I’ll admit it: I often feel ground down by the world. Climate. Politics. The economy. Patriarchy. Fascism. I try not to doomscroll—but then end up simply toggling between doom and puppies. My latest solution? Art-scrolling.
I love the serendipity of strolling through a museum or gallery, my eyes landing on something I’d never have known to seek out, finding a story in the exhibit label that sparks a connection with something else I’ve been thinking about. But I live in a smaller centre and do less traveling than I used to, and so my gallery and museum visits aren’t as frequent as they once were. My easy-to-access substitute? Subscribing to gallery and museum YouTube channels. (Good news: YouTube’s not just for far-right radicalization!) Recent art-scrolls have led me to the Bodhisattva Jizo from 1291 housed at The Met, Tamara Karsavina’s Salome costume for the Ballets Russes at the Victoria and Albert Museum, artist Jesse Krimes and his compelling exploration of incarceration, Pacita Abad’s joyful works at the Art Gallery of Ontario, and more. All of it gives me hope, as I connect to art—some of it created in difficult times and circumstances—and find in it beauty that inspires and challenges me.
— Kim Pittaway is the co-author with Toufah Jallow of Toufah: The Woman Who Inspired an African #MeToo Movement and with Dr. Samra Zafar of Unconditional. Her memoir Grudge: What We Learn from What We Can’t Forgive is soon to be serialized. Find out more at kimpittaway.com and kim.substack.com.
You can read Lorri Neilsen Glenn and Kim Pittaway’s story "When Memories Meet Words: A Conversation about Writing Memoir" in Issue 304 (Summer Creative Nonfiction 2025). Order the issue now:
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