“I wasn’t allowed to talk about anything, the way I found I could talk about what was happening in my life was through these surrealistic drawings and paintings that I’d create. Because my upbringing was so traumatic, I used that as an escape.”
In foster care at age 9, Miriam Cortez learned that creating art was her way to work through pain and suffering. In her early twenties, her art still has a haunting quality and when you look at some of the pieces she creates, you find yourself being deeply drawn into a world, that for many is very much the “nightmare” that she describes.
This past Saturday, I had the opportunity to host an art show in honor of the twentieth anniversary of Peace4Kids, a nonprofit in South Los Angeles. Peace4Kids believes in the importance of giving young people the chance to both find and honor their gifts through creative education classes, including cooking, science, creative writing, film, poetry, dance, digital graphics, and other visual and expressive arts.
[For more on this story by Mira Zimet, go to https://chronicleofsocialchang...the-revolution/30962]
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