I barely know it’s Christmas/Chanukah/Kwanza season here in India. After all, being a country where the majority of people are neither Christian nor Jewish the holidays are different. (I previously wrote a little about Diwali which just passed.)
But yesterday I took a walk in the paper, wrapping and trimmings market in Bombay and got to see some Christmas fun.
Speaking of the holidays, I would be remiss if I didn’t send along my fundraising call on behalf of freeDimensional. I sit on the board and deeply believe in the work they do. Please read my funding note below and help us keep artists safe. Ring the bells and sound the alarm.
I’m not waiting, but someone is. Someone is waiting for the final blow; wincing as she submerges herself. Someone is lying low, questioning their every thought, trying to speak through the hand covering his face. The finger pointed at them, they hide their stockpile – dismantling what they can.
Canvases are taken down, rolled up, used as stuffing. CDs are hammered into glittery bits, swept into unassuming piles. How to re-create lost treasure? How to pry the fingers of silence loose? Our society shrivels in the dark, as someone waits for help.It’s easy to overlook artists who aren’t celebrities. People steeped in cultural production on a small scale. There are hundreds of thousands of people around the world who have dedicated their lives to creating, thinking and expressing what many people can’t or won’t express. FreeDimensional thinks about these people. What happens when a small artist gets targeted? Who goes to those dark places to offer a hand?FreeDimensional is attempting the work of a great spider – weaving webs of support and balance. We don’t “rescue” or “save” anyone, we enrich and support existing arts and culture networks to light up when darkness threatens. We offer tools, trainings, people-to-people connections, funds, space and awareness raising. The more people there are, connected and sharing, means a more responsive, international network of resources that can come to the aid of artists and culture workers under threat. Each connection, touch, makes us stronger.
As a growing organization any help means a lot: money, in-kind resources, sharing our mission and work with others. Please give today. Please plug in and widen the circle. I am a part of this organization because I want to see all people dream and succeed. The delicate threads of imagination and creativity are the support beams of a healthy, flourishing society. Having artists around us, doing their work, reminds us all to live big lives.
Kayhan Irani
Mumbai, December 2012