My Hope, Our Hope is an Unstoppable Voters Project – a series of Center for Artistic Activism supported works that ensure every vote is counted in the 2020 U.S. election, relieve tension, and build healthy institutions in the aftermath.
My Hope, Our Hope
A call to Artists, Teachers, Organizers, Community Members and Leaders, Students, Young and Old in all 50 states! ALL are welcome to participate. My Hope, Our Hope is an invitation to pause and reflect on what matters most to us, and what we hope for – for ourselves, our communities, and this country. We are making and sharing hope flags. Hope is not frivolous. If we are to sustain our work in creating the world we want to see, we need a fierce clarity of vision to orient ourselves. Hope is essential. Our votes will decide who our next leaders will be. We acknowledge the fear, uncertainty, and anxiety about what comes next. As we patiently wait for the election’s outcome, we exercise our freedom of speech by voicing our dreams and hopes on these flags. Our hopes motivate and connect us. Our hopes matter. We lift up our hope flags, together – a nationwide intention for the future of our country.
Organized by Desiree Aspiras
Desiree Aspiras (she/her/hers) is an educator, therapist, and printmaker in San Diego who deeply values how art can transform us and connect us to meaning. Her printmaking and book arts projects have been exhibited in spaces in San Diego, including the Athenaeum Art Center. Prior to becoming a therapist, she was a fundraising professional in arts organizations such as the Orange County Performing Arts Center and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. She earned her Masters in Marital and Family Therapy from the University of San Diego and BA in Political Science from UCLA. She now currently teaches counseling courses to masters level students, provides therapy in a small private practice, and has a family with two young boys.
Unstoppable voters projects throughout the country relieve tensions and look to the future as every vote is counted
Experts predict that election returns will be slow and chaotic. Artists are preparing by answering critical questions: How can we counter tension, fear and potential violence? How do we inspire resilience and hope to defend the basic tenets of democracy? How do we respond with so many unknown factors?
The Center for Artistic Activism’s Unstoppable Voters Project has gathered a group of artists and culture makers who know how to transform emotions and support a weary nation through early voting and the transfer of power during a challenging election season. As the nation awaits election results and their aftermath, projects will help folks relieve tension on the streets, at counting sites and in their homes, with Counting Cheerleaders, the creation of Social Emergency Response Centers, of-the-moment songs created and distributed by the Peace Poets, and continued performances by Emergency Circus and dancing mailboxes Delivering Democracy, among other projects.
