The Dialogue National Tour in New York, NY

"Wow! I fellt my humanity coming back when I discovered you [Dialogue Project] on my stroll through Union Square. Thank You!"
-- Comment written by a viewer in one of the quote books

As we expected, our installation in New York's Union Square today was amazing! I had to delay the installation by two days due to weather conditions earlier this week, but all the work getting our "day in New York" was well worth it (click here to read more about the process of obtaining permission). The people of New York were warm, receptive and gave us a huge response.

Literally thousands of people browsed the screens throughout the day. New York was the busiest place we have set-up Dialogue. Some of the highlights included meeting Bob Dylan's "ex" and signing a Dialogue Project book she is giving him for his birthday, running into an editor at the Huffington Post (one of my favorite "blogs") who is going to run a story on Dialogue and talking with dozens of people with fascinating stories. Including finally meeting artist rights activist Robert Lederman.

I first contacted Robert when I was having difficulty securing a location for Dialogue in New York. Robert is a a champion for freedom of expression in public spaces. He sued the city of New York many times for the right to display his art in public spaces. He is a kindred spirit and I want to thank him for giving us a poignant interview for the Dialogue documentary. He has important things to say about our liberties and how the government can slowly, secretly erode them.

I also want to thank Gail Dubov for allowing our crew to stay at her wonderful Upper West Side apartment. It was a home away from home! Since Central Park was so close, we enjoyed much needed breaks away from the hectic street life of New York, including the stress of having two large autos in Manhattan! ;-)

I'm feeling a bit tired and missing home as we head to... Warren, OH! The small town of Warren has extended a warm welcoming, so I'm looking forward to a more relaxing time there.

Sally's Journal

I love New York! Magic happened the moment we walked into the apartment sublet by Gail. What a warm, spacious, cool woman and home! She even left wine to celebrate our arrival. I was the only one to imbibe.

Then, the next welcome: embraced by the New Yorkers in Union Square. Next to Gandhi's statue, I talked to a crush of humanity from marginally curious to delighted, from intellectuals to mentally ill, from the prosaic to the overwhelmed.  Thank God I am a licensed clinician, for I knew exactly what to say to those last, and even though there were only a spare, few minutes, the relief I saw and the words I heard told me for the moment I helped.

To these people, the screens'  quotes were like godsends. So I gave them the books for free. These quotes are instant, in-house therapy for any occasion.

 After perusing the screens, many people's came up with a smile and the same two first words: a resounding "Thank You!"--as if the screens were the only oasis in miles of desert, instead of in the midst of so many and so much so intensely close.

Photos