Make Art Like You Care

"Artists to my mind are the real architects of change, and not the political legislators who implement change after the fact."
- William S. Burroughs

Welcome to my blog on art and activism. This space is dedicated to artists who are making art that is both visually engaging and conceptually focused on issues of social importance. In short, art that seeks to make the world a better place. Be prepared to be challenged, provoked, and hopefully inspired.

Name: Todd Drake
Occupation: Artist and arts educator
Location: North Carolina, USA
Websites: http://todddrake.wordpress.com and
See bottom of this page for email contact
Current Projects:/
http://www.muslimselfportrait.info

There is a thing in me that dreamed of trees,
A quiet house, some green and modest acres
A little way from every troubling town,
A little way from factories, schools, laments.
I would have time, I thought, and time to spare,
With only streams and birds for company,
To build out of my life a few wild stanzas.

And then it came to me, that so was death,
A little way from everywhere.
There is a thing in me still dreams of trees.
But let it go. Homesick for moderation,
Half the world’s artists shrink or fall away.

If any find solution, let him tell it.
Meanwhile I bend my heart toward lamentation
Where, as times implore our true involvement,
The blades of every crisis point the way.
I would it were not so, but so it is.
Who ever made music of a mild day?

"If you ask me what I came to do in the world, I, an artist, will answer you: I came here to live out loud. "

- Emile Zola

"Your work showcasing contemporary arts and activism is so refreshing and necessary, a calm to divisiveness and a balm to the spirit. I very much appreciate you tracking our work and the work of so many committed artists in a culture desperate for truth, beauty and grace.
Thank you ever so much.
Please keep up your excellent work.

Muchos Gracias,"

Valarie James
http://www.lasmadresproject.org/

"Recently heard from a guy named Lucas who has a magazine called Roots. He's found a place for our tiered justice installation. He saw us first on your blog site. Want to say thank you." -Frances 

"There is always a moment in any kind of struggle when one feels in full bloom. Vivid. Alive. One might be blown to bits in such a moment, and still be at peace....To be such a person or to witness anyone at this moment of transcendent presence is to know that what is human is linked, by daring compassion, to what is divine." 

"El hombre es solo la mitad de si mismo: la otra mitad es su expresion."