“Art is not a mirror held up to reality, but a hammer with which to shape it.” – Bertolt Brecht.
Hello Friends!
My birthday was on Thursday, and it was a good chance to reflect on what I’m trying to create and build right now. For those of you who know me, you know I’ve been wracking my brain for awhile on a pretty simple question: How do I make more music for cultural transformation, and also be good to myself?
How do I create and share art in alignment with my values? How do we all make more room for art and culture creation, when the problems we are facing—climate change, rampant racial discrimination and the straight-up fascist hanky-panky in D.C.— are just so damn big. Where does art fit, when there are so many important movements to phone bank for, protests to go to, and causes to give your dollar-dollar bills to? Where does my music fit?
As I’ve struggled with these questions, I came upon Patreon—a platform that allows an artist’s community to support them month to month—kind of like a garden CSA—Community Supported Agriculture, but this is for Community Supported Artists. People can support me at $1 a month or more, get access to all the my new art and music, and be part of a community conversation.
So…want to join my CSA community?
I know not everyone has dollars to spare for art, and I respect that. But I also know that I’m on this big blue earth to make music, and the best answer I’ve come up with for the question of “where does art fit?” is simply, everywhere. Bertolt Brecht says, “Art is not a mirror held up to reality, but a hammer with which to shape it.” Art doesn’t just fit. Art creates its own energy, it’s own transformation. It brings people of different backgrounds and politics together, and we could use that kind of bridge building more than ever right now.
Quite honestly, it’s really scary to ask for your support. I’ve been putting off sending this email for months. But I also know that you are my community. I’m responsible to you, and I don’t take that responsibility lightly! Apart from my own music, I’ve also been co-organizing a collaborative album project over the last 6-months called Protect What You Love, recording and collecting music from artists with important messages to share, and planning and playing benefit concerts all over the region.
If you want to know about some of the projects I’m currently working on, head over to my Patreon site and take a look! If you can’t support financially, but want to share it on your social media, that would be great too!
THANK YOU!!!!!
Erika