Collaborative Creativity

“The long-standing image of the lonely artist wasting away in obscure isolation is a bit overdone. Not all artists are recognized; some are probably lonely. But the fact is that most of us, in many fields of art, do not work alone. We are one part of a collaboration that results in our art. Gilbert & Sullivan. George and Gracie. Symphony orchestras. Ballerina troops. Art is often a consequence of artistic collaboration, which is not a lonely task: It’s as intimate as anything human beings can do.

And when we are engaged in the making of art, we aren’t segregated away from our communities or our culture. We are in the middle of them, breathing the community’s air, hearing the sounds and smelling the aromas that define our neighborhoods. It’s in our communities, in you and the people around us, that we find the creative ideas with which we work. We don’t leave our communities to produce art; we join them, explore them, pray for them, worry about them…love them.”

From “Collaborative Creativity” —A speech given by Mary Fisher

West Palm Beach, Florida — Saturday, January 20, 2018

A Message

It has come around again.  Today in 1992, I took to the podium at the Republican National Convention and spoke my truth in the face of the AIDS Crisis. The words I shared then continue to ring true today and on this year’s anniversary I’d like to share the following excerpt from “A Whisper of AIDS”:

“I have a message for you: It is not you who should feel shame, it is we. We who tolerate ignorance and practice prejudice, we who have taught you to fear. We must lift our shroud of silence, making it safe for you to reach out for compassion. It is our task to seek safety for our children, not in quiet denial but in effective action.”

Chicago Tribune August 1992

Living Proof

"I’m living proof that we do not need to suffer the fear that life has no meaning, that we have no value.  I’ve had the feeling, but I’ve also learned the distinction between subjective feelings and objective facts.  Objectively, life has meaning.  Therefore, so do you.  You matter.  You matter very, very much to me and to those around you. 

Your capacity to hear me now shows your ability to listen to us at any time we speak.  Your willingness to experience art shows your eagerness to learn the experience and views of another.  Your willingness to risk loving, and therefore risk being wounded again and again, is evidence of your own reach toward purpose, and meaning, and joy. 

Life is a risky proposition.  To live it fully we must show others the one thing we want most to hide from them: ourselves.  This is both the adventure and the terror, whether you are a parent, a lover, a friend, a physician who prescribes drugs or a patient who takes them.  It’s true of all of us when we engage in whatever art is ours.  Showing ourselves is, always, a breathtaking experience whether in the boardroom or the studio, on the public stage or in our quietest intimacy."

“A Risky Proposition” — Speech given by Mary Fisher

Sedona, Arizona — Friday, September 28, 2012