I have been learning so much from painting since I resumed in earnest three years ago after a very long hiatus. (You can read more about how and why here.) The first lesson isn’t about painting per se, but about planning. When I picked up my brush again, I began painting portraits from life as …
NOTE: This post is to introduce you to the 18th episode of François Matarasso’s and my monthly podcast, “A Culture of Possibility.” It will be available starting 17 June 2022. You can find it and all episodes at Stitcher, iTunes, and wherever you get your podcasts, along with miaaw.net’s other podcasts by Owen Kelly, Sophie …
NOTE: This post is to introduce you to the 16th episode of François Matarasso’s and my monthly podcast, “A Culture of Possibility.” It will be available starting 15 April 2022. You can find it and all episodes at Stitcher, iTunes, and wherever you get your podcasts, along with miaaw.net’s other podcasts by Owen Kelly, Sophie …
NOTE: This post is to introduce you to the ninth episode of François Matarasso’s and my monthly podcast, “A Culture of Possibility.” It will be available on 17 September 2021. You can find it and all episodes at iTunes along with miaaw.net’s other podcasts by Owen Kelly, Sophie Hope, and many guests, focusing on cultural …
My husband’s and my media consumption definitely has gone up during the pandemic, to the point that we may have actually run out of engrossing British mystery series. From time to time, we leaven our escape with actual learning in a desperate attempt to preserve our self-respect. Lately, three programs have succeeded. All three are …
NOTE: Today is Human Rights Day. I’m republishing this blog from Human Rights Day 2019 because its message bears repeating. Incidents of racialized violence in the US are as numerous as grains of sand, and in one of the specific categories I mentioned, anti-semitic incidents in the US, 2019 saw a record-breaking total of 2,107, …
NOTE: I’m delighted to be once again cohosting a “virtual residency” with my friend and colleague Francois Matarasso on my blog and his. (You can access the previous residencies here: on ethics and on the future of community arts.) Starting yesterday, we’re publishing excerpts from our dialogue on public service employment past, present, and future. …
Welcome to the fourth installment of François Matarasso’s virtual residency on my blog. Following on my virtual residency with François earlier this month, I’m hosting our second residency. Between 31 May and 4 June 2020, François is publishing guest posts here, offering a selection of his past writings on art and community that were originally …
Welcome to the third installment of François Matarasso’s virtual residency on my blog. Following on my virtual residency with François earlier this month, I’m hosting our second residency. Between 31 May and 4 June 2020, François is publishing guest posts here, offering a selection of his past writings on art and community that were originally …
You know the cover story: We have the best system in the world—the best economy, healthcare, government, and so on—but even the best system can’t fight off this foreign virus-invader in an instant. Trust your leaders and all will be well. By now you also know the truth: the publicly funded machine that channels our …