Sometimes, when we’re very lucky, great minds run in the same track and can even help each other to support and inform the community. That’s especially true of artistic collaborations.
We’ll see the results of some inspiring — and inspired — collaborations when the “Art in Action Showcase” debuts on Saturday, Dec. 3. And it’s fitting that it’s sprung from a collaboration between Ashley Cornelius, poet laureate of the Pikes Peak region, and K8e Orr, visual artist and force of nature.
This is the second year they’ve organized the event. It grew out of poetry and movement shows that Poetry719, the organization Cornelius helps lead, offers for the community.
With Cornelius organizing the poets and hosting the event, and Orr curating the art and hosting it in her Manitou Art Center studio, it proved to be a successful formula they’re building on for this year’s event.
Orr said it takes about a month and a half to organize, from planning and inviting the artists to the actual creative process and showcase presentation.
Five poets were paired with a musician, a dancer, a photographer and two visual artists, and the theme for their work is mental health.
The pairs are:
Poet Alé Ruiz and artist Kevin Persuad;
Poet Sophie Thunberg and dancer Rouge L Wesley-Moore;
Poet Amber Coté and photographer Gray Warrior;
Storytellers K8e Orr and Lupita Carrasco; and
Poet Mar Wilson and artist Qiana Glaze.
“It’s incredible to see what the artists create in a short amount of time,” Orr said.
As she explained, the pairs could work together throughout the creative process or reflect on the theme separately. Each person creates one piece that complements their partner’s creation.
And in that process, they find healing. Even better, their audience can, too.
“The artists each bring their unique talents and harness the magic that is artistic collaboration,” Orr said.
She’s much more than an artist who sells her two- and three-dimensional work from Jibwa Studio, her space at the front of the 513 Manitou Avenue building. She’s also an untiring advocate for de-stigmatizing conversations about mental health and sees art as an important part of those conversations.
“As we continue to navigate the pandemic, mental health is becoming increasingly important and art has been an incredible connector during times of unrest, grief and loss, and disconnection,” Orr said.
She sees poets as historians who can tell the community’s stories, help people heal and build bridges to new perspectives.
“Storytelling creates connection and, while sharing the stories of mental health, our participants had a chance to form authentic connection through these artistic endeavors,” Orr said.
She and Cornelius definitely want to organize more events like this, experimenting with themes, and would love to do something similar with younger poets and artists.
The “Art in Action Showcase” is funded by a Manitou Arts, Culture, and Heritage grant and happens thanks to “tremendous support” from the Manitou Art Center, Orr said.
If you go
“Art in Action Showcase” starts at 3 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 3, at the Manitou Art Center, 513 Manitou Ave.Free admission. Information: www.poetry719.com.