The Peaceful Planet Project: A Creative New Media Collaborative Piece

As we face the aftermath of this historical 2016 presidential election, the choices we make at this time are critical. As a human race, we are now being called to wake up out of our complacency and to stand up for our values, whatever they may be. It seems we have been slowly gaining a sense of clarity on what is not working and what needs our urgent attention. Our growing focus on the digital realm, specifically social media, has added to this heightened awareness because it is a wide reaching forum for communication. Through this outlet, more voices are given opportunity to be represented. As an art therapist, I believe art is innately healing. I felt compelled recently to create a digital art therapy project, titled the Peaceful Planet Project. This online assignment calls for everyone to create their own unique digital image or sound that depicts an intention of peace for our planet. These images and audio will be edited together in a collective film and shared with the world. Digital media is the most effective means to share these messages of hope and compassion. Through the addition of sound, an emotional element can be experienced as well. The collection of images can be creatively expressed through art, music, or spoken word. Any medium including filmed dance, movement, clay work, photography, paint, drawing, collage, poetry, music, and recorded audio are accepted. This is not about being a professional artist. Rather, it is about using art as a vehicle to express dreams for the planet. In Toni Morrison’s essay (2015), No Place for Self-Pity, No Room for Fear, Toni Morrison wrote, “This is precisely the time when artists go to work. There is no time for despair, no place for self-pity, no need for silence, no room for fear. We speak, we write, we do language. That is how civilizations heal. I know the world is bruised and bleeding, and though it is important not to ignore its pain, it is also critical to refuse to succumb to its malevolence. Like failure, chaos contains information that can lead to knowledge – even wisdom. Like art.” (p. 1). Our actions do matter. Our intentions matter as well. In a time, when it's easy to become disenchanted about humanity with its systemic struggles, narcissism, greed, and hunger for power, this is the time, now, more than ever to rise up, listen to what our planet needs, and actively do what we can to support that. This is a step towards connecting with each other and manifesting a shift towards hope and gratitude. As humans, we have been creating art for the last 40,000 years. Art is more than superficial aesthetic, beauty to behold. Art is a change agent and through collective expression, we can make a difference by sharing this language that is rooted in compassion for all sides, for humanity as a whole. Please join us with your creative voice. As Martin Luther King said, “we are all caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied together in a single garment of destiny” (Baldwin & Dekar, 1968, p. 56). We can all inspire each other. We must be creative and offer what we each uniquely have to the benefit of others. This is a call for art therapists, artists, and anyone who wants to express their voice creatively. The deadline for this is March 15, 2017, and the film will be released in the spring of 2017. Send your digital image (150-300DPI jpg.) to hkate11@gmail.com. For more information, visit: http://www.peacefulplanetproject.weebly.com Written by: Katie Hall, MA, ATR-BC, LMHC

References Morrison, Toni. (2015). No Place for Self-Pity, No Room for Fear. The Nation. 150th

Anniversary Issue. Retrieved from https://www.thenation.com/.../no-place-self-pity-

no-room.../ Baldwin, Lewis V., Dekar, Paul R. (2013). In an Inescapable Network of Mutuality, Martin

Luther King Jr., and the Globalization of an Ethical Ideal. Cascade Books, Eugene, OR.