In this entry, Jacob discusses the interconnectedness of grief and joy and the effect that relationship has on community-building.

Some topics covered:
• Loss
• “Leading through vulnerability”
• Our friends at Queer Headed
• Creating temporary alternative worlds
• The timeless way of building

In this letter, Jacob shares some of the community’s thoughts on how to lessen the impact of the judgmental voices we hear when creating our art. Also, he ponders a few ways we can work together in our meeting spaces each month to use community as a method of diffusing fear.

A few powerful quotes from the meeting:
• “Forty thousand people live in this city. Just because we don’t know who the artists are doesn’t mean they aren’t here.”
• “Open dialogue invites vulnerability and authenticity.”
• “Who are you speaking for and why are you speaking for them?”

In this opening letter and the blog’s very first recap, Jacob introduces their thoughts on how a blog could benefit the Artist Meetups by extending community-making out past the walls of the CRIL space.

Mentioned (in no particular order):
• bell hooks
• Mutual aid
• Ross Gay’s “Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude”
• Impermanence vs. improvisation
• What it means to feel like we are “surviving” and how we can make it easier for each other