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Acts of Art 150

MatchBook Art Inspiring Personal Responsibility and Action

We are all actors in this Climate Crisis play. In Canada, we are all Treaty People. 

We are all responsible to fight for Social Justice in our lives and in our communities.

There is so much to focus on. We are bombarded daily. It is essential to resist apathy, indifference, overwhelm and despair.

Cry – yes. Feel your feelings. It matters.

Rage – when you need to.

However resist the desire to numb out, distract and deflect.

Each of us has something we care about that isn’t guided by ego, greed and self-interest.

Let that spark lead you to one place where you can start making a difference.

What issue concerns you the most? What do you have passion  for?

Start where you are.

 

Make Your Own Changes

  • Commit to the most impactful shifts you can commit to – eating an ethically sourced diet, avoiding air travel, unnecessary driving on so on
  • Shift your mindset from making success based on growth and financial gain
  • Take responsibility for influencing the world around you

Make Your Voice Heard

  • Use what your natural genius or what you are known for to make some noise
  • Demonstrate, write letters when you see something wrong or to praise positive action, call your representative on all levels of government, email, sign that on-line petition & share your action 
  • Vote

Share Your Story & Your Journey

  • Join with others – there are groups already taking action
  • Educate yourself. Read more. Follow thought- leaders
  • Talk to friends – listen and respectfully speak your truth 
  • Speak up in public against transgressions when you can
  • Start a conversation by writing a poem, an article, a song, by creating art or by chatting. 

I started making MatchBook paintings to open the door to conversations, be prompts for action and to be reminders to hold myself accountable for my own changes.

The issues we are facing cannot be tackled in silos. We need to have an integrated approach that considers the Climate Crisis, First Nations, Inuit and Metis Rights, Poverty, Health Care, Ableism, Sex Discrimination, Racism, 2SLGBTQQIA Freedoms as parts of the whole.

If you are curious how I used these little gems, I carried them around in a little cloth bag and let people choose which one or ones spoke to an action they believed in. Sometimes I left them on park benches, at tables in restaurants, in classes I attended. Sometimes I mailed them off to elected officials and other influencers. What would you do?

Here Are Some Things on my Mind. What’s on Yours?

 

Relationships with First

Nations, Metis and Inuit:

 First Nations people have been on this land for over 13,000 years

Colonization is by definition:
a) the action or process of settling among and establishing control over the indigenous people of an area.
or b) the action of appropriating a place or domain for one’s own use.
The foundation of Canada’s relationship with the First People is build on this “power over” dynamic which has resulted in acts of violence and abuse. You may need to acquaint yourself with the Doctrine of Discovery and how it still plays out.
This unequal relationship, including  mistreatment, continues today.
Changes have to happen at a fundamental level.
Promises have been made and it is time to honour them.
Each individual Canadian needs to stand up and be counted to make things right.

Relationship to the Land

To Mother Earth

We are experiencing a crisis.

People are still reacting with a wide range of attitudes and behaviours from denial to despair.
We need a 180 degree mind-shift away from seeing Mother Earth as a supplier of “Natural Resources” which has allowed us to view all her gifts as commodities to leverage.
We are all part of a living system and every action needs to come from this framework.
Someone else is not going to come to save the day. Your name is on that action item.
While there is breath in our bodies, we have a chance to mitigate some of the damage.
Joining organizations such as https://greennewdealcanada.ca/ builds the community needed to tip us toward change.
There are hundreds of ways to get involved. Just start.

Relationship to

Intersectionality

Inequities need to be addressed across colour, race, ethnicity, sexual identity, gender, physical ability or disability, rich and poor, income and mental health.

It is 100% unacceptable for one segment of our community to be left behind or left out. Some folks suffer inequities on multiple plains.

The Pact for a Green New Deal says it all, “We need an ambitious plan to deal with multiple crises at the same time.

A bold and far reaching plan to cut emissions in half in 11 years in line with Indigenous knowledge and climate science, create more than a million good jobs you can support a family with, and build inclusive communities in the process.

We need a Green New Deal — for everyone. And we need everyone to be a part of building it.”