Stoking a bright idea: Art project aims to foster hope, community
“We’re bringing our light together during dark times — literally and metaphorically” in a project called Brighter Together.
Kate McEneaney noticed growing tension in her community.
McEneaney, a parent of two and a board member at the Scout House, explained that negative news out of the schools felt intense to her and others she knew, and she wanted to do something about it.
Recent news about white power hate symbols in Acton-Carlisle High School, along with signs placed around town disparaging schools Superintendent Laurie Hunter, compounded the weighty effect of national news headlines.
“It’s just like this sinking feeling, and it’s like, ‘What’s happening? I don’t understand this,’” she said. “And then there is a little bit of a feeling of powerlessness for me.”
Her solution to fight the darkness? Turn on the light. “We’re bringing our light together during dark times — literally and metaphorically,” she said.
McEneaney was explaining her thought process for an incipient project between Art for All and the Scout House called Brighter Together.
The project invites community members to make paper lanterns at home or at community workshops throughout January and February, and then come together on March 7 for a lantern parade.
“We’re trying to really just get people not focusing on problems, but focusing on togetherness, art, having fun, something that is about getting together in person,” she said.
Crafting new memories
Margot Kimball, executive director of Art for All, said a primary goal of the project is to remind people about community connections.
That way, as Kimball puts it, the next time disagreement arises, one can think: “But that’s the same community that made the lantern parade. It’s not all bad.”
Hopefully, that, along with other positive memories, can reconnect people to their love for the town, she said, as “it shows we’re sort of walking together through these difficult conversations.”
McEneaney said the idea came from two different sources. One was a quote from Debra Stark, a longtime resident and community activist who founded Debra’s Natural Gourmet and died in 2022.
That Stark quote: “We shine brighter together. We need neighborhoods and community.”
The other was a lantern parade she saw in Peterborough, New Hampshire, and decided to replicate in Acton.
“It’s dark and cold, and then you had people coming from all directions and then being together,” she said of that event. “There’s just this great energy, and everyone has these beautiful lanterns, and there’s something a little bit magical about it.”
The moments we create
“Here’s the type of moments that we want to create. Here’s the moments that we want to live through,” McEneaney said, “and we are being proactive in doing that, so we’re not just the receivers of these moments.”
The ball got rolling quickly. McEneaney approached the Art for All team. Together they secured $6,000 in funding from the Concord250 Executive Committee. Partners including The Robbins House and Wright Tavern joined in.
Four workshops are scheduled, including sessions on January 28 and February 25 at Fowler Library, and on February 8 and March 1 at Art for All. For Concordians who cannot complete a lantern in time for the March 7 parade, extras will be provided.
McEneaney and Kimball are hoping to raise an additional $4,000 and secure more community partners to hold a post-parade party at the Scout House.
Richard Fahlander, another event organizer, said that after all the workshops in the New England winter, he hopes to see many people come together to welcome spring while building on the message of optimism and community.
“March is a month with few holidays or reasons to get out,” Fahlander said. “This will give people an excuse to start getting out again together.”
