Creative Community Support Fund

Everyone is creative.

And yet, access to creative process, something intimate and rooted deep in ourselves, is not available to everyone. 

How can it be that we are so cut off from something that is inherent to our very souls? The capacity to dream, to call into being, to bring ideas to life?

A fish swimming in polluted waters cannot but become sick themselves.

And yet, we are living through a time of massive transformation and upheaval.

A time where the foundational assumptions around what it means to be a human being in our capitalist, Western society: that we are here to incessantly and individualistically acquire,  compete, hustle and extract, is coming apart.

As we collectively reckon with an emerging set of alternatives: that we are spiritual, that we are one and interconnected, that we are here to be of service to one another and contribute to humanity, another (more possible, more livable) world comes into view.

There are both internal and external barriers to engaging in the sacred act of making things. Easing this trajectory, moving from being blocked to finding flow is the work of Carmel Futures.

Carmel means garden.

The most beautiful gardens are made up of the most varied and diverse flowers and plants. They grow organically and yet have thought behind them, they are both generative and nourishing. At the heart of the work of Carmel Futures is a question: How can our cultural environment and, necessarily, our inner world, increasingly resemble that vibrant garden?

The structures of society and the human beings that build and sustain them are interconnected. But currently, those structures mean that many people who have a lot to offer the cultural environment do not have access to the spaces that would support them to do so.

I’ve seen how powerful it is to break free of a culture of critique within the arts, how focusing on strengths allows new things to be born.

I’ve seen how our physical and emotional wellness are deeply tied to our ability to create, how our thoughts create our reality.

I’ve seen how damaging an external view of ourselves can be, an instrumentalist or a view merely defined by capitalism can block creative process for years, even decades.

I’ve seen the power and challenge of giving ourselves permission to thrive. 

I’ve seen how the tight grip of our survival mechanisms can be loosened through love and daily practice.

I’ve seen the impact of community and connection on the trajectory of creative projects, how relational we are as human beings.

I’ve seen how pain is stored in the body and how laughter connects our hearts.

So...THANK YOU to those of you who are arising to support the participation of creatives in these nourishing programs and spaces, and in so doing, contributing to a process of re-balancing the scales, of re-invigorating the creative ecosystems of our societies.

Here's how it works:

You offer whatever you're able to, in units of 50.00, and this will be added to a collective pot which will be put towards the participation of as many participants as can be funded for a particular set of workshops.

Those needing a scholarship will simply indicate that they need support, and will let me know if they need a 50% or 75% bursary. If there are a number of applicants and not enough funds to cover the requests, I will draw names out of a hat for that round of workshops.

While Carmel Futures is not a registered charity (at this time), you will receive a receipt for your purchase, as well as the gift of knowing you've supported someone else on their creative path.

Thank you again for learning about this with me, it's powerful stuff!