Sharing in Community Spaces

A few weeks ago a colleague of mine shared a TED talk. If you've never heard of TED, welcome and be prepared to spend hours watching inspiring and fascinating short talks by incredible humans. Yes, so there I was, watching Cindy Chang share, in 15 minutes, the projects that she creates in public spaces.

The inspiration for her projects and, specifically her most popular project, came from wanting to do something with abandoned spaces, from wanting to know her neighbors, and from the struggles after the death of a loved one. Chang created a huge chalk board on the side of an abandoned building in New Orleans. It read, "Before I die I want to_______." People could pick up the chalk and fill it in. It was full in a day. As Chang said, "neglected space became a constructive one."

I immediately thought of The Empty House Studio, of the creativity, constructive creativity, we hope to foster in this area and all over. Why did Chang create those boards? Why do I create? The "why" brings up motivation and purpose, it brings up belief and practicality.

Now inside the house are two large boards that read "I Create Because____." As makers come through the space, they can share the reasoning, motivations, humor, and passion behind their act of creation.

And for now, I will leave you with a few...

- I create because 'I want to bring more beauty into the world.'

- I create because 'I can.'

- I create because 'well, see, what happened was...'

- I create because 'esuaceb etaerc I.' 

- I create because 'these two tea yo demon zit!'

- I create because 'of the passion that is running through me.'

- I create because 'the world is not enough.'

- I create because 'there is a rhythm to the beat.'