Ways to Survive
“Painting is an awakening, a way of seeing and capturing in images the beauty in nature and in people, as well as hardships in the world.”
~ Donna Haig Friedman
Ways to Survive, a beautiful artistic collaboration of art and poetry by Donna Haig Friedman and Berna Kahraman. The two have created a meditative handbook which pairs Berna’s poetry and Donna’s artwork, offering sales proceeds to support several organizations they know that are important positive forces in our world, one being ATD Fourth World Movement! Thanks to Donna and Berna, 100% of proceeds of pre-sales from our website will go to ATD Fourth World.
Donna and Berna now live in Boston and Istanbul, Turkey respectively. From 2007 to 2012 they were both in Boston and carried out research on poverty and homelessness in the United States. That research used methods and practices that honored the experiences of people whose lives are directly impacted by poverty and housing policies. Through paying attention to people’s stories, they discovered over and over that there are as many “ways to survive” as there are people and their stories.
Last year, Berna, who is a poet and Donna, who is a painter, began a creative collaboration in which they paired their poetry and artwork in what became a magical exchange allowing for reflection, personal connections, and artistic moments of satisfaction and joy. Their exchanges also allowed a way to bring together the social change work that is part of their lives and the practice of their artististic expression.
“The world around us is wildly brutal. My collaboration with Donna opened up new windows for me in how I view and deal with the discomfort of stark social and political realities not only in my own country but in the whole world. The vast magnitude of these problems make each of us feel, perhaps, too small and too powerless, at times, even paralyzed, such that we cannot see the ways that we can contribute. Our exchange reminded me, once again, that we cannot give up.”
~ Berna Kahraman
Not only does the meditative handbook Ways to Survive offer words and images to nourish our inner spirits, personal reflections, and strength to be together in our world, Donna and Berna are also offering the book to support five organizations they are involved with and that have critical impacts on families and communities facing difficulties.
Order your copy of Ways to Survive, consider offering a copy to a friend, and support ATD Fourth World. Thank you for your support and enjoy the beautiful book.