“It was more about my name, you know, BG183 that was the key. It was the message of me being out there like how a mayor is gonna run for mayor and he’d post his name everywhere.”

“Why is it that it would be…left to an activist street culture to remember the people who died in hurricane Katrina?”

“How can art really influence politics, and…not just [be] a commentary about what’s happening with no level of influence other than awareness?”

“By valuing the arts I feel like you value..people’s opinions…across race, class because we all express ourselves and arts doesn’t see the color of one’s skin.”

“You might not be an expert in political science…and you may not be a traditional and trained artist, but everyone has access to the same tools…where art comes form, which is imagining things…When it comes to imaging great ideas, that is…accessible to everyone.”

“We’re not providing solutions…We’re providing the platform for people to talk about it, and hopefully we’ll all figure it out together. ”

“The cups...aren’t trash to me, I’m turning them into art objects... I want people who come in here to think about that. What else in their life can they turn into art…that they would otherwise throw away or disregard?”

“Instead of waiting for someone to give me money… or a space, you go outside and see what …resources you do have that are free and available.”

““We’ve always talked about comics and social justice…we thought about how that could reach beyond just the people who were Occupying. I think art and creativity…make organizing more effective.” -Terry Marshall of OccupyComix”

“Places like The Point are really marking this area as a cultural destination.”

“[The goal of the Landromat Project is to] champion this more political take on artists being at the center of their own spaces and being at the center of really important socially-relevant topics and resourcing them to impact their communities.”

“If you ask [people]...to sit down and write a policy paper or go lobby or even knock on doors... you’re not playing to those people’s strengths ...[At] the school [we teach organizers to]... draw on people’s cultural richness, which they already have. So they’re not starting from zero. They’re ... starting from a skill set which they already know, they employ, and ... they enjoy.”

“Before [The Alley Project] there were many murders in a in a three-, four-month period. And what’s incredible about this particular project is that residents can see [crime] actually move away. This place, you can stand here and it feels … peaceful, and it’s because of TAP.”

“It’s really [about using the youth art to] gain solidarity with [community organizations] and support all their work and their actions too.”

“My artwork became about process…not about trying to create a precious object.”

“If you’re doing things for your community...if your community respects what you’re doing, [then] they’re willing to endorse or fund you.”

“The Heidelberg Project is 26 years old this year. The community and government despised the project and parts of it were torn demolished, twice....[but] probably within the past 8 years we have begun to gain support.”

“It’s a different way of understanding art. It’s not something you’re contemplating in an exhibition space, this is something that people can come and experience.”

“We take empty storefronts and make site specific exhibition. ”