Michelle Addison Personal Style

Jane Fonda’s speech last night made me even more certain that art can really change the world. I have been irrefutably changed by plays, books, movies, poems and dance. I am so profoundly lucky to have been witness to artists ripping their soul out in a theatre so that I know the depth of empathy. She said art speaks on a “different frequency” and we can all connect to a great story and that story can often change our hearts and our minds. Couldn’t be more true.

“Stories: They really, they really can change people.

But there's a story we've been afraid to see and hear about ourselves in this industry. A story about which voices we respect and elevate -- and which we tune out.
A story about who's offered a seat at the table and who is kept out of the rooms where decisions are made.
So let's all of us -- including all the groups that decide who gets hired and what gets made and who wins awards -- let's all of us make an effort to expand that tent. So that everyone rises and everyone's story has a chance to be seen and heard.
I mean, doing this simply means acknowledging what's true. Being in step with the emerging diversity that's happening because of all those who marched and fought in the past and those who've picked up the baton today.

After all, art has always been not just in step with history, but has led the way.
So, let's be leaders, OK?”


If you didn’t have a chance to see her speech, take the time to google it and listen, it was so powerful.