community and ME!

I belong to:
1. A community of Poets
2. The community of Brooklyn
3. The community of MCNY
4. A community of artists
5. A community of African Americans
6. The community of Democrats

Brooklyn:
I belonged to Brooklyn when my mother moved her 6 months pregnant with me. I strongly believe in the notion of Sankofa (You cannot know where you are going without knowing where you come from). Everything a person is made up of is Nature vs. Nurture. My environment has a bold impact on who I am and how I look at the world. Although it is just a borough, Brooklyn, is also home. Whatever that means or doesn't mean.

Artists:
The community of artists is a very strange place to belong. It kind of labels you with superpowers. All of a sudden certain things are expected of you. Every civilization started with religion and art. I do not take this lightly. I am grateful to be apart of something that is bigger than me. It allows me for once not to feel like such an outcast. A group of artists (no matter what kind) can share things that others won't understand.

Most important community I belong to: ARTISTS
1. I play a primary role of the writer and spoken artist. I voice the colors of a painter and write the images of the photographer. Every artist is important to the community. My art allows me to share and keep the community growing by also teaching my art.

2. The most important I thing I get from belonging to this kind of community is basically a sense of being. I get identity. A big part of who I am is being an artist. Belonging just solidifies that acceptance you spend your time looking for.

3. There are a lot of problems in this circle that always stem from 2 places. One would be keeping yourself and art relevant. Times change. The age old argument is whether art should follow suit. So there becomes a divide between artists who adapt and those who stick with what they know. The second problem is ego and superiority complex. Although artists can do things that are gifts it should not make you feel like you are better. A lot of artists get caught up in the glitz side and change.

-Brittany Patrice