Drawn Together
How the Art of Looking and Listening Fosters Empathy, Relationships and Community
Greetings fellow Substackers and creative friends!
In my last post here on The Creative Convergence, I announced the meaning behind my Substack name change from “Spaghetti Twisted Thoughts” to The Creative Convergence and gave a short update on my 61-day art and storytelling challenge featured on my second Substack called RainMakers & ChangeMakers.
Today, I want to do two things:
Offer a short reflection on my experience of drawing and writing 52 days in a row.
Recap what to expect on this Substack for those of you who are new to The Creative Convergence.
First, a plug for RainMakers & ChangeMakers. If you are not yet subscribed, I’d love to see you over there! All content is free but I have also turned on paid subscriptions at just $5/month so you can help me build a RainMaker Fund to support the roughly 30 organizations I will have profiled by the end of this 61-day art and storytelling challenge. After July 31st, when the challenge ends, posts will resume on a weekly or every other week cadence.
Drawn Together: Reflections on a 61-Day Art & Story Challenge
After the first few days of drawing, I wrote about my initial reactions and reflections. They were profound. But, it was still new.
Now, after fifty-two days into this project, I’ve developed greater empathy, built relationships, and fostered community…
It is magical.
Are you currently in the middle of an art project or a writing series? What has been magical for you?
Building Empathy
I consider myself to already be a highly empathic person, but this project has leveled me up. By looking and listening to the faces and self-told stories of people - their life stories, their dreams and hopes - the divide between self and other has started to draw together. That is, the gap has narrowed. I am starting to see myself within each person.
If you have ever drawn others or interviewed people, have you experienced this narrowing of the gap between other and self?
Many of the people I have interviewed are parents of small children who day in and day out have to explain there isn’t enough food or they have to flee their country or home. And if they aren’t parents, they are part of some fabric or network or community however fragile or strong that depends on on another, just like mine.
After highlighting several individuals and organizations from the Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya in June, violence broke out and the people I had just interviewed were fleeing for their lives. There wasn’t any choice but to answer the call to help with transport to usher them to safety. Shortly thereafter, I devoted one day fully to the chaos and violence at Kakuma and Kalobeyei camps.
By looking and listening to the faces and self-told stories of people - their life stories, their dreams and hopes - the divide between self and other has started to draw together. That is, the gap has narrowed. I am starting to see myself within each person.
Developing Relationships
I have found it unexpectedly easy to start developing relationships with the people I have highlighted. In a handful of cases, particularly with individuals for whom English is not a first or even second language, I held video or voice call interviews. Spending time looking and listening to the person in real time naturally developed an affinity and affection for the other person.
Then, the act of writing the story, further developed that relationship. I had to reflect and think about how to synthesize the information they shared. I felt responsible to write the story in a way that honored and did justice to the person who just shared it.
If you write or draw others, do you feel an enhanced sense of responsibility to make sure you “get it right”?
While drawing portraits, I did a lot of looking. I looked at a reference picture of each person for one or two hours while drawing their portrait. I paid attention to the shape of their face, their eyes, and lips and their tone and color of skin. I felt like I knew each one better after the whole process.
Not surprisingly, I have stayed in touch with most of the people that I have drawn and written about. Nascent relationships have started based on follow-up conversations. After posting, I’ve often received updates. But just as frequently, I have also reached out to ask for updates. How is your family? Are you feeling better? Are you safe? How is the baby?
Building Community
One of the most surprising and unintended outcomes of this project is that through this series, connections are being made amongst the people who are being featured as well as amongst and with the people who are reading.
For instance, I have featured several people who are not only permaculture activists or teachers but also musicians. Here is a list of the people I’ve featured who are musical in one way or another and they are starting to know about each other as a result of this series.
Muhindo Mutundi of New Talent Group for the Best Future in Nakivale Refugee Settlement in Uganda not only plays but handcrafts guitars.
Pat Sabag of Art for Positive Change Center in Nakivale Refugee Settlement in Uganda is a musician and an artist.
Jules Shengo Faraja of Strong Unity for Refugee Empowerment at Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya, is a guitar player, singer, music teacher and composer.
Ali Tebandeke of Permaculture Initiative of Uganda is also a singer, co-leader at a music and recording studio for disadvantaged youth in Nateete, Uganda, and wants to record a song about permaculture.
Brenda Katushemerwerwe, founder of Tele-Med CBO who is running for Member of Parliament in Uganda has recorded her own songs and produced music videos.
MCDawn of Agape Hope for Kibera in Kenya, is a dancer, singer, and actor.
Krehim Sharon, an artist with Nakivale Young Talent Community in Uganda, plays guitar, piano and drums.
Roland Van Reenen of Kwetu Regenerative Hub in Kenya was a drummer in reggae bands.
Nine More Days To Go…
I have mixed feelings about ending this project. It certainly has taken up hours upon hours of my time. And, at the same time, I have been rewarded with so many gifts - empathy, relationships and community. I am sure I will have more reflections after the end of the series.
Please share your thoughts if any of what I’ve shared above resonated with you!
Don’t Miss the Last Nine…
Here is your second invite to join me at RainMakers & ChangeMakers. You can catch the last 9 days AND you’ll be able to see what’s up next! I’ll be profiling RainMakers in August and then transitioning in September to the ChangeMaker(s) of the month, doing a deeper dive into the organizations I’ve already profiled as well as giving exciting updates on new collaborative projects that are developing out of this creative art and storytelling project.
If you are a new subscriber to The Creative Convergence…
Here is what you can expect! The Creative Convergence is a place where essays, stories, and art come together to shift perspectives and transform our experience of ourselves, our communities and the world. My posts follow my interests and are organized in several buckets:
ArtShare: my own attempts at self-expression through visual arts, mostly water color and mixed media.
Essays: reflections on various adventures in life, particularly through the lens of mid-life, often diving in and out of metaphor and Jungian psychology.
StoryTelling: occasional 1,000 word short stories.
LiteratureLove: I love to read, but the desire to spend hours reading comes and goes. When it hits me strong, I get fully engrossed and write about the books that impact and change my way of thinking.
Nakivale Young Refugee Arts Support Circle: The Creative Convergence is now home to the Nakivale Young Refugee Arts Support Circle. When you subscribe to The Creative Convergence, you are automatically subscribed to Support Circle free posts. If you upgrade to paid on The Creative Convergence, you’ll become a full-fledged member of this circle supporting arts and art education for young refugees at the Nakivale Refugee Settlement in Uganda. In return, you receive a set of unique and personalized benefits. Read more here.
Thank you for reading! Please leave a comment or share if you enjoyed the content here and think others would too.
This has been a wonderful series of portraits supporting your project, and I enjoyed reading your reflections on the close looking process. The hands art by Manasse is beautiful.
Dear Emily (and I do mean "dear"!), reading your blog gives me a better perspective about the little things in my everyday life. How very small they really are. Thank you for your positivity and for reaching out. Keep up the good work! Marianne