We have all felt the challenge, heartache and weight of this year. Covid-19, a global pandemic and a nation divided has effected every corner of this country and the globe.
We have learned to stay at home, work from home and do the best we can. We have found ways to make do, to buy in bulk, to wash our hands and wear our masks. Here at MakeRoom our masks hang on-the-ready by our back door.
We have learned how to socially distance, how to help our neighbors, how to tighten our belts and even how to bake bread. We’ve seen racial injustice on our screens, in our news feeds and on the our streets of our communities.
Here in Minneapolis the murder of George Floyd has shaken us to our very core and forced us to reexamine our beliefs, biases and positions. We have read and listened and we have muted ourselves. We have learned, as we always knew, that Black Lives Matter. We have watched as centuries of justifiable rage erupted. We have seen buildings, businesses and city blocks burned down. We have watched as the very democracy of America is tested and disobeyed. We have all felt the challenge, some much more than others. To say 2020 has been tough might be the understatement of the year.
In fact, the concern for Covid-19 and the uncertainty surrounding its spread lead us to make the difficult decision to postpone the artists residency of Lindsey Claire Newman. She was originally accepted into the MakeRoom artist’s residency for March and would have stayed with us for 10-days. However, we agreed at at that time to press the pause button and host Lindsey in early 2021 instead. But here we are, near the end of the year, with 2021 on the horizon and the pandemic doesn’t show any signs of slowing. NEVER, did I ever imagine we would be facing the same tough decision … again. But here we are.
Despite the challenge, the pandemic and the uncertainty of it all we remain hopeful. We are still, very committed to hosting Lindsey. Still committed to providing a time and space for creatives, makers and artists. We are committed to raising up Black voices, to providing an opportunity to those who apply, to those who create, to those who struggle and to those who hope.
We are still in this together.