The Colors of Truth

Date: Saturday, November 16, 2024
Time: 1:00pm to 4:00pm
Location: PUSH Buffalo’s Grant Street Neighborhood Center at 271 Grant Street, Buffalo, NY 14213

What: This workshop brought together our community to feel safe enough to feel and express our emotions related to gun violence and to celebrate the mentors who have shaped our lives.

Activities: We provided supplies for writing, drawing and painting. We use a circle format and mindfulness meditation to ground people in the present moment and encourage them to express themselves. After listening to a poem about mentorship and gun violence, participants were encouraged to express their truth through writing, drawing or painting constantly for 10 minutes to express their thoughts and experiences.

To wrap things up, we hold a sharing circle where each participant is offered the opportunity to share their creations, and to receive only authentic positive reflections from the group. This is a beautiful way to connect, support each other, and remind ourselves that none of us are alone in this journey.

Organizers:

• Agents for Advocacy was founded by Mark Talley out of a deep desire to fight for social and economic justice, to challenge systems of oppression, and to ensure that no one else endures the pain his family and countless others have experienced. Our mission is clear: to create a world where every individual, regardless of their race, ethnicity, or background, can live free from fear and inequality.
• Kind Fools was founded by Hy Carrel and is a program of WNY arts nonprofit Community Canvases. We believe that communities are stronger when every person feels encouraged to express themselves and also feels a responsibility to the community. This workshop is an extension of the intuitive writing format called WRITE ON, which we have offered at over a dozen locations including The BURC, Fitz Books & Waffles, Burning Books, Youth Build, Buffalo City Mission, and Big Big Table. Express your truth, hear with each other.