Social change does not operate according to the laws of physics; one small pebble skipped across a lake isn’t going to become a tidal wave.
But thousands of pebbles, their potential energy and mass combined, dumped into that lake will move water.
Change works that way. Thousands of small acts, with common purpose, have a chance to affect permanent, systemic change.
That’s what comes to mind when I watch Dan Evers direct his kids. He — they — act small and think big. Really, that’s the only way to make waves in this world, to change lives and minds.
You need a go-getter like Evers, who will back you into a corner and tell you about the good he’s doing. But he knows without action it’s all a lot of hot air.
We’re talking about art, and students creating art through Evers’ Rainforest Art Project, which has enlisted children to create mosaic signs and symbols throughout the city of Imperial, or tackle monuments at El Centro elementary schools.
What Evers and his kids are doing, the beauty they are creating, the skills they are learning and, ultimately, the feelings they are trying to evoke, have to do with cultural change by way of beautification, ownership, community pride. Thursday, Evers and a group of children from Hedrick Elementary began the process of primer painting the wall directly across the street from the campus on Waterman Avenue.
This was sparked by a column I wrote in January, in which a call was made for meaningful change, even if on a micro level. The mural across from Hedrick was the proposal, and readers sent $95 to help buy supplies.
Evers got on board, already having committed to a project with Hedrick students on their campus. He suggested this be a companion.
He understood what I was trying to say, as his own ends with Rainforest Art Project are about change through public art. My goal was change in the Valley; Evers’ goal is change in the world.
He puts his money where his mouth is, creating partnerships with cities and school districts, seeking grants and subsidizing his work from his own pocket.
Evers is a successful businessman in San Diego who makes high-end monuments using high-tech procedures. He uses his equipment and revenue to give back to communities and enlist children in art projects.
I’ll admit that I thought he was a bit full of it until I spent two hours with Evers and his kids in the old wood shop at Wilson Junior High, which allows Rainforest to be part of the El Centro Elementary curriculum.
There is some amazing work going on there. These children are learning art, from the ground up, leading to writing and relaying the vector language that communicates with stone cutters more than 120 miles away.
They are creating top-quality pieces, amazing in their beauty and craftsmanship. Some of that work was on display at the Imperial Valley Art Festival on Saturday.
But change doesn’t come cheaply. In trying times there isn’t much support for public art when school districts are cutting teachers. And a man can only commit so much of his own money before this altruistic business model falls flat apart. Evers needs resources: deep pockets to help fund the good he has given the Valley a taste of, and volunteers to make it happen.
Money is the difficult part; volunteers should not be. But the will to give back is in short supply, it seems. Next Thursday, around 1:30 p.m., the real work on the Waterman mural begins, and Evers needs artists, or at least those willing to work with the students.
None of this is to say Rainforest Art Project has been without help. Many people have donated toward the Amber Bryant memorial Evers has designed and will install at Sunflower school. But more money and help is needed to make it fully realized.
Change can come, if we just do our part. Those of us who have the means through money or time will. Will you do yours?
