Date: March 31 • 2023
End date: May 25 • 2023
Online: April 6 to May 25, 2023
Oil Paintings in the Leonore Peyton Salon
Please note: the Leonore Peyton Salon is a multi-purpose space; therefore, viewing times are limited. Please call 604.664.1636 for viewing availability prior to your visit.
It is time to demand an overhaul and design a system and economy that is fair to everyone, not just the privileged few. How can we say we live in a democracy when so many decisions are made and executed by the ruling class, often without the knowledge or consent of society? The system we live in makes the rich richer and keeps the rest of society in the dark, accepting poor working conditions and job insecurity. There is no more class mobility, and there is a growing two-tiered reality with a gradual dissipation of the middle class.
Neoliberalism is the ideology that shapes the world we live in. It thrives because many people do not know it exists or understand it, which is part of the insidious nature of neoliberalism. It keeps people distracted and unaware, so the most power remains unchallenged in corporate hands and the dynastically wealthy. As the wealthy become wealthier, the poorest people in the world suffer the most. We are currently on the precipice of a brutal future caused by this system that will be devastating to human lives if we do not make changes now.
Climate change is inevitable. We are past the tipping points we were warned about. As Greta Thunberg said, “we cannot solve a crisis without treating it as a crisis[.]” It is time to realize that we, the average people, outnumber the oligarchs who hold the future of human survival in their hands. The wealthiest 10% of people in the world are responsible for 50% of greenhouse gas emissions. It is time that the wealthy pay their fair share so that we can begin to mitigate the situation and prevent it from getting much worse. It is time for people to collectivize and use our power in numbers to demand accountability of the wealthiest and most powerful people to pay their taxes and compensate their workers fairly. It is time to evaluate our own consumption and the greater costs involved. A neoliberal farce about climate change is that we must fight it individually, but in reality we must come together. And we must do so urgently. The sixth mass extinction, the anthropocene, is playing out right before our eyes, and we are overworked and underpaid, exhausted and distracted, emotionally depleted and confused. It is time to hold accountable those who are responsible for emboldening a system that is racist, sexist, classist and destroying the planet. It is time to demand an overhaul and design a system and economy that is fair to everyone.
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