Art Can Change The World
Madrid - I wrote 90% of the piece in 2011, and was inspired by the life of Nipsey Hussle to dust it off and revise it in April 2019 based on the intervening years and life experience. Now, building off my same vision which manifested in 2021 as Film3, I add to this mid 2024…
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For years I had the honor of teaching my workshop the PERMISSION PLAYGROUND™ around the world. It was an honor to stand in front of those beautiful faces revealing to me their hearts and souls, then humbling me by telling me I had changed their lives. It is an honor because they chose to trust me with their artist and it is a responsibility I did not take lightly.
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I have thought a lot about my time there on the playground. I have thought a lot about how they also changed my life. For the longest time I could not imagine life without this profound exchange. I looked forward to the passion and commitment waiting for me when I stepped into that room. What could be greater than being trusted by another with what is so precious to them? What could be more fulfilling I wondered than lifting another up into their greatness, helping them to achieve their purpose.
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I have been on a long sabbatical from teaching knowing that my strength lies in more global work. The stories I tell in my films have a far wider reach than the intimacy of the classroom, although I see a lot of my work reflected in the success of my students in film and television. That is a joy.
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The brilliant filmmaker Sydney Lumet [DOG DAY AFTERNOON, SERPICO] died this week [2011]. One of the quotes I kept seeing was how he felt art didn’t change the world. Well, I disagree. Especially with the explosion of social media and the ability to immediately bring value to someone across the world with content, with art.
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Art is universal when it comes from a place of truth in the artist. Art communicates a world that often is nonverbal but visceral, etheric, known… somewhere deep within us… and it can remind us by this connection that we are all a part of this journey of life. All a part of one another. Sometimes we need reminding, like a shattered vase… we are individual pieces yet we are still part of one.
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I felt one with Caravaggio when I thought about how long it must have taken him to paint in that church in order to express the vision he carried inside him. How many years did Michelangelo labor to see the man emerge from the stone? What is it you feel when Beyonce sings?
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Why must we make art? Madeleine L’Engle, one of my heroes, writes of it in this way in her wonderful work A Circle of Quiet:
“a self is not something static…a self is always becoming.”
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The becoming. The constant searching and striving and weighing out of ideas that takes place within the artist’s soul must make its way into expression, communication, reaching out, sharing. Art is an experience and experiences change the world. Nipsey Hussle knew this. He knew his art was universal. He knew that through art he could transform his life, his friends, his neighborhood, make an impact on the world outside Crenshaw simply by telling his truth.
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The artists above are just a few who have changed my world. Art transform lives. Art can change the world.
In 2021 I began a movement eventually dubbed “Film3”. That movement is in essence, to quote my compadre Stephen Murray —
“If you change the world for creators, creators can change the world.”
It is no wonder he and I align on our missions.
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In 2024, reflecting back to my understanding “that my strength lies in more global work” — every risk, every vision, every struggle, every failure has led me here. To build something bigger than myself. No different than my manifesto as an artist to “serve story” — that acting, directing, and all the rest of the components that go into great film and theatre are in the service of story. The work I do from Film3 movement to business model has been in service of building a better world for creators, especially those from marginalized and under-resented communities. In fact, as Ava DuVernay wisely said, and the manifesto of The Squad is this:
“If your dream only includes you, it’s too small.”
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The key to all this, is the sense of “belonging.” A place we feel seen. I am convinced that is the strength of Taylor Swift. Swifties, young and old, all races and genders, feel seen, valued and a sense of belonging to something individually meaningful, and yet bigger than them
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As I contemplate my journey and the evolution of my vision, it becomes clear that the power of art lies not just in its creation, but in its ability to foster a sense of belonging and community. From my time with the Permission Playground™ to the global impact of the #Film3 movement and business model, I have witnessed firsthand how art can break barriers and unite people from all walks of life. My mission has always been to build something bigger than myself, to serve the story, and to create spaces where everyone feels seen and valued. The table I build will always be expansive, inclusive, and ever-growing. In this shared journey, we find our strength and our purpose. Through art, we transform lives, and through that transformation, we change the world.
Original post 2011
Revised 7.April 2019
Revised 2.July 2024