The Diversity Dialogue Graphic Recordings

(description of the artwork above)

Have you ever felt really good about your community? I mean a warm, close feeling of a group of people, their intentions, a group larger than your family but smaller than a big city? Community in the sense of neighbors or people in your town or community that come together, sometimes to celebrate, other times to make a statement. They care about the whole and about connecting with others to set larger community goals.

The graphic recordings that came out of Arlington's Diversity Dialogue were drawn by Sheri Bartholow, a fellow community member. Her drawings represent the telling of many stories, tied together by a unifying theme "diversity" that says I belong and you belong and together we all add up to a stronger community than a set of individuals. We cares about one another because we depend on one another.

The graphic recordings are a combination of phrases spoken, displayed in artistic fashion, flowing across three large rectangular canvases that started off blank and were slowly and thoughtfully filled with people's feelings, expressions, dreams, hopes and fears about diversity-related matters in Arlington, Virginia in the year 2008.

A globe at the center of the first represents our planet, and Arlington County in the center tells that we represent people from all over the world, people of all shapes, colors and sizes holding hold hands around the earth. A drawing to the side shows a ball shattering a brick wall, which represents breaking down the barriers between us. On a second scroll, two large profiles face each other, depicting verbal communication as a means to understand each other better. The third one has differnt color hands interlayed at the center, getting involved and doing the work that needs to get done in Arlington to create a more diverse and inclusive community in which each person is important.