Throughout the pandemic, many of our Temple students and local artists have renewed their interests in creating content specifically through art. As a lot of events have transpired throughout this year and last, most of this creative content has been inspired through activism.
Philadelphia artists and students created “Draw To Action,” a coloring book featuring original designs from 30 Philadelphia based artists to raise funds for the city’s most underserved communities. If you are interested in”Draw To Action,” be prepared to do just that when purchasing the $20 book via Instagram or on their website thiscorner.co.com. The coloring book donates 100% of proceeds from sales to 15 local organizations, including three exceptional yet marginalized organizations: “Everybody Eats”, “Philly Bail Fund”, and “Juntos.”
Temple Alumna and creative director of “Draw To Action,” Debora Charmelus, was behind the birth of “Draw To Action.” Charmelus pointed out “It was really important for us to have a diverse artist group that really represented the diversity within Philadelphia.” The creative director personally hopes and would love to see“Draw To Action” grow even outside of the Philadelphia area and maybe brought to other cities as well.
An unexpected joy is how featured artist, Arla Patch, describes her contribution to “Draw To Action.” In her piece, “Peaceful Heart” she was able to use art in a different way and not just for the sake of art itself but for some other larger purpose. The experiences in sharing her work as well as other artists have been refreshing but also powerful. Arla’s larger purpose aside from using art as an escape and to promote activism was used as advocacy for women and domestic violence victims.
Justine Kelley, another featured artist in the coloring book expressed how open the project has been and how she’s been able to connect with many other local artists in the city. She expressed how “Draw To Action” represented Temple University’s togetherness, specifically how Temple students and alumni became so much more involved in the art community. She described that after the coloring book was released the community felt stronger than ever before.
“Draw To Action” has renewed appreciation for art and the current events that have taken place including some of the toughest moments we faced over the years, including police brutality, racial injustice, and the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet still this triumph has created a surplus of opportunities for local art/artists and related projects to our communities to help benefit a better cause.
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