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California Ushers in the ‘Gender Recognition Act’

California Governor Jerry Brown just signed into law the acknowledgment of a third gender: non-binary. Now, those who don’t fall within the bounds of male or female can check the non-binary box for their driver’s licenses and birth certificates. “Non-binary is an umbrella term for people with gender identities that fall somewhere outside of the traditional conceptions of strictly either female or…

Prisons Are Being Turned Into Youth Community Centers

When six prisons closed near his home in rural Laurinburg, North Carolina, Noran Sanford didn’t want the spaces to remain dormant and unused. He launched GrowingChange in 2011, an organization dedicated to community development and reducing recidivism. The organization is based out of one of the former prisons. After Sanford and some of his youth participants pitched his idea to the…

Pixar’s Coco Performs Rare Feat For Hollywood, Intelligently Portrays Non-White Culture in Film

Pixar’s latest film Coco follows the misadventures of a musically-inclined boy who gets stuck in the land of the dead during Mexico’s celebration of Dia de los Muertos. There, he meets his great-great-grandfather, a talented musician himself, and embarks on a journey of self-discovery amid colorful, Mexican holiday-themed imagery. The film is a hit among critics and fans, and for good reason:…

Q&A: Mer Young on Making Art to Respect Those Who Came Before Us

Mer Young is a California-based artist of mixed descent who is best known for her colorful collages including folks of indigenous descent. Our conversation with her was spurred from a mutual desire to remember our past and use it as guidance for the future. Young currently has some pieces on exhibition at Kaleidoscope Kollective in Echo Park, LA, and ChimMaya Gallery in…

Growing a Forest From a Wasteland

“Do you realize, my children, that the man whose mind is made up can no longer advance scientifically?” This is what Charles Bessey, botanist and dreamer, once said. He believed possibility had no bounds. Bessey created something no one could have imagined – a 20,000-acre pine forest in the middle of a ‘wasteland’ of Nebraska. And yet, today, this lush…

American-Made Clothing for Dirty Women

Taylor Johnston, gardener extraordinaire, started Gamine Workwear in 2014 because like many women working in manual labor, she couldn’t find a decent pair of Carhartts that fit her like they should. So she made them herself, and she made them well. “In an ever more disposable world, our hope is that each Gamine Workwear garment is treasured, personalized, and reflective…

3 Fish Studios: California Artists, Keepers of America’s Future

“You can be powerful and kind,” artist Eric Rewitzer told Time Magazine. Rewitzer was referring to an illustration he and his wife, Annie Galvin, made in response to the Trump presidency. The piece is a linocut of a ferocious grizzly bear showing its fangs. Bright, painted poppies bloomed at its feet. Using the words of California legislature in response to Trump winning…

How Drumming Can Make You a Better Human

The project became Rhythm Section Drumlines. It began making people’s toes tap in Kansas City before settling in at the Bay Area where 200 kids now practice the art of drumming. Mick and Nicole Terrizzi designed the after-school program to be a low-stress learning environment where kids feel comfortable discovering and playing with their creativity. “Creativity is where the best…

Artist Makes Visceral Arctic Paintings to Show Effects of Climate Change

Watching icebergs begin to drip and melt away is both a global and personal sadness for painter Zaria Forman. Her mother was a renowned photographer who was deeply drawn to photographing the Arctic. As young Forman remembers, her mother would stay outside taking photographs and smiling, long after the rest of the family’s toes had gone numb. When her mother…

Veterans Who Stepped Outside the Fold

This week we honor the veterans who believe in a country that stands for everyone. That is something we are still working towards. The US continues to tout ‘endless victory’ and ‘freedom for all’, so on the weekend of Veteran’s Day we take a moment to show respect for those who may have been forgotten, those in service who didn’t…