Does your art send a message?

"This piece reminds me of my village back in the Congo." 
"This painting of nature makes me feel calm."
"That's a portrait of Martin Luther King, Jr.!  I know who he is!"

Sunday February 22nd BuildaBridge artists and five clients of the Philadelphia Partnership for Resilience (PPR), a collaborative with Nationalities Services Center and Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, visited the Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMA).  These trips, termed purposeful interventions, assist clients in learning about and engaging in American culture through arts and culture experiences outside of the classroom. In celebration of Black History Month, the group first viewed the exhibit “Represent:  200 Years of African American Art.”  "From compelling stories to innovative methods, Represent explores the evolving ways in which African American artists have expressed personal, political, and racial identity" (PMA).  Artists engaged clients in one-on-one conversations regarding the artwork, how it made them feel, what they thought the art meant, how it was related to events in their own lives and its significance during Black History Month.  Moving to the next exhibit, “Ink and Gold:  Art of the Kano”, large group discussions took place regarding the influence of China on Japanese art.  The fans in particular, each only 10 inches by 5 inches in size, illustrated a different story.  The intricate detail astounded and impressed us all.  One small group discussed the significance of community based on two pieces of artwork that illustrated Japanese villages.  This group reflected on components of communities in their countries of origin and compared it to their current communities in Philadelphia.  Another small group discussed the different elements of nature as depicted in three different paintings and how each painting made them feel.  In this exhibit, the museum provided drawing pads for attendees to attempt a sketch of the paintings.  One client spent a considerable amount of time sketching one nature scene and shared it with the larger group.  By the third exhibit, “American Art from the 18th Century”, clients were engaging other clients in conversations about the artwork, an accomplished outcome of these trips to create community and trusting relationships between clients.

In each of the exhibits, the artwork communicated messages of the artists, the culture of the artists and historical events.  Though conversations occurred between artists and clients and between clients, the real conversations occurred between the artwork and our group.  Our group listened to the messages of the artwork.  We reflected on them individually and collectively. We applied the messages to our own journeys, current situations and future hopes and dreams.

Similarly, Syrian refugees living in Jordan are trying to do the same thing - communicate with their communities and the world about their experiences.  Just as we listened to the artwork on display in a museum, so should we be listening to the crises in our world today through the messages from current artists and how we can make a difference.