With an artist’s eye for exploring identity and social relations, Dorit Cypis challenges us to deeply question who we are to each other — conceptually, psychologically, and politically. On a whirling planet rife with friction, such an act has become essential. We need new ways to communicate our differences: new methods to connect, common languages to speak, skilled specialists able to shine light into the darkness of human discord and illuminate healing. Our old model of distinct categories separates us. We must activate creativity and critical thinking; bring intuition and empathy into the discussion; navigate and combine our differences. The situation is urgent. Much is at stake.
An activator and a visionary, Dorit Cypis transforms human conflict into constructive discussion, creative expression, and opportunities for greater understanding. Balancing aesthetics with social action, she creates openings in which critical thinking, connection, and transformation can occur.
Whether making art, mediating a disagreement, facilitating dialogue, or, as a consultant, creating programs that spark communication, empower youth, or build community, Cypis draws upon the aesthetic questioning that hums at the core of her creative soul. As art is driven by conflict, she understands that conflict can be resolved through the process that generates art — with its attendant epiphanies and tendency to explode and upend conventional thinking.
Cypis explores, and helps others to explore, how the expression and analysis of conflict can provide a greater understanding of human differences. Her approach is pragmatic and visionary; intuitive and reasoned. Nothing is separate. In everything she does, she begins with the artist’s palette, embracing a creative process that achieves practical ends. In an era darkened by human discord, her methods are more necessary than ever.