Barefoot Artists is an organization that focuses on empowering poor communities through the arts. Feeding off of the concept of a community in need using an artistic platform for improvement and change, I created a collage dedicated to the power of cities to make change happen to better society. This was particularly inspired by the March For Our Lives march I participated in in DC during my spring break. Romare Bearden was known for creating collages that made political statements, specifically about the civil rights of African-Americans, and I was inspired by that energy to create something relevant to a rights issue of our day. I incorporated cityscapes of Manhattan and Georgetown, as well as the Capitol to represent the power of the actions taken by a large body of people. At March For Our Lives, there were so many artistic talents contributing to spread the message of gun reform- not just visual artwork, but verbal and musical as well, all coming together to create something beautiful out of a tragedy in a broken community. I realize that this collage may not be wholly relevant to the Lily Yeh documentary, but I believe the message and inspiration behind both movements are the same.
