The image below is an artwork created by Garry McMillan, who’s sent in some very impressive pieces of art! I will definitely be sharing more of his work throughout this project. Furthermore, we’ll be collaborating on an artist portrait later on.
He’s submitted his artwork with the caption ” “Be good to her and she will be good to you” – Taking care of the earth like we should.”
Now, on poetry. I wrote this poem somewhere in the second week of the dutch (partial) lock-down. I had this strong feeling we were being corrected by the Earth as a mother, sending her children to their rooms.
Mother Earth
We were all sent to our rooms to overthink what we’ve been doing Some of it was clever, gold-hearted and pure but with most of what we’ve been building we did not consider the damage Mother Earth has had to endure
At some point, we don’t know when we’ll open up our doors, facing a brand new chance and some day we’ll be back in the theaters together, to join hands and dance but first we have to accept that we are not in charge we’ll have to make amends
In some ways our population equals a teenager, constantly testing just how far we can go but it’s time to level to our true power Counting up our combined ages We’ll reach maturity as we grow
Mother Earth will always be above us but like any other parent, She wants us to live We’ll have to realize, like any other being there is only so much she can give
It’s been 7 days since launching S Y M B I O S I S | A Collective Art Project For Human Rights& Climate Awareness #ArtInCoexistence.
As you might have noticed, the website has gone through several changes throughout the week. The reason for this is that I never really thought this through, I just began this project out of the blue. While working on the original idea, more ideas popped up! More about these ideas later.
Artist Group A | The first group of supporting artists This week I received many reactions on my collaboration offer. Thank you so much for investing time in this idea! I have seen some amazing artworks this week and I can’t wait to introduce you to all of these wonderful artists and their perspectives.
We know we have at least one thing in common: we care about our planet and the wellbeing of the people walking it’s surface!
Later today, after updating the submissions so far, I will send out an email to all of you with further information on this project. In addition I will post a list with all the participating artists and their website/ portfolio/ socials.
Interview | Young journalists in Texas bring “Neglected Stories” to our attention Tomorrow evening will be a special night as I will be having my first (zoom) interview. For this story I will interview a group of young journalists who recently started their own website where they talk about social injustice, climate awareness and “underrated problems” in Dallas, Texas. This interview will be up on this site somewhere this week.
Reach by June 24 jovannahwrites.wordpress.com
#ArtInProtest | One big change, one small change While working on S Y M B I O S I S, I realised that I should not shy away from sharing the reasons why it is so hard for us to coexist at the moment.
A couple of weeks ago I saw a picture of 5.000+ people demonstrating in Amsterdam. It upset me because personally, I have had a hard time keeping up the spirits in social isolation. I had not kept up with my social media or the regular news and I wrongly assumed this was a protest against the corona rules.
Later that day I found out about what happened to George Floyd and I immediately understood why this protest was taking place. Virus or not, the fact that these terrible things are happening and are not an exception, is first priority. Disgust and disbelief were the first emotions that popped up, then came the anger, the sadness and disappointment in our social structures.
Fortunately, these emotions turned into a determination to do whatever I can to help. It is not much, but it is something.
After launching “Symbiosis” I realised that it’s very easy to just say “we need to coexist” and sketch this fairy-tale picture where we all live in peace and cover ourselves in flowers and cotton candy. This is not the full picture and I feel like I might be missing the point by not talking about why it is so hard for us to coexist. This is why I want to start collecting artwork in protest, but also ask people about what they feel needs to change. In segment #ArtInProtest I will collect ideas from people all over the world. I am asking for one thing you’re rooting for, and one big and one small change that needs to be made to make it happen. The other question is what “What are you protesting against?” and likewise one big and one small change. Feel free to fill in the form on my website to share your ideas! I might sometimes feature perspectives that are entirely opposite to mine, to begin with. Who knows? I might change my mind.
Do you have an idea of how to better coexist? Please fill in the form and let us know what we can do!
Thank you for your time. Hopefully you and your loved ones are safe and healthy.
Sincerely, Jovannah
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Art In Coexistence 