Alicia Bay Laurel is an American artist, author, and musician, well known for her bestselling 1970 book Living On The Earth, a notable guide for participants in the American back-to-the-land movement of the 1960s and 1970s. Having become good friends with Alicia in the past few years, we’ve starting making use of the real sharing economy together.
We should note here that, as opposed what you might know as the modern ‘commercial’ sharing economy, our version of sharing is to use our skills and tools to support each other in doing things that make the world a better, more beautiful, or more celebratory place; nothing to do with making money from each other. Among other things, Patrick recently helped with a video editing project of Alicia’s touching peace concert in Hiroshima, and Alicia kindly offered to throw a benefit concert here at The Branch during her tour.
You can enjoy a few videos from the concert, which features Alicia, as well as local flutist Miyu Hironaga (and even Patrick on one song). The concert quickly sold out, filling the cozy gallery here at The Branch with a warm, family-like atmosphere.
I think we got more than we bargained for.
Besides the inspiring and heart-warming performance, Alicia stayed at AIR Osaka hostel here in Kitakagaya for a week. We explored the neighborhood together during her visit, and enjoyed the atmosphere of art, creativity, sharing, and communal dinners. It reminded us that, even though we’re living in a major city, there are moments where this tiny corner of Osaka truly feels more like a communal creative village.
Here’s to increasing the occurrence of such moments.