“The Art of the Protest” at Hi Desert Artists Gallery aims for “happy chaos” in the spirit of creative dissent
Mojave Safe Writers and the Desert Writers Guild present The Art of the Protest event at Hi-Desert Artists in Yucca Valley from 3:00-5:00 this Saturday (April 25). Reporter Gabriel Hart spoke to event organizer Greg Gilbert to find out more about the event that aims to celebrate the creative exuberance within the spirit of protest.
Former Copper Mountain College Board of Trustee President (and founder of CMC’s HOWL journal) Greg Gilbert now spends his time working with Mojave Sage Writers, a local group of authors who aim “to connect readers with writers.” Because the group will often include interdisciplinary work, Gilbert brought in one of his protest posters used at the No King’s rally at the group’s February meeting, and it instantly got people talking.
“I showed them the poster and it animated the whole room. There were twenty of us there and they all talked about the world we’re living in. A time when artists, poets, writers, and other people who have a pretty good grasp of social economic issues should speak up. This would be something that we do through our signs when we stand on corners but there’s other forms of being heard, and that’s our poems, our essays, and our prose in general,” said Gilbert.
Gilbert approached Hi-Desert Artists with a gathering in mind, where people could bring in their posters, do spoken word, offer prayer, sing their lyrics, or anything they want that would express their feelings on the First Amendment and the pursuit of happiness for all. His pitch was met with enthusiasm and planning the Art of the Protest event was soon underway.
While the event is open to all with an open mic, featured writers and artists include Gilbert, Ruth Nolan, Starflower Thompson, Patricia Morton, Jennifer Germano, Cindy Rinne, Jennifer Palmer-Lacy, James DaSilva, and Rich Soos of local publishing house Cholla Needles.
“We just hope we have happy chaos and that it turns into a bit of a happening,” says Gilbert. “This sounds political but more than being political it’s just simply about what we do as Americans. I have asked the people at Hi- Desert Artists how they would feel if people representing other views arrived and wanted to share their materials and they’re certainly welcome. So I think Hi Desert Artists is like a number of institutions throughout our community that believes in free expression and it believes in being there for all of us.”
Because he was raised in the 50s and saw the act of protest continue through the 60s to the present, I asked Gilbert how he’s witnessed that spirit change through the years.
“I am seeing a multigenerational presence that I don’t recall in the 60s. I do remember in the 60s, at least the people that inspired me, were the socialists from the 30s and 40s who stood up against big money back during the Gilded Age and I think we had maybe a four or five generational kind of span of memory and we have to learn these things all over again. One thing that hasn’t changed is the joy the people seem to bring to the protest. You know, the whistles, the posters and the singing together seem to be constant. It’s a celebration of freedom which I appreciate.”
The Art of the Protest starts at 3:00 p.m. this Saturday at Hi-Desert Artists, located at 55635 Twentynine Palms Hwy in Yucca Valley. The event is free and open to the public.
