After the Fall: Artists for Peace, Justice & Civil Liberties Gallery & Anthology:

The dust had not cleared from the suicide bombings on September 11, 2001, when demonstrators began gathering around the world to protest an impending war. Among the slogans: "Don't use our grief to kill thousands more." On October 7, when the relentless attack on Afghanistan began, the protests increased in New York, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Vancouver, Canada, Sydney, Australia, indeed worldwide.

And while many have mixed feelings about the bombings in Afghanistan - the casualties that have reached higher numbers than those on 9-11 - a major benefit to the Afghan people is the destruction of the Taliban regime. Nonetheless, Afghanistan is not securely at peace and reconstruction of almost every aspect of that country must take place. People continue to starve; warlords continue to rule. And while this may seem like a victory for the "guys in white hats" to those who are thousands of miles removed from Central Asia, it is only one phase in a war that the US government promises will be a lengthy one throughout the globe. For its December 2001-January 2002 edition, The Arts Paper issued a call to Artists for Peace, The response was tremendous. It continues to be much more than we can publish in our print edition. But because we believe that artists are vital voices for peace, we began developing this Web site, "After the Fall: Artists for Peace, Justice and Civil Liberties." As far as we know, this site is unique. Our hope is that it will bring artists of all disciplines together in one place, so that each can see what others are doing, and in turn be seen by a wide Internet-exploring public, and thus a worldwide network can be created.

Peace, justice and civil liberties include issues of diversity, human rights and ecological justice, among others. We welcome artists concerned with these matters as well as the so-called "War Against Terrorism." Eventually, we will include video and audio clip capability to accommodate performing and media arts.
The site features links worldwide, including alternative media, informational and peace and arts groups. Participating artists' Web sites are also linked. An "Actions" section displays public activities (e.g., street performances, poetry readings, visual arts exhibitions, etc.). In addition, we are adding pages daily featuring art from nations and peoples threatened with attack -- Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Palestine, Somalia -- and art from countries in crisis, such as Northern Ireland.

For those who wish to contribute, please see our call for submissions page.

About The Arts Paper

The Arts Paper is a bi-monthly arts advocacy journal of the Boulder Arts Commission. We are based in Boulder, Colorado USA, and have a print circulation of 10,000. On the Web, we can be found in the Boulder Arts Resource site. The Resource is unusual among artist registries in that it includes artists of all disciplines like
The Arts Paper carries no advertising and is therefore not bound to market concerns. Its goal is to offer a focused, in-depth, critical framework for discussion. We strive to engage those who have been left out of the arts conversation and do so in language that most lay people can understand. Artists themselves are our primary contributors.