When I was passed a flier that promoted the ‘Skid Row Art Festival’ I was honestly taken by surprise! I had not thought about Skid Row as a community that appreciated and gave focus to the arts. After going to the karaoke night, I was able to see a lot of people who were quite talented. This was a fantastic opportunity for residents to express these talents in a productive and positive way.
Throughout my week in LA, I saw so may different types of artistic talent. Some of which were singers and dancers, painters, and musicians. The arts festival was taking place on a Saturday and included local bands with food, dancing, singing and all of the fun that a community festival wouldn’t be without. This reminded me about the need for all people to want to be in the company of others and laugh and enjoy themselves.
Although I was not able to attend, I can only imagine what a success that it must have been. I was talking with a gentlemen at the karaoke night about this event and I was so happy that he reached out to me inviting our group, who he had never met before. This was a beautiful act of welcoming us into the community. I have seen so many acts of generosity and people from the Skid Row community willing to talk to me and our group about the community and all that it has to offer. So many outside people have preconceived notions of what type of place Skid Row is like. I see part of if, from my experiences, as a vibrant community of artists who are very willing to share their talents.
I would love to work with an organization in Chicago to have an arts event that caters to an underprivileged an marginalized population. I think that this population in Chicago is often overlooked since this it is very spread out throughout the city. Please share with me any organizations that have similar events or if you think that an event would work like this in Chicago. It is definitely a very different atmosphere from Skid Row.
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