“WE ARE CONNECTED” ART EXHIBIT opened on Friday, February 10th at the Monongalia Arts Center, downtown, Morgantown. The exhibit will run until March 4th, 2017.
“WE ARE ALL CONNECTED” PSALM ART EXHIBIT is a look at the interconnectedness of life and the need to abolish landmines and cluster munitions.
The theme for our art exhibit is inspired by a quote attributed to Native American Chief Seattle, “Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together. All things are connected.”
“What We Do to One, We Do to All…What We Do for One, We Do for All”
When we recognize that we are all connected, we begin to understand that our life touches more people than we can ever know. The question is not if we are making a difference, but rather what kind of difference are we making? We are not alone on the journey through life — we are all connected at some level — that the actions of one person can affect another person, which, in turn, affects another and yet another. We see this “connectedness” is how these weapons affect people and their environments around the world. We also see it in the work of the international community of people that comprise the campaigns to rid the world of these weapons. This vast global community that make up the International Campaign to Ban Landmines and Cluster Munitions, along with survivors, share strategies and work together to ensure that affected regions have the capacity to reach their goals. Our exhibit hopes to demonstrate that we are truly connected…to each other and the environment.
Since the inception of PSALM, students have used their many gifts and talents to raise awareness about world issues that concern them. PSALM students have arranged a display shadow boxes that connect to one another, symbolically representing our connectedness in life. The colorful artworks were made to be attractive in a way that would entice viewing yet confront the observer with difficult issues, namely the remnants of war and conflicts that affect the most vulnerable of the world today. Artworks will also address environmental concerns of these remnants of war. A paper “weaving” will also serve as a reminder of “woven web of life” and of the need to work together to resolve these pressing issues of our world today. Gallery visitors will be asked to join in the artmaking by choosing a strip of painted papers from a basket and weave it into artworks on display. The result being a “work in progress” that the visitors attending the exhibit can participate in…one that won’t be completed until the show has ended.
March 1st 2017 marks the 18th anniversary of the entry into force of the Mine Ban Treaty and the founding of the PSALM organization, member of WVCBL.