A couple things. . .

. . . the program on this coming Friday evening will start at 6:50, not 7:30, to accommodate Senator Haywood who will speak. He has been an unflagging supporter of the project and advocate for gun sense. We hope you will join us!

I also want to share with you the letter I wrote just now to the New York Times. They had a section in today’s paper about activist art and I had to respond. Here is what I wrote:

To the Editor:

Thank you for the Fine Arts and Exhibits section in today's newspaper which featured the headline "Art Takes a Stand" and the excellent articles about activism on various fronts in the art world.

As a fine artist I worked for many decades before discovering a calling that went beyond the cultivating of my own techniques and approaches to my art. In this frightening time in this country, and on earth, I am continuously amazed at the power and effect of art and I regret not searching out this voice earlier.

I run an activist artists' project where fine artists are randomly paired with family members of victims of gun violence. The artists learn about the victim and create a portrait, broadly defined, to celebrate the life of the loved one. The project focuses on the lives lived before the violence ended them or altered them forever. The resulting exhibitions of portraits - the third edition of the project premieres this coming Friday - is powerful. I have yet to meet someone who has experienced the original art and not been moved to take action. The exhibitions are invitational, rather than confrontational, and bring viewers to a place of empathy in a way that news reports, statistics, and photographs cannot.

Many have told us that the project reminds them of the AIDS quilt. We do illuminate the lives of those lost daily to gun violence and those souls represent another group that is often blamed for their fate as are AIDS victims. The mass shootings grab headlines and are horrific, but the daily carnage is overlooked or dismissed.

The original inspiration for the project came from seeing the portraits made by the artist Daniel Heyman who makes portraits of victims of abuse.

We are currently based in Philadelphia but hope to expand to other communities and cities throughout the country.

Thank you, again, for your coverage of activist art.

Sincerely,

Laura Madeleine

I am so grateful to all the artists who donate their talents and time to this project and to the families and friends of the victims who so bravely share their stories.