THE ARTS MAKE AMERICA GREAT

These two paintings were sent to me by Amy Sokal, Executive Director of ARTWORKS,The Naomi Cohain Foundation and I had to share them. Paintings by Camryn A They are so moving and expressive,this is the power of art. The paintings speak for themselves.

A call for Creative Action: ONE AMERICA, ONE WORLD, A Creative vision of a united, peaceful and equal society. Arts Voice, Every Voice     “we must never forget, art is not a form of propaganda, it is a form of truth” John F. Kennedy With all the divisiveness, intolerance, racial injustice and violence in our country and around the world, it has never been more important than now to use the arts as our voice for freedom, social justice, equality and peace. Artists have always spoken the truth, communicated their ideas, raised dialogues and stirred things up for social good and social change.                                                                                                          ...

Peace is Coming: Art Unites Baltimore Youth and Police BALTIMORE  —  On a sunny Monday afternoon in early April 2015, 18 teenagers – all veterans of the juvenile justice system – sat in a circle with seven Baltimore City police officers inside a dance studio at a strip mall on the city’s west side. A “Peace Circle” – in which the officers and youth sought common ground, trust and understanding – began each of the five days that the group worked on an intricate, circular, 5-foot-diameter mosaic. The youth-focused  Choice Program  at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), brought together the officers, young people, AmeriCorps student volunteers at UMBC and Carien Quiroga, a professional mosaic artist who works with Artivate, a nonprofit, and teaches art at juvenile facilities throughout the state and led the effort. Together, they arranged thousands of mosaic tiles and shards of metal and glass into a montage that includes shapes of police...