Ep. 61 - Art, Hands, and a Flag. Artist Ariel Basso's Journey to the "We Are America" Project
Description
We talk with artist and musician Ariel Basso about a life in art shaped by Miami roots, Brooklyn grit, and a mother’s blindness that sparked a tactile mixed-media method. The conversation builds toward “We Are America,” a community flag made from the handprints of veterans’ families, alongside a documentary and an original song with a children’s choir.
• first‑generation Cuban American upbringing and early street creativity
• New York years in music and found‑object sculpture
• Prospect Park earthwork and the joy of impermanence
• self‑taught practice, risk over critique, multiple works in progress
• South Florida’s growing arts ecosystem and Northwood’s hive
• mixed‑media raised canvases for visually impaired audiences
• the We Are America concept, symbolism, and traveling exhibit plan
• search for Gama, a blind Vietnam veteran who inspired the project
• song collaboration and 30‑piece children’s choir
• funding challenges, resistance, and building a 13‑star demo
• invitation for veterans’ families to submit children’s handprints
• ways to follow, donate, and join the project
Go to his Instagram account, go to his website. If you really love what he's doing and you're impressed by it, like my wife and I are, then give him your money. If you have a child that fits their hand fits in a six by six square, and you would like your child's handprint to be one of the stars stars on this flag, send them an email.
United States
