syn-thesis: reacting to and activating thought on social issues via the arts.

Why syn-thesis?
The creative arts have long been valued as a way into observing, documenting, and understanding society, and are a crucial part of the historic record.  syn-thesis was sparked out of a desire to remind communities what truth stands to be gained by processing life through a creative lens.  This project serves not as a replacement for conscious obtainment and consumption of facts, but as a companion to that act, to promote information synthesis, and a deeper understanding of the issues at hand.

syn-thesis’ goals are two-fold:
1) Education: to present work that educates about important social issues of our time.

2) Synthesis: to help people connect with and process targeted issues in new ways.

Collaboration
Detroit: want to talk about what’s happening in the city? Want to facilitate people teaching each other through the colors of the house they are being evicted from, or the stories of what their neighborhood was, is, or could be? Contact us to collaborate on project ideas.

Elsewhere: is there a local issue near you that would benefit peoples affected if examined through the lens described here? We invite the opportunity to dialogue with you about the possibility of developing art/writing prompts/projects tailored to your focus area, in order to engage with and learn from your community.

On-going/Completed Work: is there an on-going or completed project you know of, that seems to be accomplishing the established goals of syn-thesis? Tell us about it via email and we’ll look into highlighting the work here.

Where/Who
syn-thesis blog is housed off 8 mile, and curated by university lecturer in creative writing, Sarah Smarch.

-Curator’s Note-
We’re a baby project with nothing but room to grow. Our identity is still evolving. We’ll practice some trial and error as we sort out the finer details. You may see these potential features crop up: Historical Spotlights, K-12 Collaboration, and Events. If you’d like to contribute content on either, please contact us. syn-thesis is currently based in Detroit, and as such, the content may be primarily focused on issues here at home. Publication schedule? There is none. We may post a few times a week; perhaps a few times per year. We welcome any and all feedback and questions. We hope you learn much with us.

–May 18th, 2014

Header photo: Detroit factory workers, from A Social Profile of Detroit 1956, photographer unknown