On November 5, 2020, singer and recording artist Niki Haris addressed the 2021 Class of Leadership Augusta on Arts Day. Here is a portion of her speech. The entire speech can be found on the UPW Facebook page.
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First of all, thank you to Leadership Augusta and the Arts Day Committee for allowing me to be here today. Are you sure you want ME to do this talk? I'm not sure you do. After this talk, I expect to receive far fewer Christmas cards this year. This may not be a "fun" speech for some. I want you to know what most artists have been living through has not been FUN....
Are you sure you want to hear from an artist who is still grieving from the deaths of other artists like Bill Withers, Little Richard, Lyle Mays, Betty Wright, Bonnie Pointer and Eddie Van Halen (just to name a few)? These people were a few of my Heroes and Sheroes!! And my world is a little lonelier and darker now, knowing that their human existence is no longer in this realm...
Thank God they left their art....they were valued.
THE ARTIST ... We sing. We dance. We paint. We sculpt. We write. We teach. We play.
But…. what is it like to exist in a world where you are not valued? Or, at the very least, you felt on a daily basis that you were not valued by others? Things you value, you support, and you Fund!! I believe we have driven most artists into a state of crisis - what I have come to learn and call "a death of despair."
Artists are ten times more likely to be unemployed, underemployed and simply have no access to unemployment benefits during these difficult times. This in turn makes them more likely to face evictions and their chances of homelessness are 30% greater than the average citizen.
And yet, they find a way to sing, to dance, to paint, to write, to teach, to practice, to play.
Most Artists I know have NO healthcare. Which means they rarely have any checks on their physical well-being. Many Artists are food insecure and live in places that are commonly known as food deserts and therefore depend on family, friends or community, many of whom are in the same predicament.
Feeling unsupported or encouraged, many artists suffer from what is known as "atomy" or complete breakdowns of the soul. As I said before, despair. Which makes the struggling artist ten times more likely to consider suicide. And even attempt it. You need only to read the autobiographies of some of our finest artists to see this observation is true… Andy Warhol, Paul Robeson, Jackson Pollack, Van Gogh, Judy Garland, Drew Barrymore, Billie Holiday, and even Walt Disney himself to name a few.
I think you would agree with me that all those voices were and ARE, as our government has come to refer, “ESSENTIAL."
The artist was essential on The Titanic as they called musicians to help keep the people calm while trying to load the lifeboats on that doomed voyage. The artist was essential in the ghettos and Holocaust Camps of World War 1. Many times, the ability to play music and entertain was a matter of survival in the camps. An activity that caused some surviving musicians to experience feelings of guilt and depression for the rest of their lives. I remember seeing for the first time "The Problem We All Live With” (Ruby Bridges), the famous 1964 painting by Norman Rockwell. It still endures. What would the Civil Rights Movement be without its Songs of Freedom? Or the echoes of the crowd singing "We Shall Overcome”?
So… how will YOU respond to this Despair?
The Artist does not need "Boutique Activism" that allows people to say they are making a difference while they are really making a killing. Maybe we need heroes? I grew up on a song that asked " Did you ever know you're my hero? You are the wind beneath my wings.”
Well, I don't think the artist needs wind beneath their wings - we already know how to FLY!
We ask you to be the wind at our backs! Support us, encourage us. Be there when we perform. And Yes.... PAY US!!!
I have faith. And faith is the belief "that the good draws to it.” The good. Draw out the good in you and pass it on. And get to work...
Get to work my writers. Before Draconian censorship entwines you and tries to thwart your existence. Ask Primo Levi.
Get to work my dancers. Before someone tells you can't do that on this stage or your dance is vulgar. Ask Martha Graham or Alvin Ailey.
Get to work my painters. Find your own Diego Rivera, Picasso, Romare Bearden or Frida Khalo.
Get to work my musicians. Reach and find your new Nina Simone, John Coltrane, Bob Dylan, Marvin Gaye, or Aretha Franklin.
Get to work my actors. Be a better Paul Robeson, Ozzie Davis, Meryl Streep, or Viola Davis.
Be brave my filmmakers. Before you are put on a “list" or called in to be questioned.
Stay vigilant my photographers. Keep your hand steady. For you ARE our new film makers. For without you we may have never known about Tamir Rice, Eric Garner, Freddie Gray, or George Floyd!!
Yes! Get to work my Artists. Do not despair. Your voices ARE essential!
Yes! We Sing. We Dance. We Paint. We Sculpt. We Strum. We Sew. We Cook. We Write Poetry and Books. We Film. We Plant, and We Grow, and We remember to Play.
Because this IS our work. This is our breath. This is our lives.
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Email: niki@nikiharis.com
Instagram: NikiHarisMusic
FaceBook: OfficialNikiHarisFanpage
FB: NikiHaris (personal page)
