ArtConversations is a multimedia dialogue for an increasingly pluralistic society to share thoughtful meditations on social and political issues.

By bringing together art reflecting diverse perspectives, we hope to create new possibilities for understanding and inspire collaboration on a shared vocabulary to explore our problems. The guiding premise of this project is that the history, rituals, stories and music along with personal experiences inspire the artist, either consciously or subconsciously, in the creative process. By engaging in a dynamic exchange between artists and their varied expressions, viewers can develop deeper, more meaningful insights that will broaden understanding.

In a world reeling from wars in Afghanistan and Syria, political and social upheaval in the Middle East, debates about abortion, same-sex marriage, and government surveillance, each of us is compelled to contemplate his or her interpretation of public and personal freedoms, even as we grapple with others’ possibly different understandings of the concept. To move this engagement forward, ArtConverstions is working to identify artists and other interested members of the community to participate in an exhibit that explores nuanced definitions of freedom.

The web site www.artconversations.org is being developed to organize an exhibit titled odyssey of freedom.

Over the past five years, I have curated exhibits addressing questions about identity, jealousy and envy, humiliation and the enemy, boundaries blurred, broken and forged as well as freedom through the Museum of Imajewnation. Founded as “a museum without walls,” I have curated these exhibits in a number of different venues, and I am looking to expand this conversation. My calls for participation have attracted the interest of artists not only from the greater Saint Louis region but also from eight other states and five countries. The culmination of one exhibit was the placement of sculpture by a St. Louis artist in the National 9/11 Memorial Museum in New York, and I envision ArtConversations as a way to continue to this outreach.

We invite your interest and participation in creating our inaugural exhibit. Please contact me if you have questions or comments. We look forward to hearing from you.