Art is in everything

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JustJamaal ThePoet (Jamaal Jackson Rogers)

….Earlier this year, the Council commissioned Jamaal Jackson Rogers (stage name JustJamaal ThePoet), a nationally recognized independent artist, creative entrepreneur and arts educator, to create and present a poem to open the Council's 2020 Arts Awards. When we approached Jamaal about adapting the piece that could no longer be publicly presented, he graciously accepted and produced this groundbreaking work for us to share with you entitled Art is in Everything. ..Au début de cette année, le Conseil a commandé Jamaal Jackson Rogers (nom professionnel JustJamaal ThePoet) — un artiste de renommé national, entrepreneur créatif et éducateur artistique — pour la création et la présentation d’un poème pour l’ouverture de la Remise des prix des arts 2020. Lorsque nous avons approché Jamaal pour adapter son œuvre qui n’a pas peut être présenté publiquement, il l’a gracieusement accepté et nous a produit le poème novateur « Art is in Everything » pour partager avec vous. ….

…. ..Veuillez noter que le poème est présenté dans la langue originale pour préserver l’intention de l’artiste. ….

"Art Is In Everything" written and read by JustJamaal ThePoet with music by Sina Bathaie.

Art is in everything

Art is in everything
The long walks to reclaim the vivid sunset of our imaginations
The stop sign at our favoured country side intersection
where the corn fields meet the blue green hues of mighty spruce trees

It is in the reckless abandon of dilapidated barn yards and neglected playgrounds
The ghosts that haunt the intuition of our lost dreams
The ditch filled with foamed memories that cradle our wishes to sleep
and the night that sings soft lullabies under moonlit nebulous skies

It is in the connection that longs for touch
The wifi that turns wary eyes to screens
The screams for heart to hearts and soothing conversations
just so we can sample a taste of normalcy

It is the web
The contract for human contact
The thread that hangs like an acrobat
on your perfect worn in jeans
You wear them often - so you don't ever forget how it feels to rehearse gratitude
and what it means to capture a snippet of absolute satisfaction

It is the rinse and repeat in your tye dye smile
The music sheet of life
Gifting us the privilege to conduct joy anew
Art is inspirational food for the soul
The leftover from yesterday's genius elders
and the promise of tomorrow's innovative youth

It is the dismantling of internal wars
The nurturing of awkward innocence
The remedy for our inner child to come alive and explore
The light that guides us from a space of darkness and insecurity
to a place of belonging and safety

Art is the laughter to avoid despair
The distractions to count our attractions
The caption below our autobiographical footnotes
"as long as you continue to create, you ARE the art, so the art you make will always be great.”

It is the soliloquy of solitude sitting in an empty studio
The stretch of mind-body rituals
The sacred monologue that speaks power to your poetic truth
The sweet supplement for when life feels like a bitter lesson on existing

Art is the fantasy that clips dragon wings from a pen dipped in ink
The fairies that tell tales of urgency in their own voice
The magi that breaks the third wall between reader, writer and narrator

It is the key to your romantic symphony
The lust that fuels the ‘must’ in all of us
A desire to be cast in a role that was made specifically for us to play

It is in everything
Like plunging into an ocean of fresh air post COVID
And holding your breath to savor the moment
It is inside the walls of ‘welcome home’ celebrations
The bike rides across pristine waters that canvas serene bridges

It is in the surrender
Of breeze to leaves - leaves to trees - trees to earth - earth to seed
Sitting in between what is already complete
and the tinkering of a masterpiece
The toe tap before the dancer takes a leap of faith
Onto the stage - studied from the page
Seized from a young age by lucid landscapes
Plastered on graffiti walls and scrawled on recital halls
Released from a vault of time that immortalizes our creativity with a statement that reads:
“WE WERE ONCE HERE”

Art survives
It never dies
Its beauty weaves its way into our lives so that it can be honoured and recognized
All so we can express our respect for passion materialized
on the outside
and realize
that art
is in everything
and everything
is Art