Interview with artists and designers for HOPE Exhibition: What does "Hope" means to you? | Curating Around the World

Artists personal dedication to the Anton Yelchin Foundation, presented their thoughts on the meaning of "HOPE"

Interview by Rachel Vancelette

(Click on names of artists for more about the artists and designers)

"I hope that my work inspires critical thinking and peaks curiosity. By subtly drawing attention to environmental issues, I hope this series elicits a dialogue about the restoration and preservation of our natural environment. Perhaps the animals that are represented in the light drawings can once again flourish around the world." Parker Calvert 

"Hope is the desire for the realization of an internal idea all artists hope to communicate." Clayton Calvert 

Hope by its very definition is quite personal. It is a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen. My hope is that when given a choice, people will choose compassion and empathy over anything else, especially in the face of adversity. In relation to my work, I would say that I hope viewers will find something in the nature of the work that they can relate to - whether it is the overall image or something so finite and specific in the details. Guy Merin 

My piece embodies my hope for this year, and my future, like a parting of the storm clouds that have descended over my life in recent years, I look toward each day for the possibility of something better and carry this hope with me like a fire that will never be extinguished. Breanna Martin 

Here is the Hope: The brilliance of hope is that it goes beyond one singular definition. Hope is that despite obstacles that occur, misfortunes that arise, there is trust to believe when the outcome is unknown.
Kiley Ames 

Berkanais the name of this series of works on paper. It is the Rune symbol for rebirth. It's about a state of becoming and new beginnings and the embodiment of feminine energy. In the wake of the #metoo movement, women empowering each other and more women running for office than ever before. I can’t think of anything more timely or hopeful. Eleanna Anagnos

In times of adversity in life, hope can come in very handy, especially when it’s the only thing you have to give you back your strength. Mona Assemi 

"Hope is the single greatest medium to any artist. Hope brings pure creation to life.” Ellen Hunter 

Hope is something to look to in darker times, those moments of despair and sorrow or just feeling down and tired. It is striving to look on the bright side of the coin and an expectation or wish that there will be a positive outcome to the events in one's life. Having hope requires energy that is not always present but necessary to muster in order to carry on. Hope refers to the future and looking ahead. An effort to raise one's head out of the muck and mire and rise above and keep trying. Hope is refusing to give up and continuing to keep one's eternal flame lit. Hope is human and a universal fall back. Hope is faith in a greater good. Hope is survival. Hope is an undying sense of optimism that life is a beautiful gift in whatever form it takes. This is the underlying premise in all of my work, that if everything is made of the same energy than any iteration is possible and remarkable in its creation. Seren Morey 

My thoughts on Hope- Hope is desire for fulfillment and certainty but it’s full of ambiguous possibilities at the same time. Michelle Wang 

Hope for me is seeing the possibilities. I have found it strongest when following an all-consuming idea. When I’ve had none, I’ve found it by reminding myself that one can choose to start over in that moment. Maria Kozak 

The piece “Hope” shows hands reaching up toward a stage, the background is a nightscape of stars. In front and behind the center hand are drawn and collaged acrylic lines. I feel when things are difficult, you look up at the sky, and feel how small we are in the universe. This smallness can mean life is empty and meaningless, but this too is meaningless. You have everything because love and energy comes not from luck or lack of luck, but from creating community and integrity that is powerful, unstoppable, contagious. This is a portrait of collective power, many stars making a sun. Kristen Schiele 

“Hope. is wishful, but action makes it happen!” Robert Farber 

“Numerous things compete for our attention more than ever in our modern technology-saturated lives.  It is easy to settle into a stable routine and have our sensibilities blunted. I firmly believe that “hope” and meditation are integral to preserving our identity in this tumultuous time in society. Hope is a sense that we never can have taken away and beckons to each and every person to remember what matters most: preserving what we love and those who love us." William Felinski 

The statement is the piece itself. HOPE. Green is Spanish for the color of HOPE. Fabian Marcaccio