How to Shake the World Alive with Independent Art During Dystopia

Enchantment, portals, archetypes, & other spicy little ideas from the unfinished basement

Come with me. Let’s walk and talk.

Here’s a cake pop.

(Don’t judge yourself, just enjoy it.)

I want to talk to you. I think you know what about. I want to talk about the portal again.

Last time, you came through the portal by accident. And I’ve been thinking. It doesn’t really seem fair. There should be a better way to find new worlds.

It’s one thing to stumble into a new world. It’s quite another to go there intentionally. And it’s time to be doing things on purpose.

(Here, give me your cake pop trash. Don’t walk around with that.)

Time to Let Go of Our Delusional Current Reality

You and I both know things are only getting trickier in the current iteration of reality. We’re dealing with a matrix of delusions, upheld by the gatekeepers and powerbrokers of said current reality.

Delusions like:

• Great careers are symptoms of great talent

• Profound art comes at the highest levels of funding

• Big audiences are the only way to change the culture

• People in power are looking out for us

• We need Strong Tangible Evidence for Success before we try building something new

I know. It’s all very annoying.

Here, let’s sit for a moment by the water. (That leads to the Atlantic. Beautiful, right?)

Listen, I’ll cut to the chase. The new world needs you. Not in a moralistic way. In a practical one.

Worlds are not built by one person alone. They’re built by many people inhabiting an agreed upon understanding of how this is gonna go. The new world can’t exist without your participation.

And I believe you’re here, sitting with me, looking out at this little known estuary, for a reason. I believe you are a builder of this new world.

Don’t laugh! It’s corny, I know!

But I’m serious. You can see that, right?

I am. You are.

I’ll explain:

In this new world, (I’ve called it Bohemia in the past, but that’s just a working title) there are five different archetypal builders: Dreamer, Scout, Collaborator, Craftsperson, and Visionary. The archetypes are HOW we do the building. They are not singular destinations. They are identities we slip into like a pair of high-waisted vintage pants hugging our butt in all the right places. In other words, fun!

To inhabit this world, we must make this world.

And we do so via art.

This is How We Build a New World With Art

In our new world:

Our art is urban planning.

It directs the traffic of our ideas, making it easier or harder for us to get where we want to go. It shows us what we prioritize — are we making sidewalks for citizens or stroads¹ for strip malls? It guides our collective flow forward, or through, or back.

Our art is architecture.

It orients us, gives us containers in which we can explore potential basements and attics of thought. It gives us stained glass windows and French doors leading to undiscovered rooms. It gives us a warm place to go.

Our art is a tool.

It’s our new world’s equivalent of rubbing two sticks together to make fire. A profound tool. We won’t always know the purpose of the tool as we’re creating it. It’s something others will adapt as the world changes.

Our art is culture.

It tells stories about what we value, about what we’re willing to accept and what we’re not. It tells each other who we are. It confirms that yes, we are here. It sings to us. It shows us what’s hidden. It tests our spines.

(Someone is watching us. Let’s get up and walk down the promenade.)

Dreamer, Scout, Collaborator, Craftsperson, Visionary

We will slip into these archetypes at different times for different purposes.

Sometimes to think.

Sometimes to act.

Sometimes to enlist.

Sometimes to structure.

Sometimes to direct.

There are endless purposes in this new world. But we must always remember our ultimate purposes. Remember to always ask yourself: what’s the reason I’m going to all this trouble?²

The Ultimate Purposes of Building This New World

Our ultimate purpose is to build a world that offers far more possibilities than this current one offers.

Our ultimate purpose is to reclaim the enchantment that was deadened out of things by the shareholders.

Our ultimate purpose is to create a full aliveness for everyone.

We aim to discredit the delusions and embrace new realities. New realities like:

• Great careers are symptoms of great curiosity

• Profound art comes at the highest level of questioning

• Invested audiences are the only way to change the culture

• People in communities are looking out for each other

• We don’t need evidence before we try building something new, we simply need the curiosity

As you can see, there’s much to do in this world. We all have to be there to make it come alive.

Which brings me back to the issue at hand: ~the portal~

I will be offering you a semi-weekly portal to this new world. Each time you enter the portal, you will be offered a new tool to use once you get to the other side. One I believe will help you as you build the new world through your art.

The portal is a podcast.

The second season of Let’s Go Again. And the first portal-episode will be emailed to you directly this Friday, February 28th. Here’s the entrance so you know where to go when the portal opens:

Before then, though. I need you to do one thing.

Choose Your First Archetypal Builder

Remember, you will change as needed once you’re in the new world. You never have to remain the same. In fact, your work (your art) will require you to embody all of the archetypes on a rotating basis, depending on what the work needs.

Take this quiz to see which archetype you’ll embody first.

Okay.

We should split up now.

We’ll both go back to the current reality. But I’ll meet you at the portal later this week. Yes?

Wonderful. We can’t do this without you.

Until Friday, good luck out there.

1. STROADS: Not a street, which would be best for pedestrians. Not a road, which would be best for cars. Some halfway point, which seems to only be good for strip malls, backup at traffic lights, and an adrenaline rush from crossing the street on foot.

2. Remember to question the ultimate purposes of people in power, too. It’s a good question to repeat often.