Phoenix Rising : L.A. fires from the ashes to the common wealth
By Denise Fairchild
Jan 29, 2025
Disasters open pathways to major transformation. A rising Phoenix, however, must be stimulated to forge the critical reflection, introspection and visioning to emerge from the rubble. The cultural/creative arts community are instrumental for such radical shifts. They can see and animate the problems and solutions in unique ways. The increased frequency and ferocity of climate disasters (and other disruptions) requires that engagement of the cultural arts sector as integral to the relief, recovery and rebuilding efforts.
And they are ready to serve. Musicians, theater performers, artists, on-line radio producers, and others are doing what they do best to help L.A. recover from the climate fires. They are healing; providing solace and trauma support through crafting and story-telling. They are performing to raise relief funds. This includes star-stunned big stage events, like FirstAid. But just as significant are community-based, small venue events. An endless stream of jazz musicians gifted their talents for 3 hours at the World Stage in Leimert Park to help suffering musicians. The event also unified and uplifted LA’s diverse communities. As one fire victim in the audience articulated ‘this is the best I have felt in two weeks. I just want to play the piano’. The response and outpouring of support have been tremendous.
More significant conversations are emerging, however, beyond these standard ways that creatives show up in crises. A collective of cultural artists gathered around soup, stories and strategies to respond to mother earth’s ‘wakeup call’ to reharmonize our connections with her. It is critical to put people’s lives back as quickly as possible. But the discussions to ‘Build Back Better’ is more than fast tracking and fire-resistant building materials. LA’s creatives are concerned about larger cultural shifts needed to mitigate, adapt to and be resilient in the face of environmental disasters. We cannot engineer our way out of today’s climate crises. A new cultural grounding is essential.
This informal and growing collective of creatives is going deep – looking at LA’s cultural, social and economic infrastructure. The property and economic devastation from the fires is a gateway to political education about the ‘commons’ - a non-monetary, communal approach to provisioning and land-use. Now is the time to rethink our land and economic beliefs, policies and practices.
The cultural sector can play a critical role in re/storing communal consciousness and practices. They can animate “vernacular spaces” - informal cultural zones/spaces where people naturally come together and connect civic assets with ecological and economic needs. Activating cooperative spaces such as community gardens, parks, public kitchens, quilting and sewing circles, repair hubs, urban forests and other eco-spaces can go a long way to foster regenerative relationships, the spirit of collaborative learning and work, while mitigating and adapting to major disruptions.
~ by Denise Fairchild ~
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