Give Light - Night 3
THIS HANUKKAH, GIVE LIGHT.
This year, enjoy eight gifts of imagination from Reboot’s culture creators. We asked our community to share the music, art and ideas giving them light right now. We will share those gifts with you in hopes you will find your own light and pass it along.
From December 10-18, we will offer quick bits of content to read, watch and hear - along with recommendations of places that need your light.
Night 3 - The Light Within
Olivia Guterson and Laura Earle
We are thrilled to bring you the work of Olivia Guterson in her hometown of Detroit to shine Hanukah’s 3rd night of lights on those families impacted by Covid-19.
“Having homelessness being something that has impacted and still impacts my family, it is important to me to raise awareness of the problem and work toward support and solutions.” - Olivia Guterson.
This summer, a Homeless Action Network of Detroit study found that 311 families and 556 single individuals are or were housing insecure and seeking support. With the impacts of COVID-19, the number is likely to increase.
Guided by her practice of moving meditation to process lived experience and give shape to the intentions and hopes Guterson has for the world, along with fellow Jewish artist Laura Earle, she designed and constructed solar-powered, recycled paper lanterns with the goal of shining light on the homeless in Detroit. The lanterns will raise awareness and funding for additional resources and support. Their interpretation of growth, resilience, and hope is embedded in the pattern of the lanterns.The lanterns will live among us unlit during the day and at night serve as beacons of light, beauty, hope, and a reminder that there are no throw-away people or resources. If you are interested in learning more, please email her at missoliviarae@gmail.com.
Olivia Guterson is an interdisciplinary artist, born in Gallup, New Mexico and based in Detroit, Michigan. She is deeply influenced by the textures, landscapes, and patterns of her upbringing in the Southwest, as well as her Jewish and African heritage.She works predominantly in black and white for its stability, intensity, and honesty while incorporating ancestral patterns and narratives.Olivia studied at Evergreen State College, Washington State. In 2020, she curated her first exhibition,The Space Between at the Ann Arbor Art Center. She is currently a resident at Sibyls Shrine and AS220’s Practice//Practice. Private and public collections of her works can be found: Detroit Art Collection at the Library Street Collective; Shinola Hotel; ROI in Jerusalem, Israel. Her work has been shown at the Arab American National Museum, Art Week Miami, JADA Art Fair, Norwest Gallery, Detroit Artist Market, Ann Arbor Art Center, and more.
Laura Earle’s work explores interactivity – how the attitude and shape of an exhibit or an artwork sculpts our internal and external space, and how our internal space shapes our attitudes and actions. She makes exhibits and artwork that invite people into a larger narrative, to consider pivot points. Earle is interested in how art starts a conversation and becomes a catalyst for building community and shifting meaning. These sculpted conversations focus on social justice issues such as gender equality (Dear Womanhouse), racial equality (Unraveling Racism: Seeing White) and reversing global warming (Drawdown).
And if you want to give some light…
Homeless Action Network of Detroit (HAND)
HAND is a resource in Detroit working for solutions to the problem of homelessness and advocating on behalf of those who are homeless. Since 1996, HAND has served as the lead entity for the Continuum of Care for the cities of Detroit, Hamtramck, and Highland Park, Michigan. It works with a wide range of organizations, including service providers, community development organizations and local, state, and federal government entities to find and implement solutions to homelessness in the community and to move forward its 10-Year Plan to End Homelessness. Learn more at www.handetroit.org