A lot of us are looking for ways to reach out a hand to others in the human family, across lines of religion, race, ethnicity, Tribe, class, language, nationality, etc.
Especially in this moment, where politics and tech/AI seem to be moving us further away from connection, conversation, and a sense of shared inhabitance of this planet.
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Imagine with me for a moment.
What if a wall, meant to divide, was re-envisioned, as a
place for people to connect?
What if a wall that screams of power became a place for
play?
Enter an artist duo, Virginia San Fratello and Ronald Rael.
And the creative idea to bring pink teeter-totters to the
U.S.-Mexico border, allowing children on both sides of the wall to play with one
another.
A chance for connection. Each body a compliment to the one
on the other side of the border.
It took mere seconds from the installation before kids had
begun to do what they do best – break down barriers and show that play together
is possible.
In the words of Virginia and Ronald, “There was a time where
there was no wall. [We wanted to] conceptually dismantle the wall…imagining a
post-wall world.”
May we take the pink teeter-totters as inspiration
May this art invigorate your work as a connecter across all
of the lines, barriers, and walls that exist.
May the image of kids being kids, turning the border wall
into a playground, rejuvenate parts of us that are withering at the moment, akin
to the plants in our midst desperately and patiently waiting for water to come.
In our case, the water are projects and moments like this that hydrate parched, cracking soil in our soul.
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Enjoy this 5-minute video chronicling the project, along
with the artists' website. https://www.rael-sanfratello.com/made/teetertotter-wall
If you want to see one of the real-life teeter-totters from
the project, it is on display in the lobby of the Albuquerque Museum in Old
Town. (Admission is free every Sunday from 9 am to 1 pm and the first Wednesday
of every month.)
