The A.I.R. Project

One of the things that we have tried to impress here is that there are very few differences among us.  We are all one and united by, as Kennedy said, the fact that we all breath the same air.  This past week we came across some amazingly talented individuals.  They reside at the shelter at Peachtree and Pine and spend their days creating great works of art.  There is no mistaking their talent and love for their craft.
  Gregory was painting at his station and took a few moments to talk to us about what he does. I was lost in his knowledge of printing and painting.  An older man, his knowledge of computers was phoenomenal and impressive.  More than his knowledge of computers, the calm measured meter of his voice and also of his painting was amazing.  He just sat there, talking.
   He let us know some of the things with which they were struggling at the shelter.  The problem, as I understood them, were that they were easy fixes.  We are going to take this on as a project, calling it the A.I.R. project.  The Artist In Residence program or A.I.R. is going to do one thing and one thing only, get some of those artists out there.  We are going to do what we can to get these people out there so that people can see there is no separation.  So, when you walk into the local Starbucks, you may see a painting there and I ask you to take a look.  You may see an artist there, painting, and without know his origins, see that he has created a thing of beauty.