This was a fun and wide ranging conversation with visual artist Kim Powers! Kim shares with us the importance of storytelling and the ways that our stories can either bring us together or tear us apart. We talk about why art and beauty matters, particularly when everything feels kind of dark and the importance of finding the wholeness of all the things. Kim invites us to make room for the fullness of others, and in doing so, we also make room for the fullness of ourselves.
Cool stuff we talked about this episode (or meant to anyways):
Art Sanctuary by Nikki Giovanni
How to Die Alone
Adrienne Maree Brown
Kim’s gorgeous website
How to Bridge Deep Divides with Loved Ones - Ted Talk with Betty Hart
Chapters 00:00 The Power of Art as Sanctuary 02:39 Creative Pilgrimage and Personal Journeys 05:29 Storytelling as a Connective Tissue 08:13 The Nature of Pilgrimage 10:52 Spirituality and Creativity Intertwined 13:19 Navigating Foreign Lands in Storytelling 16:08 The Wholeness of People in Storytelling 18:55 Safety and Fear in Narrative 21:38 Creating Tension vs. Fear in Theater 24:25 The Impact of Audience Expectations 27:00 Balancing Personal and Professional Life 31:23 Re-centering and Finding Balance 32:42 Guides and Relationships 34:23 The Importance of Connection 36:13 Branching Out and Expanding Worlds 38:04 Creativity and Imagining Possibilities 39:47 Art as a Reflection of Reality 43:50 Balancing Activism and Enjoyment