Who gets to dream


Hello, darlings, looking fabulous as always.

Protest is in the air these days. People are in motion everywhere. And the energy of this moment is very “counter”, very much about stopping, denying, ending. Stays, injunctions, blockades, occupations and more.

Change is never easy, and often begins with fighting and resistance. But once the fighting is done, the enemy defeated, what next? The energy and purpose around tearing down are fierce and seductive—addictive even. But it is only part of a greater whole. To focus on only the initial burst of destructive energy is not likely to end well. There has to be something after. Think of fires that clear the way for new growth.

It’s easy to define what you’re against, but what are you for? What if, instead of fighting, you started building? What if building is fighting? Sounds lovely, right? Of course, you then have to know what you’re building. You need a plan, started from an idea or desire. You need a starting point that emerges from a mysterious realm called imagination.

Let’s turn to nature again for a little inspiration via analogy.

Nature has no boundaries, no clear beginnings and endings. Things, us included, are always in flux. This applies as much to the society and institutions we create as anything physical or material. Imagine a garden, the meeting point par excellence of nature and culture. Sure the garden needs weeding, but it’s not just the weeds, is it? You gotta plant something too or you don’t have a garden. What’s more, consider the role of discernment (i.e. decision making and recognition) in cultivating things: what’s a plant and what’s a weed?

That’s the personal garden of imagination. But that garden is part of a larger, shared garden world. Imagination may generally be conceived of as individual, but is it perhaps more social than we realize, or are allowed to realize? This is but one of the many themes explored in Ruha Benjamin’s short but powerful book Imagination: A manifesto.

Yes darlings, a manifesto! No outfit is truly complete without one.

She guides us into a variety of considerations on how our imaginations are shaped by socialization, i.e. power structures that we have little to no influence over during our formative years. As babies, we trust what’s before us completely, absorbing everything indiscriminately. Only later do have the opportunity—not to mention capacity— to discern and reflect, to exercise the imagination. But, much of that imagination was already set in place and we can easily replicate harmful things.

Thankfully, it’s not fixed at all. That’s the beauty of imagination, it so often defies attempts at control. Certainly, there’s momentum, inertia to overcome. And, yes, darlings, that shit is hard and life is tiring. But we persist and books like this remind us of not just the importance but also the joy, of continually cultivating our own gardens of the imagination.

I think it’s clear the import of such ideas for the makers of culture, like yours truly. We are the workers of the imagination, the builders of dreams. If we don’t stop to ask ourselves, and ask ourselves often, what are we building and why then we could be holding up a deeply harmful and injust status quo. Or, we could be working toward dismantling those systems of harm by offering compelling alternatives. I try to let these glorious alternatives of love, compassion, and justice infuse all my work. Hopefully, I’m thereby infecting you with the same dangerous ideas!

Near the end of the book, Benjamin quotes filmmaker Alex Rivera who sums it up nicely: “The battle over real power tomorrow begins with the struggle over who get to dream today.” So, darlings, dream beautifully and powerfully. But also dream critically. Examine your dreams and desires carefully. Our dreams, for better or worse, want to be real and use us as their way into the world. We are as much conduits as we are creators. We must ask ourselves, what is it that’s coming through us into the world?

Until next time, flame on! 🔥

AboutArt for Sale

100 Park Terrace West, 1A, New York, NY 10034
Unsubscribe · Preferences