Age is Not an Excuse
We are never too old for a Vision to impact the world.
I want to introduce you to my friend and client, Dorit Cypis. I have known Dorit since 2012. She is an artist and mediator. Her two passions of art and creating peace have merged over the years. The two passions have come together to create a greater fire both in her and in the world, where her work has had more and more impact over the years. A great example of a situation where 1+1 = 10.
32 years ago, Dorit founded KultureKlub.org a not-for-profit organization serving youth experiencing homelessness. Recently Dorit was back visiting Minnesota and she was a guest speaker at the KultureKlub as the founder. The youth were eager to meet her. She received feedback such as “Dorit this organization gave me my spirit.” And her response, “I am so honored, it gave me my spirit too, 32 years ago.”
Dorit continues to know that change can happen in this world when we pause to:
1) Listen to each other
2) value one another
3) know that it is possible to create peace among us.
Dorit will be first to tell you that this work has not been easy but what she has never given up. Shes gotten tired, now and then, but at 72 years of age, she continues to march forward.
Recently she was a guest speaker at the University of Minnesota. Where she spoke on the very challenging topic of Israel and Gaza and the students where left in awe of her daringness and opening to navigate a very challenging topic especially as a Jew herself.
Dorits art work and her vision for more peace in the world has been used over the past 30+ years to impact social issues and change perspectives and soften our hearts and see our respective humans has just – fellow humans once again.
Now at 72, she says: “I have arrived!” She is confident in her skills to navigate extremely hard topics for various communities. The topics she often is found addressing these days. In the studio I am in the process of inventorying 50 years of my practice, leading into a new project The Artist in her Archive that will interconnect layers of cultural representation of identity, personal and cultural histories, and geopolitics.
Through PeoplesLab, in collaboration with C-Crets, we are developing Unpacking Whiteness /Understanding Blackness a Dialogue+Training program for leadership in culture, education, business and civics.
In collaboration with Jeffrey Stewart, Director of DEI - UC Santa Barbara, we have designed the program L2OVE - Listening to Others Valuing Everyone- building a fabric for dialogue across the UCSB campus.
Dorit’s personal mission and vision, she wants her art work to be represented in a prominent art institution in the very near future. My money is on her!
Her lessons from her years of her work and influencing social justice issues she has learned:
One person can make a difference
Never give up
Keep plugging away
Rest but don’t stop
Even if you make a difference to one, you made a difference
Listening to one another matters every time we listen
Love is important too – love our fellow people – that is why she does this work
It is an honor and a pleasure to work with Dorit, as we meander together enroute towards her clarity and integration.
For more information about Dorit please see: DoritCypis.com
