Channeling Passion & Sharing History – Creation of Heritage Salon

Channeling Passion & Sharing History – Creation of Heritage Salon This is a guest post from Jada Wright-Greene, founder of Heritage Salon.  After reading a piece where she raised the question of why there are not more African-Americans visiting museums I realized I had never considered this and wanted to find out more about her [...]

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Our 3 Most Popular Posts in 2010

Our 3 Most Popular Posts in 2010 SpeakArtLoud has been on vacation, visiting with family and friends and enjoying time for reflection.  We will return in January.  In absence of our regular weekly posts please consider re-reading our three most popular posts from 2010. Most Popular 25 Ways Art Impacts the Community Art, in its many [...]

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Art and Public Health

November is Arts and Health Month, a great time to highlight the various ways the arts are used in health care and community settings.  Today I want to share how the arts are used in public health.  Public Health Public health works to promote healthy behavior and respond to health concerns for populations.  Public health [...]

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#3 Ways Art is Important to Democracy

As a child in the late 70’s I grew up with episodes of Schoolhouse Rock during Saturday morning cartoons.  Even today I can hum the tune to “I’m Just a Bill”, one of my favorite Schoolhouse Rock films. As we prepare for mid-term elections I am reminded of this first lesson in civics. I have [...]

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Creating Change: Thoughts on Art, Connections & Community

After reading this piece “Small Change: Why the Revolution Will Not be Tweeted” I have been thinking about social connections and how important it is to create connections. My Connections Through my work in developing SpeakArtLoud I have been fortunate to connect with wonderful people. I find myself routinely amazed each time someone reaches out [...]

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Oaxaca & a Few Thoughts on Art & Community

Vacation in Oaxaca I believe art has a vital role in developing healthy communities. To illustrate the relationship between the arts and community I am sharing a bit about a past vacation, by doing so I hope to highlight the connection between art and community development. A few years ago I had the pleasure of [...]

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Mind Your Creativity

Mind Your Creativity We are by nature creative beings.  Creativity is innate to who we are, it is a fundamental part of our nature and important to our individual and community well-being. Left Brain – Right Brain Our brains are made up of two different sides, two hemispheres, with each hemisphere in control of different [...]

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Art and War: Understanding, Remembrance and Healing

Art is a fundamental part of our social fabric, touching upon all elements of the human experience. Keeping in mind current events, I though we could look at ways in which art has been used to help both the public and veterans of war understand, remember and heal. (Please note, this is not a pro [...]

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Women’s Words, Voice and Vision

Women Artists and Cultural Change Cleaning out my home office I came across an old syllabus from my first art history class, “Women Artists and Cultural Change”, a class I took at the suggestion of a favorite sociology professor who knew of my interest in gender, feminism and social change. It was in this class [...]

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What Does Art Have to do with Mental Health?

As a culture we tend not to talk about mental health, even though mental health issues like stress, depression, and anxiety are common place. The National Institute of Mental Health estimates that about one in four adults suffer from a diagnosable mental disorder.  Most folks I know have a family member or friend who has [...]

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