Artistic Mandate

My last university assignment was to write my artistic mandate.  This is meant to be measuring stick from which to hold up all future projects, shows, and endeavours to ensure I am doing meaningful, life giving work.  It is important to note that this is an evolving document- even in the month since I wrote this, I have found things I would change.

My encouragement to you is to write your personal mandate.  Whether you are in arts or accounting, being able to articulate what you believe and support is important.  Whether you are faced with big decisions or seemingly insignificant decisions, use your mandate to guide you.  Live intentionally.

My Artistic Mandate

The Vision:

When I dare to dream about my possible future, I see myself doing very physically engaging, thought provoking, truth revealing, and, sometimes painfully, piercing work.  I acknowledge this need in me as an innate desire to create: this mandate is my resolve to nurture my creative passions.  I want to tell stories with the entirety of my body; movement as a language is a knowledge I wish to cultivate.  It is important to me to be a part of creating new Canadian works of art because I believe Canadian artists have unique stories to tell and must do so in creatively and aesthetically stimulating ways.  I place great importance on older, established artists mentoring younger ones. 

The Mission:

I believe in the power of story telling.  I believe that it has the ability to transform lives—both the act of doing theatre and the act of participating as an audience member.  I believe story telling is an integral part of all cultures and must be cultivated and respected.  Stories are powerful because they reflect to humanity what we can become and what we should beware of becoming; truths revealed that we might not have otherwise known.  It is this truth telling that I wish to develop to the best of my ability in myself and then use to empower other people.

The act of making art exposes a society to itself.  Art brings things to light.  It illuminates us.  It sheds light on our lingering darkness.  It casts a beam into the heart of our own darkness and says, “See?”- Julia Cameron

The Mandate:

As an artist, I commit myself to:

-       Life affirming work- art that is redemptive, upholds hope, asks difficult questions without feeding easy answers, and challenges the status quo.

-       Collaboration- working/exploring with other artists to create a collective piece of art.  This includes artists from other disciplines.  I commit myself to cultivating a spirit of collaboration, whether it is a devised piece or someone else’s words.

-       Mentorship- I will find mentors both in my profession and personal life to guide me and encourage me when I get discouraged.  I will seek out those younger than me and invest my time and my self into their development and well-being.

Art lies in the moment of encounter: we meet our truth and we meet ourselves; we meet ourselves and we meet our self expression.  We become original because we become something specific: an origin from which work flows – Julia Cameron

Artistic Values:

I value…

1.     Redemptive stories.

This does not necessarily mean stories with happy endings, rather, it means that the story as a whole does not reflect a despairing and hopeless worldview.  I believe in the hope, truth, beauty, and light that humans are capable of creating.

2.     Art as worship

May my art making always be a fragrant offering to the One who calls me to create.  I trust that if I am open to the power of the resurrection in my life, that God will and does come and join the creative process.

The driving force of God that plunges through me is what I live for – Martha Graham

3.     My Passions, Intrigues, and Abilities

I will pursue that which inspires, captivates, and motivates me without hindrance or worry of what the future brings.  This is not abandonment of responsibility but an acknowledgement of a gift and a commitment to the worthwhile nurturing of the impulse that spurs me to create.

4.     Other Artists

Although isolation is a necessary and healthy part of the creative process, one who stays continually isolated amongst their work is no longer a help to themselves or others.  I recognize my need for others and obligate myself to the artistic community around me.   

The horror of life and an ecstatic awareness of the joys of living, may be true, of every creative intelligence—and from the resultant conflict may arise the state of mind that impels an artist towards aesthetic activity

- Martha Graham