Dear Creative Arts Community,
At camp we are anchored by a set of core values, the five we name and the ones we don’t explicitly name yet live each day. The values of tikkun olam (to repair the world), kavod (respect) and kehillah (community) are not only Jewish values, they are human values, ones that require education and action to stand up and stand by one another. 6 Points Creative Arts is committed to helping repair the world, to respect for all and to a community of humans in which all are treated justly by one another.
During this time, as we prepare to launch summer virtual programs, we cannot help but reflect on 6 Points Creative Arts Academy’s mission that ends with, “to work toward transformational change in their lives and communities.” Art is a wonderful language in which to communicate the justice for which we fight. As artists, ego and effort are held in balance. There are times when that balance is off. Expanding transformation to our community asks many of us to be uncomfortable, to put individual ego aside and have difficult and necessary conversations, to question the values of the communities to which we belong. Achieving justice and equality are not easy. The right thing rarely is.
Camp has been and will continue to be an example of how we wish the world could be. We see, feel, and find hope in the constant posts of our campers and staff on Instagram, who are already dedicating themselves to this important work. Whether your discipline is music, art, theatre, cooking, dance or writing, we are all artists who can also be advocates and allies. We believe Black Lives Matter. We believe in PRIDE. We believe inclusion should be the way of life. 6 Points Creative Arts Academy, the URJ, and the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism condemn the oppression of human rights and all the ways in which it manifests in our country. With our campers, their families, our staff, our faculty we reflect on the teaching of Pirke Avot, that it is not on us to complete the work, but neither are we free to desist from it. As Jews, we are bound by our own history of oppression, tradition and duty to speak out for those whose voices have not been heard and basic rights have not been granted for far too long.
“This is precisely the time when artists go to work. There is no time for despair, no place for self-pity, no need for silence, no room for fear. We speak, we write, we do language. That is how civilizations heal. I know the world is bruised and bleeding, and though it is important not to ignore its pain, it is also critical to refuse to succumb to its malevolence. Like failure, chaos contains information that can lead to knowledge — even wisdom. Like art.” – Toni Morrison
With all our heARTs,
Jo-Ellen Unger, Kara Hoffman, Michael Derby
The CAA Year-Round Team