Regardless of how well received you are in art practice, it is very important to draw if that is part of your working standard, sometimes I speak to artists who have a successful practice and they always ask if you are still actively producing art. Nobody really cares if you are well known or have a successful practice, it is more about making the work and being inspired. It is hard to stay inspired in a society obsessed with money, or at least that money equals success or has some correlation to inspiration. Then why is it that so many people who know that there is more to life than money still feel they are unworthy of being inspired? I have a friend in public housing who retails the problems that plague these places. The issues of apartments not getting cleaned properly when a health issue arises, they can be left in a very bad state untouched for four or five years exposing residents to health problems. Even issues that have come under scrutiny from current affairs programs are swept under the rug for almost half a decade or more and still to this day remain unaddressed. 

Obviously, the authorities don’t care about these people, they may pay lip service and have policies that address the issues but really they don’t care about anything except money. The people who are in these places know this, some will take advantage of services and opportunities but know that a lot of fundamental issues won’t be addressed. Some people will feel the main message and won’t even use the perks of the system, they will lock themselves away in a world of alcohol and drugs. They are far from inspired, people who find themselves in a bad world get stuck there, not just by their own hands but by the authorities who police them. Some people have been at an overdose and the police arrive before the ambulance, the police won’t perform CPR and instead question the occupants while somebody dies waiting for an ambulance. The police don’t have to bury the dead and will say he was too far gone, the truth is they don’t care.

Then the person who they questioned gets the blame, even though there is no evidence to say it was their fault, the same police officer will harass these people on the street and tell others that they killed their friend or some other slander. Let’s say these harassments are justified, when does the person become allowed to be something other than a criminal in their eyes? They have had no charges for countless years, they are maybe an invalid who lives with health issues, are there services that help them become a person again? No there isn’t, once they are profiled they have no way out. Everyone knows it is the system, it churns away breeding hatred and racism, people then are distracted by external issues by the same system which by the way never will change and never wants to.