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Lartivism… the art of leading with creativity and imagination A Lartivist is a leader, an artist and an activist who combines all three callings to forward a positive social vision.
The term Lartivist was first coined by Mary Cayan, Laurie Phillips and Dorothy Greenaway. The three women met in 2000 at a leadership program conducted by California based company Co-Active Space. As part of the program, participants were tasked with creating a leadership project that reflected their personal values and gifts. The group chose their mission: to create public art projects that give voice and visibility to the stories, dreams, fears and hopes of children around the world. To seek to exalt children’s presence in the cultural consciousness so that they are fully seen and heard. They called themselves Lartivists, to express their identity as Leaders who use Public Art as a vehicle for Activism. Griselda Pollack, art historian and critic, writes: “in our current culture, you will not be represented politically unless you are represented visually.” Public art is a gift that all people can bring to the world and can experience in the world. Like music, visual art is a powerful universal language. The original Lartivist group soon expanded as other gifted artist leaders were inspired to participate. They have completed two project to date. The first Lartivist project was conceived in May of 2000 and launched in 2001 in St. Paul, Minnesota. The Story Leaf Project involved over 180 children (ages 8-12) from Mississippi Creative Arts, Saturn Riverfront and Woodbury Elementary schools, representing a vast range of cultures, languages and perspectives.
The KidMAIL Art Exchange was the second community project of the Lartivists, launched in 2002. In the face of the horrific events of Sept. 11, 2001, and recognizing more than ever the importance of connecting with our diverse community around the world, the Lartivists decided to create an international community project. “The international postal art network provides a model for communication across boundaries that separate us. Postal art has proven to be an effective tool to promote peace, human rights, and mutual understanding between people of diverse backgrounds. The free exchange of ideas that is a cornerstone of this participatory network provides a greater awareness of other cultures. The concept of art-as-gift is a much needed one on this planet at this time. The rich history of shared acts of creativity from making dinner to making mail art needs to be revived and examined as a strategy for bringing meaning into our lives." Partnerships were created among students in Canadian, American and some overseas schools (including Public School # 8 in New York City, where children witnessed the second plane crashing into the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001 and schools in Egypt, Ghana and other locations). Work with the children took place between January and May of 2002 and the resulting artwork of The KidMail Art Exchange– exhibited at the Koch Interantional Children's Festival presented by Ordway Center for the Perfoming Arts in St. Paul, MN and at Ontario Place in Toronto, in May and June of 2002. We believe that Lartivism as a concept is rich and full of potential as a force for positive change in the world. Our vision is to see people everywhere claim the title “Lartivist” and live into the power of the term. If you embrace the Lartivist mission, you are already a Lartivist. LifeScapers celebrates the work of Lartivists everywhere and the difference you are making in the world.
We invite you to send us your stories of Lartivism in action so that we can post them here as an inspiration to other would be Lartivists. Send your stories to info @ lifescapers.com and include the word Lartivist in your subject line.
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