Upcoming Community Event of Importance
WHO: Deborah Colley, “Letter to Congress: A Wild Sanity”, and Julie Wille, Women for Wild Lands.
WHAT: “Wild Cards to Congress” campaign, and outdoor dance film project letter.
WHERE: https://www.lettertocongressproject.org/
WHEN: June 1-27, The Launchpad, Carbondale, Colorado. The kick-off of the “Wild Cards to Congress” campaign, the end of June.
HOW:
This campaign is calling on all Creatives to advocate for public lands using a series of “Wild Cards” on social media to call citizens to action, and as ads placed in various media and in a publication that will be distributed to stakeholders and lawmakers.
WHY:
Deborah and Julie are both feeling like the citizen’s voice is getting lost amidst fundraising efforts, nonprofit email blasts, petitions, etc. They believe we are at a moment in history where a diverse and deeply expressive and personal collection of voices is key to illustrating to our lawmakers that our public lands are important to every American.
Public comment periods are, historically, a very important process in the management of public lands. Deborah and Julie feel that public comment periods have fallen on deaf ears. So, through this campaign they hope to utilize the power of art to make sure that all concerned voices are heard, seen and felt.
“Perhaps these ‘Wild Cards’ can be a starting place in helping citizens of different backgrounds, passions, and means to connect with the outdoors to find their own words and forms of expression to advocate for the public lands that belong to all of us,” said Deborah.
And through the collection of Wild Cards, we all will deliver a powerful, personal message to lawmakers that our public lands are not only a commodity, but also fundamental to maintaining our American spirit and sanity.
Julie has been communicating with author/poet Terry Tempest Williams about this concept of Wild Cards; she’s this movement’s inspiration.
“In an anthology of stories written by Terry Tempest Williams, An Unspoken Hunger, towards the back of the book, I found “The Wild Card”. It grabbed my fading attention and spoke to my subconscious. My dreams that night were a swirl of cherry bombs, the attacks on our public lands and Terry’s words. My brain was hard at work while I slumbered,” said Julie.
Deborah is organizing an installation version of “Letter To Congress: A Wild Sanity” at the Carbondale Arts Staff Show (June 1-29) where the full film, “Letter To Congress”, will also premiere. Julie is organizing the kick-off of the “Wild Cards to Congress” campaign in the end of June.