Artists for Understanding (A4U)

In this moment artists, writers, poets, chefs, musicians, educators, arts administrators, and all creatives have the opportunity to express the power of our creative community, and to explore how the arts and humanities can be a force for good.  In this spirit, I’m pleased to introduce the Artists for Understanding initiative, which aims to utilize the power of the arts and the humanities to counter all forms of hate.  We are kicking off our work in collaboration with the Belfer Center for Innovation & Social Impact at The 92nd Street Y (92NY), as we continue to develop programming that supports artists and creatives who are working on fostering understanding in communities across the country.

We live in a time when we have a surplus of undervalued artists, and a social deficit of the intrinsic values that artists bring to the table, such as empathy, compassion, creativity, and imagination.  In order to maximize our power as creatives, we have to ban together and support each other.  We are stronger together, and more likely to create change when we stand in solidarity with each other. In doing so, we can be the “Army of Compassion” as I like to call it, waiting to be put to use, ready to address the needs of our communities.

Stay tuned for more on Artists for Understanding!