Daily Artistic Inspiration for Troubled Times

Dear community—

Oh, man. These are troubled times.

The kind of times that get me thinking a lot about the mission of The Secret City; See, Bobby and I founded the organization in NYC in 2006 at the height of the War on Terror. Our intention was to provide a haven for the creative community, a place of comfort and inspiration in the midst of a very challenging moment.

Now, we find ourselves in an even more challenging moment—COVID-19 is a global crisis that has infused our already uncertain times with even greater uncertainty. This moment has me asking myself fundamental questions: what do I believe? Where do I seek solace? And, how I can be of service?

In reply, I return again and again to the values at the heart of The Secret City: faith born of art-making, the spirituality of creativity, the necessity of community, the solace found in art.

But, what’s a guy, who makes big, raucous, art celebrations, to do? What does the work of The Secret City look like when we’re all being asked to practice “social distancing?”

For now, I’m going to begin holding regular hangouts on Facebook: Daily Artistic Inspiration for Troubled Times. These will be short hangs, 10-15 minutes. I’ll share readings, poetry, images and reflections, and the invitation to look to the arts for comfort, guidance and inspiration. Here’s the link to our Facebook page.

The first gathering will be today at 9amPDT and 12EDT. I’ll be there again tomorrow, too. And so on. For at least a little while. I hope you’ll join me.

Oh, and we’re going to need a name for this new program! Any ideas? Send ‘em along and we’ll let the people vote.

Yours in Art and Community,

X Chris 

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PS— The first episode of TraumaNation, set to premiere tonight in NYC, has been postponed. We’ll set a new date once the virus has gotten under control
PSS—the image at top is The Sleeping Gypsy by Henri Rousseau