Philosophy of who we are and what we are doing

In the past few months I've had the humbling experience of seeing that the ideas and visions swirling in my head for the last 15 (more?) years are not unique. Others who have been reading the signs of culture have put the pieces together in a similar way and are acting on and writing about these things in large and small ways all over the world. I can only describe this as awe - some. The sense of being a part of something so much larger than myself or even our little community is electrifying. The responsibility to share that inspiration with the others invested in Convergence and the new people we meet everyday has become a priority and so it is time for all the research, conversations, conferences, etc. to become a coherent philosophy of who we are and what we are doing.

Over the last two years we have asked the question: How do we fulfill our mission of being a resource to artists? And we have heard consistently four things. I'm going to borrow from my friend and writer Quentin Paquette as he and his fiance Cecily (visual artist) have summed it up beautifully.

The idea of an "emerging artist" is one that needs sharpening. Every artist that is continuing to evolve and discover through their work is "emerging." The needs of the "emerging" artist are no different from that of any artist. They need an outlet to the community of those they see as their audience. They need guidance and reinforcement about the development of their technique. They need mentoring on methods of seeking these things on their own. They need an opportunity to discuss the relationship between their vision and their faith [spiritual life]. In these things, all artists are alike.

Hearing these needs we seek to resource the artist in the following ways:

• SPACE (safe, supportive, encouraging, laboratory, sacred, incubator)
  Convergence provides a space in which the artist can work, build their craft, create their businesses and livelihood. While classes of all sorts go on at Convergence, we do not offer classes just for the sake of offering classes. We are not building an arts school or community center. We are a resource to the person, the artist. We give them a place to "do their thing." We provide the resource of space at accessible cost in a supportive, nurturing environment within which artists and arts organizations can build and grow. Our goal is to relieve the stress (mental, physical, emotional, spiritual) by being hospitable to artists in order that they might "do their thing."
  
  
• COMMUNITY:
  The opportunity for community takes many forms at Convergence. One way is by providing opportunities to gather with other artists to exchange ideas, solutions and support; such as Artist Way groups, salons, dinners, Arts Exchange events, jam sessions, etc. It also comes in the form of creating a supportive environment of patrons and community members lending moral support and encouragement. We also create opportunities for honest engagement through scheduling public viewings, readings and interaction between the artist and the general community. Finally, Convergence is a place to contribute and be heard within a larger community where process, insight and experiences are valued.
  
  
• PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT:
  We partner with those who provide professional resources to artists at fair and reasonable cost and accessibility. Those we partner with also share our commitment to the holistic health of the artist and are vibrant contributors to the whole community. Not just someone who teaches and goes.
  
  
• SPIRITUAL (INTERNAL):
  We believe the artist's imagination and rich interior life are of great value. We as a community, country and world should do more to foster environments where this interior life is encouraged, nurtured and shared. To that end, we at Convergence are particularly committed to providing resources to maintain one's spiritual, emotional, mental and physical health as well as healing. These resources are currently available from the Church at Convergence which is made up of a group of diverse individuals committed to serving our community and world in this way.
  

The final question is why and my honest, idealistic answer is "to change the world" or at least to do our part in a much larger movement underway. We can help individual people change their lives – and that can change the world. It is already changing my world.

More to come on the why in another blog.

There's Got to Be More to Life than Just Makin' Out

“There’s got to be more to life than just makin’ out!" – Grease 2
Michelle Pfeiffer as Stephanie Zinone

Ok, my pop culture reference is kind of dated (and a little embarrassing), but she makes a good point!
Granted, Michelle Pfeiffer’s character was literally talking about making out with boys, but the principle is the same – many people (all people?) feel something deep inside tugging at us wondering: Is “making out,” getting by, making do – enough? Is there more to life than just being able to pay the bills, do a good job at work, taking care of our families, being successful, making progress? Is there some greater purpose or meaning to life?

A few weeks ago Todd and I attended the International Arts Movement Exchange in New York. I came away enthusiastic that I finally had some language to describe the things that I have been noticing for years. I am amazed sometimes that we have managed to come so far at Convergence as a community without this helpful language. I generally answer the question “so what IS Convergence?” with a series of “umm, well it’s sort like this… and sort of like that… and you know how...?”

I walked away from IAM convinced that it is time (passed time) to establish some concrete language, and I’m grateful to the brilliant people at the conference who have given me some of those tools. I am going to begin to process through some of my notes and develop that language here.

The first piece answers the basic question – “Why? Why Convergence? Why artists? Why churches? Why?

Wesley Hurd is working on a book called “He Said/They Said: The Cultural Conditions for Dialogue in the Arts.” He led a breakout session at the conference that exactly framed the rationale we’ve been operating under here at Convergence.

Hurd expressed that we have been living in a world that is experiencing the results of a deconstruction of our “mental and cultural constructs” which hold the possibility of ultimate truth. This disillusionment, due to the failure of so many of the promises of the enlightenment and the modern era (i.e. education, technical power and progress, free market, etc.) has resulted in a sense of hopelessness and relativity that is leaving us empty. However, we are (or have) moving(ed) through this to something else.

While the Church’s very message is that there is hope, meaning and truth to be had, we are not alone in this proposition. Hurd noted that, “In the Academy there is a group who have not given up on the idea that it is possible to search for Ultimate Truth.” Indeed, in essence, “art and art making is both an exploratory attempt at forming and answering deepest existential questions AND an artifact, evidence, trace, or the reality of the existential core of being human.”

So, there is this space in our current culture, in our current time, in our current world where the Church, Academy and art makers, dare I say it…☺…converge. Hurd calls this the “Critical Zone,” a “mental/spiritual space shared by both religious and non-religious persons.”

This is the beginning of our Convergence. Just acknowledging that the above is true. Saying from within our little church – “Hey there you artists and not necessarily Christian thinkers. I see that you have been exploring some interesting things like transcending the pervasive sense of hopelessness in our world, a desire for healing and reconciliation in our culture and a desire to find alternate value systems to out-of-control consumerism and environmental and social apathy. You are really effective at holding up a mirror and calling a spade a spade and recognizing trends in our world. Want to have a cup of coffee or something? I bet we might be able to learn something from one another. Maybe we even have things to contribute to one another.”

I know it isn’t a novel idea, but at this time building a bridge between two worlds that have (to greater and lesser degrees) alienated one another is a brave thing. And to be perfectly honest, the most worthwhile thing I can imagine doing. The new friends I have made over the last year are teaching me about possibility and the reality of changing the world one choice at a time, one person at a time. Some of them are artists; some are not. Some are people of a defined religious perspective; others are not. All of them have faith of some sort in something and a sense of the something else that is possible. In this “critical zone” in this “convergence” is where we’ve set up camp. It is exciting to us to be in a position to act on the observations and discoveries people like Wesley Hurd, Mako Fujimura and others involved with IAM are making. I have no idea where this is going to take us, but I’m looking forward to it.

Back from New York

It is Sunday morning and I am just starting to feel awake again. Todd and I hit New York on Thursday morning and got back late Friday night. The trip itself was great, no travel nightmares, but my head felt like it had gone to an all you can eat buffet and gorged.

I don't think I am ready to process all of the thoughts, inspiration, challenges and ideas presented at the International Arts Movement Exchange. Right now I am just incredibly grateful to Mako Fujimura and his staff, volunteers and presenters. I have never been to a conference which affirmed and challenged me in this way and I would encourage anyone who would be reading this blog for any reason to put it on your calendar for next year. I don't know what the dates are yet, but put it on the calendar anyway.

I heard so many people in hallway conversations, workshops and even the big plenary sessions saying the same thing: "I just found out about this thing earlier this week and I knew I had to come. I'm not alone! There are other people like me!"

The most exciting thing is that Todd and I came home with a list a mile long of people we want to connect with. We are in an amazing position (and unique at this point in time) to actually begin to act on the theories developing.

I'm going to stop now because I realize this is making no sense, I'm still in babbling mode. I'll give more details and thoughts in installments, but for now - wow!