“We don’t need more cops, we need more culture” quote by Carlos Esquivel, a.k.a. Acme – Smithsonian.com September 2010.
I was rummaging through some old articles I had been collecting on the impact creatives have on a community and I ran across an article in the Smithsonian that quoted Carlos Esquivel a famous artist in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil. His quote – “we don’t need more cops, we need more culture” – reminded me of the horrendous string of murders that have occurred in Rockford, Illinois over the past few weeks.
The article was about how Rio is trying to “clean up” its act to be eligible to host a series of events over the coming years. It’s true that the environment that Mr. Esquivel is describing, with its military dictatorship and guerrilla “urban” warfare is far more widespread, but no more hideous for the victims than what we are currently experiencing here. Could his assumption about increasing culture (i.e. art) and access to it, be as relevant for our current state of affairs here in Rockford?
Art in all of its forms is an expression of the human soul and resonates at a deep level. Art can create hope which is desperately lacking in the current economic environment here in Rockford. According to a recent article in the RRStar, 17,000 jobs have been lost since 2006. Poverty levels in Rockford are increasing (23%-2009) as are the inmate counts at the local jail. Hope seems to have “left the building” for many people in this City.
Reaching out to the low-income individual in Rockford, both children and adults by engaging them in the art and culture scene in the area could be a great way to give them hope. Our nation equates money with personal success and happiness, but there are many things that can make the human soul happy without much money (admittedly they need food and shelter) but like Esquivel, I believe art, people finding their passion, can be a critical element of their happiness. But are we reaching out?
When I was at the Rustbelt to Artist Belt conference in April, many of the African-American participants noted that they were actually excluded from various art organizations in the Detroit area. Ironically, I’ve seen T.V. commercials recently that boast Detroit’s musical history which for the most part was perpetuated by the African-American people living in the area in the 1950’s. Even today their third most popular art attraction in Detroit is the work of an African-American artist.
I’ve noticed as I meet with different art organizations in the Rockford area that minorities are under-represented, if represented at all. I think we need to make a conscious effort to change this. Finding something that an individual is passionate about – giving them a sense of being a part of a community at some level can make a real difference. Making sure they feel like they belong and are important is sometimes all that people need. We need to reach out to these people and give them the opportunities to find their passion in life and to shine? We must give them hope.