The most valuable part to creating art with a civic mission is when people recall it in flash details; they remember the community of thousands that showed up on one evening to see the culmination of months of hard work and planning— they talk to you about the wild energy, the mad passion that the participants were able to experience almost like a history lesson, a by-gone ritual that should have been forgotten.
But they remember.
And the true beauty is when you speak with people that are in charge of your country that not only appreciate the work that truly makes an impact on community, but that they ask to be invited to it. They ask YOU to invite THEM to the work that you’ve committed your life to making, that you can only hope makes a difference, in some way. It’s Art, right? How do you measure it?

A special thank you to Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel for welcoming Redmoon into the West Wing. For asking us to share with him what we’re up to here in Washington, DC and in Chicago… and for wondering if we’ll “ever remount ‘The Cabinet’.” (“We are actually, in 2010, and we might just take over a cemetery…”)

Great thanks to the the Honorable Dick Durbin, Senator from the great State of Illinois, who was so enthusiastic about the possibilities of Redmoon’s “unexpected theater in unexpected locations”, our mission, and all of the images we shared with him— that his next contact with Redmoon will hopefully be at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra – Redmoon’s collaboration at Symphony Hall in December!

Astounding praise for the visionary work of Peter Cunningham and Tim Tuten at the Board of Education. The meeting we spent with them was a grilling that would have made Secretary Duncan proud as we shared the local Neighborhood Arts Programming Redmoon has introduced over the years into the CPS school system. Being able to share the transformative work that Redmoon has implemented at the Audubon Elementary School— the real life stories that our Art Educators and a huge fan of Redmoon’s work, John Price, Principal of Audobon, experienced and shared with us… (We’ll thank Arne Duncan for introducing us to this relationship years ago, tomorrow!)

Thank you to Junior Senator from Illinois, Roland Burris, for his genuine curiosity and his extreme generosity for making time for us in such a busy time at the Senate building. His questions were so intuitive around a subject— theater in Chicago— that he himself admitted was so very new to him.

Carmen Boston and Angela Han of the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies provided such deep insights into the current National Arts Education initiatives that I don’t think there’s enough room on this blog to thank them….

Tomorrow presents another day for Redmoon in Washington, DC. And we haven’t even begun what we were initially invited to come here for…
What was it we were originally invited for…? Hmmmmm.

Check out our Facebook page for more details that might shed some light on it: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=114264&id=656219731&l=09c2e253a7

I’m going to smell the Roses in the Vegetable Garden.