April is the cruellest month

"APRIL is the cruellest month, breeding Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing Memory and desire, stirring Dull roots with spring rain..."--"The Waste Land", T.S. Eliot A shameless way to start a post, but there it is. Actually, I was at a board meeting for an arts project (www.armeniancenterforthearts.org, check it out!) and we were doing the very mundane--trying to figure out our next meeting date. Suddenly, almost in unison, we looked at each other and said "April is the cruellest month..." For Armenians, it's cruel for a whole host of reasons, most importantly Genocide remembrance day, April 24. It's cruel because as we inch forward year by year, we are reminded that we are, perhaps, moving further and further away from recognition or any sort of reparation with the passage of the great leveller, time--despite the fact that we are making more noise than ever before. Many of us do our obligatory duty--marching in front of the Turkish consulate on April 24th, or gathering at the Bicknell park monument--and even do our best to be as politically active as we can through all the other months, when April 24 may be forgotten and become a dull part of our--and everyone else's--grey memory. Others choose to bring their participation in other ways, and it's all good. I'm sure the quote popped into our heads through some subconscious connection--but we don't really believe April is the cruellest month. Perhaps all months are equally cruel, equally inviting. Challenges are challenges no matter what month we happen to find ourselves in. The Armenian Center for the Arts was born out of many decades of desire and longing--why is it, we always asked ourselves, that we don't have a visual and performing arts center of our own? Many of our friends and acquaintances who were actively involved in the arts found a place to stage their play and/or display their art. In the process, they formed alliances and became self-sufficient. They created bridges to other arts communities and became part of a larger arts village. That's all fantastic. The Armenian Center for the Arts doesn't aim to replace any of these things. What we want to do is provide alternate spaces for arts and arts programming, primarily for but not limited to members of our community. To provide an intimate theater space as well as a 400 seat space for larger performances. To provide space for a gallery, and artists in residence. To provide space for classrooms and arts education. To provide recording studio space. To provide space for a library/bookstore/cafe for casual or more formal events. And to do this all with style, panache, and a realization that this has been a long time coming. The uphill climb is formidable. The money required is immense. But the passion is there. And passion for projects and ideas is the most refreshing thing. Only with sustained passion and commitment do worthwhile things happen--whether it's Genocide recognition, or the dream of building an arts center.