Seattle Review of Books, and XQ Super School Live. She writes about love, loss, community, race, the Black Lives Matter movement, faith, mental health, gender, and the life experiences that made her who she is today. She believes poetry is a form of activism and tool for raising awareness in hopes of making the world a safer space.
Michaelson is a 2 year alumni of The Residency program. With years of foundation building, this summer marks the release schedule for Michaelson’s first studio project “This Is Why”, which is being engineered by Jake Crocker, and is set to start releasing singles here very soon.
At age 15, Shelby Handler performed at a poetry slam for the first time and upon finishing their piece, immediately ran off the stage. Since then, Shelby has been running back and forth from the stage and supporting the next generation of poets to take the mic. As a writer and performer, Shelby explores ritual, queerness and an endless search for home. Their work has been featured in anthologies, public buses, literary journals and stages across the country. Shelby is honored to call Youth Speaks Seattle one of their forever poetry homes. They used to manage the Teen Leadership Program but henceforth, they shall assume the role of Awkward Fan Grrl at the slam series and if they’re lucky, a teaching artist for Arts Corps and YOUTH SPEAKS!
Amy is a multimedia artist, audio engineer, vocalist, and teaching artist who got started on her artistic journey through Arts Corps’ All Access program 10 years ago. She is currently Arts Corps’ Media & Communications Manager, with the honor of being able to take photos and produce videos capturing the unique stories of young artists and changemakers. She is constantly inspired by the young artists she gets to work with and has recently started writing some fresh songs after a long hiatus.
Eduardo has been with Arts Corps since its inception as a veteran master teaching artist and the current Director of Creative Youth Development. A native of Salvador, Bahia, Brazil, he is a musician, composer, arranger, and musical director, exploring the many and varied genres of Brazilian popular music.
Kalei’okalani (Kalei) is of Kanaka Maoli, Japanese, Chinese, and Black heritage and was born and raised in Wai’anae, O’ahu. She is the founding leader of Huraiti Mana, a Seattle-based Polynesian Dance Troupe where classes are infused with laughter, shared stories, and passionate work. Kalei has been dancing Ori Tahiti since she was six years old, finding herself in the fast beats of the ote’a and aparima; and in the slow beats of the ahuroa. She considers herself ha’api’i, a word of the Tahitian language meaning both to teach and to learn. As Kalei continues teaching, she learns and gains tenfold, the knowledge of her huraiti, her cultures, and her self. Kalei aspires to continue teaching, studying, and sharing the love of her people through Ori. She is an Arts Corps teaching artist, bringing Hula Mai `Oe to Hazel Valley Elementary students.
Ebo Barton is a Transgender and Non Binary, Black and Filipino poet and artist. Originally from Los Angeles, California, but really, the San Fernando Valley but no one ever knows where that is. As a representative of Seattle, they’ve been on 4 National Slam Teams and participated at 3 Individual World Poetry Slams. Their most notable poetry slam accolade is placing 5th in the world in 2016. Ebo wrote and directed the award-winning play, Rising Up. They and their work have been featured in Seattle Weekly, Seattle Gay News, Button Poetry and some other places. Their work touches on political issues from a personal point of view and often is birthed from the struggles of living in the identities that they are. Ebo believes in the power of language and art as a tool for revolution.
