Where it started

I have daughters who are very creative. They draw, play music, write novels and work with children. At every birthday party and family gathering they make something: a poster for the door, or a play with the younger kids that turns into a musical. Those moments end up being the highlight of the night.

For years a community I was part of met to talk about fighting racism. We shared data, stories and speeches, and the same few people kept coming. Then a dance workshop came through, and its performances reached people our polite conversations had missed for years.

A talk I once planned carefully drew a handful of people. The next time I ran a workshop on the same ideas, where people acted, made art and sang together. More came, and they asked for more of it.

So I keep asking myself a few questions. What if the people who make the posters and the songs were asked first, before the agenda was set? What if every season had a Curator whose job was to ask them, by name, for one thing? IntentSpring is my attempt at an answer.