Dr. Lewis, whose groundbreaking works The Rise: Creativity, the Gift of Failure, and the Search for Mastery and The Unseen Truth have reshaped contemporary conversations around art, culture and democracy, delivered a lecture that held the audience in absolute rapture. She spoke with clarity and grace about the intersection of art and civic life and about how images shape consciousness, how creativity reveals what democracy can be at its best and how art serves as both mirror and catalyst within a nation as strong and as fragile as the United States.
Credit: S. Rosner
Credit: S. Rosner
In a single sweeping lecture, Sarah guided us along an illustrated journey through history, justice, aspiration and the quiet but undeniable power of the creative act. She reminded us that images that whether crafted by painters, photographers, designers, dancers, or makers of all kinds, have helped articulate the imagination of this country. Her argument was clear: the arts are not ornamental, they are foundational.
I have long believed that artists are the revolutionary force we need in times of upheaval. Art can be refuge, yes, but it can also be reckoning. It can steady us when the world tilts, or illuminate paths forward when the way is dim. As I’ve written many times, this isn’t mere idealism; it’s my personal manifesto. My North Star.
In The Rise, Dr. Lewis examines individuals who have met daunting challenges with bold ambition, transforming missteps and near-misses into catalysts for innovation. Their stories, woven together, form a sweeping chorus of resilience. They also challenge the structural flaws in our democracy by showing how cultural imagination can push us beyond complacency. Sarah’s research becomes a powerful case for culture as one of the strongest defenses we have against apathy, cynicism, and the creeping erosion of civic life. Her presence in Springfield offered fuel for the journey ahead, an invitation to fortify ourselves personally while recognizing the collective power of a community that has long invested in art, design, and cultural thinking.
And here I must applaud Marta Wojcik and her extraordinary team at the Westcott House. They continue to expand what a historic house museum can be. Preserving a Frank Lloyd Wright masterpiece is no small feat; but preserving it as a living space for ideas, creativity, and democratic dialogue is transformative. It is bold. It is visionary. It is exactly what cultural stewardship demands in the twenty-first century.
In Springfield, Ohio, perhaps the unlikeliest of places for such radical imagination, Westcott House stands as a beacon, a reminder that the arts can restore us, reorient us, and remind us who we aspire to be. And that, in itself, is reason enough to celebrate.
Rodney Veal is the host of ThinkTV/CET Connect and President of the board of OhioDance.
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