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Community Voices: Together we rise

Kerry Kriseman

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"The Mountaintop" by Marquise R.

Welcome to the Catalyst’s Community Voices platform. We’ve curated community leaders and thinkers from all parts of our great city to speak on issues that affect us all. Visit our Community Voices page for more details.

Equality through art.

It is a tag line we adopted in celebration of our 25th year of making the arts accessible to all. Our work is rooted in the fundamental principal that everyone deserves access that results in equality and equity. We endeavor to serve, empower and advocate for those who are marginalized.

Our vehicle is art, but that is just one means to achieving equality. We know the importance of access, for we have seen the implications on society when it is denied to individuals with neuro-differences. Our community is richer when all are accepted, no matter their sex, religion, level of education or color of their skin.

When each day seems like an insurmountable mountain, we can turn to art. Its beauty calms. Its message conveys hope. Its subjectivity allows the viewer to extract meaning that might bring peace or inspiration.

For many, that is not possible. There is no beauty in racism. Hope is elusive when some are denied a seat at the table. Inequity prevents individuals from finding peace and inspiration. For George Floyd, and too many before him, inequity fueled by racism means death.

Creative Clay stands with the community and believes that Black lives matter. We are committed to acceptance, equality, and access for all, and it does not end with our programming. We condemn bigotry, injustice and violence perpetrated on the Black citizens in our country.

We teach acceptance, tolerance and kindness through the creation and sharing of art and its inherent messages. But we still have work to do. We must learn, so that just as our member artists are accepted and celebrated in our community through access to the arts, ALL members of a community must be also be equally valued, appreciated and protected.

“The Mountaintop” by Marquise R. shows peaks and valleys, as well as three figures simultaneously climbing. We are all striving to reach the finish line where there is equality and equity for all. Our efforts toward that end are manifested through art. It is what we do, for ourselves and for you, our friends.

We are committed to doing our part to eliminate injustice, create equity and educate the community through listening, learning and leading.

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