Sherman Avenue United Methodist Church, a multicultural community of faith on Madison’s North Side, will host a community workshop and market for people to make art as an act of love and resistance.
“The Warm Up: Love Your Neighbor With Action” will bring the community together to express their worries and grievances with what’s currently happening in the United States. Annik Dupaty, along with others at Sherman Church, came up with an idea to bring an avenue for community members to act. The event will have three areas to focus on — artmaking, an action marketplace with community organizations, and an opportunity for people to get together and meet face-to-face to talk about what they’re concerned about.
Art has always been a way for Dupaty to approach problems she sees creatively. Dupaty has a background in visual arts and event planning, so she married the two for community members to tackle the issues they see creatively.
“Many of us are concerned about what’s going on in our country, in our world, and many of us are doing things to combat all of these issues that we have concerns about,” Dupaty said. “It’s an unending list of concerns about the human condition in this country, and we’re thinking about what additional things we can do instead of feeling this frustration.”
The event will feature the chance to print on clothes you bring to “wear something on the outside that you’re feeling on the inside,” Dupaty said. 
Stencils will be provided with a few different expressions like “Love your neighbor,” “My God is the DEI God,” “No person is illegal,” “Freedom for everyone,” and more. Signs will also be made that people can put up in their windows or yards.
The other component of the event will be its action marketplace. It features different local organizations like the North Side Action Team, African Center for Community Development, Operation Fresh Start, the Foundation for Black Women’s Wellness, Blacks for Political and Social Action Dane County and others.
“The idea is that people who come to the event will visit the tables and find out how they can get involved and what action they can take,” Dupaty said. “Each of the table exhibitors will have an idea about what you can do to show love to your neighbor and what action you can take to show love to your neighbor.”
The third area aims to foster community and to get people to better know each other. Talking to each other and staying informed is a great way to figure out how to support one another, Dupaty said.
“I think it’s really important that people know that there are like-minded people out there that care about what’s happening,” Dupaty said. “There is a lot happening every single day we need to be concerned about in terms of the way this administration is eroding our rights and making changes that impact predominantly Black and brown people.”
“The Warm Up: Love Your Neighbor With Action” is free to attend and art supplies to make prints will be provided; they only ask that you bring your own clothing to print on. No registration is required to attend.
The event will be held on Saturday, April 11, 1-3 p.m. in Sherman Church’s community room, 3705 N. Sherman Ave.
