Sometimes There Are No Words

At first I felt like I shouldn't go. Then I was afraid to. And then I felt like I had to.

Cafe Racer is in my neighborhood. If you walk ten minutes east on Ravenna Boulevard, you'll be at my house. A few months ago, I'd talked with the folks there about holding a pop-up museum in their space. Their Museum of Bad Art and the feeling of community that greets you as you walk in the door was what drew me in.

Other than going in that one time to talk with them about a pop-up, I'd never had coffee there. I'd never had a beer there, or talked with any of the patrons. I'd never listened to music there. So I didn't feel like I should take part in the vigil that is happening there right now, afraid that I'd be intruding on other people's private moments.

But I care. I hate that a senseless act of violence took away the lives of people who had families, who loved and were loved. I felt like I had to show that I care. So I went.

I exchanged a few head nods and hellos, but other than that, no one was really talking. It was enough just to be together, saying nothing at all.

Please read Cafe Racer's open letter for ways to support the victim's families. There is a benefit concert at Hale's Palladium on Monday, June 4th.

Rich Experiences at Open Engagement

The Open Engagement conference in Portland, Oregon was full of wonderful conversations with museum folks, artists, and cultural professionals. After hearing all about the amazing projects going on out there, and sharing mine with others, my head and heart feel full of inspiration.

First, I listened to Tamarind Rosetti's developing project on the intersection of "leave no trace" on the environment and the traces we continually leave through our electronic devices (I'm sure Tamarind could explain this better). We had a great conversation about the tension of giving one's consent to operate these devices and the uneasiness of having our movements recorded. I then went for a digital walk with some of the folks from the OTIS College of Art and Design.

I listened to Susan Robb explore her project, The Long Walk. I was particularly taken with Susan's work. What I liked most is that her project aims to "create an interstitial culture" between hikers for their three days together. In other words, it creates community, which, of course, I am a huge fan of.

Carmen Montoya also shared her work with Ghana ThinkTank. I could write paragraphs on how much I love this project. The premise is that they go around collecting first world problems and then travel to the third world to collect answers. Genius.

After my presentation, 4Culture's Jordan Howland gave me an Emancipation of Money "Free Dollar." The Free Dollar is "designed to invite questions and provoke interactions." How could I not like a project like that?

I came away from Open Engagement with a renewed belief that you don't have to spend a lot of money to create really meaningful experiences. Now all I have to do is find someone else to spend my Free Dollar on. Any suggestions?