Flames of Hope

Never underestimate the power of a few committed people to change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has. Margaret Mead.

When the awesome Eric Reaves, who has known me forever, invited me to participate as an artist in a “Pop-Up Gallery” night in my hometown of Miller Beach, Indiana, I said yes with no hesitation. I’ve spoken of my town before, a bedroom community to the steel corporations that line the southern shores of Lake Michigan. We were hit with economic disaster related to global competition in the steel industry back in the 1970’s and we simply never recovered. Economic depression and racial tensions led to what was known as “White Flight”. The trend, which had a devastating effect on local businesses, even led the mayor to put a ban on the posting of “For Sale” signs in the homes of yards in a prevent the exodus from gaining further momentum.

The strategy didn’t work.

My family stayed although I moved away after college. My heart never fully left, though. For all the many problems the area has there is a spirit in that community that simply will not die.

The Miller Beach Arts & Creative District is a newly formed non-profit organization whose mission is community revitalization through use of the arts. Eric Reaves is their president. The Pop-Up Gallery night was to be the inaugural event, transforming many of the abandoned storefronts along the town’s main street into art galleries for an evening. There would be music, food and drink, dancers, poets, sculptors, painters and photographers breathing life into a deserted town for three hours on a Saturday night.

I was in, but I could never have imagined what I was in for.

It was, hands down, the proudest night of my life, to be associated with this event as I watched hundreds of people visit a town that many of them confessed they had not been to in years. Diverse in terms of age and ethnicity but united in their enthusiasm, I was absolutely dumbfounded at what this group of artists was able to achieve in that few hours and with precious few resources. (We not only set up the galleries in a couple hours, but we also provided all the food and drink for the night. It was all donation and volunteerism that made this happen.)

In the last several decades Miller Beach has seen businesses come and go, like lone seeds planted on rocky soil, anorexic little seedlings withering and dying, one after the other. It’s been heart breaking. And yet, for one evening a group of people dialed back the clock on our town. “This is what it looked like downtown when I was a kid,” was heard from the mouth of more than one visitor that evening.

And then there were the kids.

My gallery was in one of the few populated buildings, an old elementary school now turned into a dance academy. I’m not a hip hop aficionado myself and assumed I would have a headache at the end of the evening with my room directly below what I thought would be a bunch of wild maniacs jumping overhead. (Back in my day, music was music, I tell you! You call that dancing?!)

Oh was I wrong.

I didn’t expect ballet. I didn’t expect interpretive dance. I didn’t expect beauty.

And that last line makes me teary.

I have an artist friend, Toni Ruppert, who did a portrait of my father before he died. She captured him as he was, rail think and dying, but she captured him as my father at the same time. He loved it. I love it. Such a hard moment to capture and she was able to do it.

I asked her how she did, given his condition. She told me when she went to see my father she went in expecting to see beauty.

I went in to see dancers in their youth and I never expected to see beauty. I need to spend some time reflecting on that. A long time.

I not only saw beauty, but I saw hope. Joy. Life. I saw a dance troupe that sent a dancer to Julliard. A troupe that now has a member dancing with Alvin Ailey. And, yes, there was hip hop but let me tell you, if you have never watched kids who have nothing, and some of them have nothing but this I am sure, dance to the music that runs through their lives like the blood in their veins…It was like watching flames leap up when you stir a pile of ash that you thought had burned out. What appeared void of life suddenly leaping to life.

Man oh man, I hope their sparks catch.

Here is a video of the whole event:

 Why am I not on it talking? Well, that would be because I am a babbling idiot when I don't know someone is going to want to talk to me and suddenly pops a camera in my face with no warning. LOL. A very nice young man came to me out of the blue with a camera and asked if he could get me to say a few words. Then he put me in front of my pics and waved his hands like, "Okay, you can start now, we're rolling." I had no idea what to say.  Should I talk about my photos, the night, Miller, my connection with Miller, how I got involved, what I think of the event, the purpose of the event? So I talked about all of it in random order very rapidly and complete devoid of soundbites because I'm goofy like that. Next time I will be prepared.

Here is a video of the kids. You have to check out the kids who "tried out" for the school that night. It's around 5 1/2 minutes in but once they get comfortable around 7 1/2 mintues in it really takes off. I was there in person for that part (alert people will see me in the audience next to the young man in the blue cap). It was crazy!! Keep in mind, too, that these kids put on three entirely different performances that night in three hours. They were getting kind of tired at the end but really amazing kids. Very nice kids too, super polite and just a pleasure to meet. Can't wait to see them perform again sometime, maybe at the October Pop-Up, I hope.

Comments

[Kate]

Thanks for this. I'm glad to see that there was so much 'food' there: for thought, for inspiration, and for munching, of course.
A nice perspective.

[Laura]

Amen, sister. I'll be catching up with you soon...

[Bobbi Koranda]

We had a great time at the Pop Art! It was so nice seeing your art. Alot of awesome artists there, love the videos, thanks for sharing

[Laura]

It was great seeing you, too! Hey, come back on the 29th. I'm hoping I'll be in the same spot. I'll announce it here and on FB when I know where I'll be. It really was a great event.