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Pasadena passed a ceasefire!
I had the honor of giving public comment at Pasadena City Council's meeting on a ceasefire resolution. There were ~500 of us present and ~200 who gave testimony. I'm proud to have united my voice alongside other queer folks, other Christians, other Jews, as well as Palestinian-Americans, Arab-Americans, Muslims, and folks from all backgrounds, demanding a ceasefire as a first step to stop the genocide. The city made a declaration calling for the release of all hostages and ceasefire. We showed up to tell the council Palestine is indeed a domestic, local issue.
Art comforts the disturbed
I remember hearing this quote once, and I now found out it's attributed to Cesar A. Cruz: "Art should comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable." I can't help but hear in this quote an echo of Mary's Magnificat: "He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly." It sheds light on Jesus's Beatitudes, which inspired this collage of mine. I understand these sayings better than ever now, in the face of this genocide against Palestinians.
Scour public domain for inspiration
Mary Oliver advised diving into your art tradition, and searching public domain is an easy way to get in touch with historic, even forgotten media. Openverse is a great resource for images and audio. The other day I was trawling for olive branch images, and eventually found myself on Wikipedia learning about Dutch Renaissance dramatic societies as a result. You never know what you'll find and what may inspire you. And the best part is, if you find something you'd like to use or remix, it's public domain!
Peace,
Arend