These past weeks we hit pause and took some time. Like many of you, DRMTM stopped to reflect on the changes life is showing us and how to keep moving forward in active, radical love. We are convinced THIS IS IT. No going back, world. The old ways don’t get it on so many levels. Goodbye and Good Riddance.

It’s time to get on with it, so The Silver Lining is switching from keeping spirits up during quarantine to rallying around each other to bring desperately-needed arts + culture back to our communities. We’ll be dropping this letter on the last Wednesday of the month.

LOOK WHO’S BOLD AF

Honest, healing art and history. Two antebellum plantation descendants came together to honor their shared heritage and the unspoken voices of the enslaved African Americans who were the heart of the home for generations in Migratuse Ataraxia at Klein Plantation. Witness how Alabama’s Wideman Davis Dance Company brings audiences right into the true human emotion and story of their performance.

WHAT NOW? BEING THE HUMAN IN HUMANITIES

We think it’s the end of June, but who really knows. But we do see signs that people are trying to get back to real work, whether that means staggered schedules in offices, social distancing in community spaces, or whatever brilliant ideas creatives are coming up with. Just remember: you don’t need to do everything all at once. Things are not “back to normal” and SHOULD NEVER go “back to normal.” This is a good thing.

We’re learning some valuable lessons and refocusing priorities. So ease back in and let your people know the lights are on, the coffee is brewing and damn it, the sun is going to shine on a better day. Keep it real and human when communicating and simply stay in front of your community with a smile and say “hey, we’re here for you.”

Need help doing this? DRMTM stands ready to talk about whatever will help you get back to doing what you love, which is bringing arts + culture to the people. You can reach out to us by email by clicking on our names.

Show us how you’re staying positive and creative. Post your Insta photos with the hashtag #drmtmsilverlining and we’ll share the love.

Keep it DRMY ’til next week,
Surale + Laura + Cheryl
Research + Messaging + Design

If you don’t want different, you don’t want DRMTM.thedrmtm.com

If you’re looking for the silver lining this week, it’s glowing a beautiful, bold shade of blended skin tones. We are moved and humbled by the unified voices for justice and human rights in the wake of the horrific murder of George Floyd.

We are also proud of the place the arts hold in paying tribute to the life of our lost brother and the countless Black victims and hundreds of years of oppression his death represents. Demonstration murals are becoming places of public gathering, solidarity, memorials, and maybe even some healing.

On the famous Graffiti Bridge in Pensacola, Florida, artwork typically lasts less than eight hours before being painted over by the next spray can-wielding expressionist. Recently an extraordinary image of George Floyd was painted on Graffiti Bridge, but shortly afterward was defamed with splashes of ugly brown paint that was intentionally racist. The artist repainted, and the mural has since been protected around the clock from vandals by the city’s people and has hosted peaceful demonstrations and candlelight vigils nightly.

No doubt this scene will soon dissipate as the bridge’s tradition of ever-changing illustrations returns. But for a brief moment there was a pause. Not because the art itself was more valuable than the life it represented, but it did what art is supposed to do: lay bare the human condition in all its forms.

Black America hears us when we all stand up and speak out for them. Help us listen, learn, and push your voice to the top. Stay strong, stay safe, stay well and spread love, DREAMERS.

Keep it DRMY ’til next week,
Surale + Laura + Cheryl
Research + Messaging + Design

If you don’t want different, you don’t want DRMTM.thedrmtm.com