Art We There Yet
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      January 8, 2021

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      December 27, 2020

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      December 18, 2020

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      Matamoros Migrant Camp | Songs from the Road

      June 8, 2020

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      Songs from the Road | Guntersville, Alabama

      June 1, 2020

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      Arnold Montgomery | Improvisation

      April 10, 2020

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      Be Part of “I Wish You Peace”

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      May 13, 2020

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      The Himalayas | A Time Lapse Film

      March 1, 2018

  • PHOTOGRAPHY
  • BEFORE THE AMERICAS
    • Before the Americas Project

      Emotion: Recorded in an Abandoned Bridge in China

      November 1, 2018

      Before the Americas Project

      Playing With Perspective: A Mural Time Lapse

      June 10, 2018

      Before the Americas Project

      Recording “Be”: Collaboration Across Five Countries

      May 27, 2018

      Before the Americas Project

      Paso A Paso: Sounds of the Himalayas

      May 7, 2018

      Before the Americas Project

      Sounds of China & Nepal

      March 14, 2018

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Art We There Yet
  • Home
  • MURALS
    • MURALS

      Community Art in Elko, Nevada

      January 8, 2021

      MURALS

      A Community Mural in Elko, Nevada

      December 27, 2020

      MURALS

      Classroom Mural at Driggs Elementary School, Idaho

      December 18, 2020

      MURALS

      Rise Coffee House Community Mural in Driggs, Idaho

      December 8, 2020

      MURALS

      Teton Arts Mural in Driggs, Idaho

      October 21, 2020

  • MUSIC
    • MUSIC

      Matamoros Migrant Camp | Songs from the Road

      June 8, 2020

      MUSIC

      Songs from the Road | Guntersville, Alabama

      June 1, 2020

      MUSIC

      Arnold Montgomery | Improvisation

      April 10, 2020

      MUSIC

      Jess Langer & Cora Rose | A Song…

      April 7, 2020

      MUSIC

      Dave Brainard & Cora Rose | Song of…

      March 28, 2020

  • WORKSHOPS
    • WORKSHOPS

      Student Artwork Gallery

      May 7, 2020

      WORKSHOPS

      Be Part of “I Wish You Peace”

      April 20, 2020

      WORKSHOPS

      Music Workshop | Blue Ridge Parkway

      March 24, 2020

      WORKSHOPS

      Art Workshop | Tent City on the US-Mexico…

      March 16, 2020

      WORKSHOPS

      Songwriting Workshop | The Art Factory

      February 8, 2020

  • FILM
    • FILM

      New Orleans from the Streets | Experimental Film

      May 13, 2020

      FILM

      The Himalayas | A Time Lapse Film

      March 1, 2018

  • PHOTOGRAPHY
  • BEFORE THE AMERICAS
    • Before the Americas Project

      Emotion: Recorded in an Abandoned Bridge in China

      November 1, 2018

      Before the Americas Project

      Playing With Perspective: A Mural Time Lapse

      June 10, 2018

      Before the Americas Project

      Recording “Be”: Collaboration Across Five Countries

      May 27, 2018

      Before the Americas Project

      Paso A Paso: Sounds of the Himalayas

      May 7, 2018

      Before the Americas Project

      Sounds of China & Nepal

      March 14, 2018

  • ABOUT
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    • The Bus
    • Our Story
    • Bring AWTY To Your Community
    • Contact / Press
  • Store
    • AWTY Goodies
    • Prints from José
    • Music from Cora
  • SUPPORT
MUSIC

Matamoros Migrant Camp | Songs from the Road

by Art We There Yet? June 8, 2020
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When I sang “Wildflowers” from a mountainside in the Himalayas, I was singing it from a place of privilege.  The ability to move freely throughout the world, the blessing of having the time and savings to make such a journey.

I was also singing it from a place of celebration.  Thanking my past self for making the hard decisions that led to the life I dreamed of.  Which – once again – showed the immense privilege of being blessed with a set of circumstances that even allowed that.

Fast forward to 2020, and I now sing the song in a very different setting.  And for a very different reason.


I believe coronavirus is making us more aware of a simple fact – we are nothing more than human beings on a planet.  While our customs, languages, and features may look different, we are the same at the core.  We occupy our minds with thoughts of how to get by, how to enjoy our lives, and how to protect the ones we love. 

In essence, we seek opportunity, we strive to live a better life, and we love our children.

On a planet in which such vast inequalities and injustices exist, it is no surprise that migration patterns move across our planet like waves on the shore.  When faced with danger or an impossible economic situation, we all do the very same thing.  We find a solution from the toolset that we have.

Source: http://download.gsb.bund.de/BIB/global_flow/

I wish the same rights and opportunities on others as I would wish upon myself.  And while I am by no means perfect, I try to live by the golden rule.  To treat others the way I would want them to treat me.

So when I walk through this camp – past a mess of deteriorating tents where entire families live for months on end, past communal showers where fungal disease lurks, past rows of porta potties shared 60 people to 1 unit – I know no human would wish this upon themselves.  And so it is unacceptable to create a situation in which such a place becomes the only option for any fellow human being, especially a child.


For me, that is the beginning and end of it; the first and most important metric upon which to judge the moral bearing of any action. 

Were you to be in this situation, I would speak for you.  Just as I would hope someone would speak for me.

I, you, we belong somewhere we feel free.

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About The Project

About The Project

Art We There Yet is a project to create art and music inspired by the Americas, celebrating our shared humanity and giving back to communities along the way. Aboard a school bus converted into an art and recording studio, we are traveling 30,000 miles across 23 countries of North, Central, and South America.

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