Message from the Executive Director

BUILDING A NATIONAL WILL AT THE CENTER

This past week I had the tremendous privilege of being invited to participate in a constructive retreat in Santa Fe, N.M., convening creative individuals from throughout the nation. Creative Change 2010 focused specifically on the intersection of art and social justice.  As long as I can remember, this intersection has always been meaningful to me; in my hunger for memory and thirst for justice I have always recognized the essential role of arts and culture in imagining change in the world we live in and hope for. For me, the retreat was deeply inspiring because of the incredible individuals gathered as well as the synergy created in and through this community.  I entered into the discussions with a singular spirit, to replenish the well and yet I left inspired and fully charged with an even greater sense of responsibility. 

The retreat was made possible because of the commitment of the Opportunity Agenda, a New York based organization, whose vision focuses upon ‘building the national will to expand opportunity in America.' This vision and the synergy of the convening itself was a reminder of the particular moment in which we are living.  In a previous letter, I have spoken about the challenges of the economy, but this moment is greater than simply a troubled economy.  I think of wells and wars, but the reality is that the challenges are present in every aspect of our lives, with stark borders defining so much of our society, separating not only people and places, but affecting understanding, tolerance and consciousness. I

But for every challenge, I believe in the opportunity to respond creatively. In thinking of this, I was reminded of the epic poem, Historia de la Nueva México, published in 1610, where Gaspar Pérez de Villagrá points to the "divine gifts" bestowed upon the souls of humans, including memory, intelligence and the human will.  Memory is a living force, either born or obscured from generation to generation, but for our communities it remains a profound connection to our ancestors.  Flowing from this collective memory and from the ideas and experience of those who have come before, comes intelligence, which we hope bears the fruit that becomes wisdom.  Building a community, if not a national will, is thus definitive, but will is simply the foundation from which flows the promise of creativity.

What we do with what we have inherited will define our movement forward.  I am fortunate to now have a broader community with those I recently met in this retreat, but I am even more fortunate to work in our community and in a center where memory,wisdom, and the will underlying creativity is present in our daily mission and vision forward.

Estevan Rael-Gálvez, Ph.D.