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Being Change—The Artist as Citizen

2017 has been a year marked by change. This has been as true for me personally as it has been for the country at large. In neither case has it all been welcome change. For instance, about four weeks ago my 12-year-old broke his leg falling off a merry-go-round. Not a change I would have wished for. But, it is also true that with change comes opportunity. As we wind down this tumultuous year, I am grateful to have had the opportunity to develop and teach the new course “The Artist as Citizen” at Portland State University.

My colleague Suzanne Savaria and I began this artist as citizen project with a series of questions:

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There is work yet to be done.

My friends, we are not there yet. We are not done…

I’ve never been to New Orleans, the Crescent City, the birthplace of jazz. I’ve never been to New Orleans, but I’ll be there in four weeks to perform a piece dedicated to those who marched, prayed, sat-in, and stood up to injustice, who willingly put their bodies on the line, on the bridges, on the streets, in the churches, in the face of violence and brutality, so that I and my descendants could rise.

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