On December 1st Sixty started our annual Winter Slowdown, an eight-week pause from the typical pace of our daily work. We will not be reviewing new pitches, collaboration proposals, or other requests. We will be clearing our calendars of meetings, obligations, and hard deadlines as much as we possibly can until January 6th. Then, from January 6th to 26th, we will slowly ease into the year, working our way back to inboxes and calendars.
We created our annual Winter Slowdown because we know that our communities’ battles often come like clockwork, so it’s easy to miss the opportunity to rest–therefore we schedule it annually. Winter is also the season of hibernation and incubation. Rest is required in order to replenish our strength and stamina for whatever is next. Spending time with loved ones keeps us anchored to our purpose and who we do this for.
It’s an understatement to say that the next year will be increasingly difficult for us and the communities that are at the heart of everything we do. And there is no denying that we are on the precipice of wildly uncertain times. But even in that uncertainty, our work will continue and our purpose remains clear.
We are clear about our advocacy for the cultural preservation of our people as well as the caretakers of our archives as we watch the next wave of brazen acts of censorship with the alteration of Indigenous and Black histories at the National Archives. We gain clarity on our power as an organization rooted in liberatory values as legislation passed in the House of Representatives–H.R. 9495–that will, without due process, “grant the executive branch extraordinary power to investigate, harass, and effectively dismantle any nonprofit organization—including news outlets, universities, and civil liberties organizations—of tax-exempt status based on a unilateral accusation of wrongdoing.” Our vision sharpens around how much work still needs to be done across our region as we look at election maps of the Midwest and see the many counties, cities, and towns where political choices make it known that people like us are still deeply misunderstood, merely tolerated, or not welcomed.
We also recognize that these threats to us as an organization pale in comparison to the next administration’s promise of mass deportations, restrictions on transgender healthcare, and disastrous economic policies that will impact the most vulnerable among us. And this targeting of us and our communities unfolds all while we continue to grieve and contribute what we can to the fight for justice and liberation worldwide—from Gaza to Sudan, from Congo to all of the lands colonized and exploited by the United States, and beyond.
Sixty was founded by and created for those of us whose stories, artistry, and labor have been neglected in dominant cultural narratives of the Midwest and the wider United States. Our work has always been about providing a platform and capsule for the artists and writers who work to rectify, record, and transmute the harms done to us and others by those in positions of social, economic, and political power. We will continue to walk in the legacy of the artists, organizers, writers, journalists, historians, educators, and library workers who came before us and be inspired by those doing this work alongside us. We will continue to find strength in being part of a lineage of artists and cultural caretakers who have made it their life’s work to expose the exploitative and harmful nature of global imperialism. We will continue to see artists as translators and messengers who bring us all closer to understanding centuries of injustice while finding reverence in our present moment and envisioning glorious futures.
Before we go, we would like to leave you with a sneak peak of a few projects that will reach full bloom in 2025 and demonstrate our commitment to nurturing, safeguarding, and uplifting our communities, even as authoritarianism tries to seed fear and distrust, and rob us of our collective power.
Find & Seek is a new take on classic newspaper classifieds and Craigslist Missed Connections that we hope will inspire you to be brave in how you find your people across the Midwest while also providing financial fuel for Sixty. Sixty Collective is a database of Sixty-affiliated artists and arts workers in the Midwest and an advocacy initiative that will allow us to champion and attempt to model better working conditions for our sector. And finally, Gigwest is a newsletter that celebrates and seeks to further fuel the artists, arts workers, and creative ecosystems of the Midwest by gathering gigs, jobs, and opportunities that cater to our communities. Sign up for Sixty’s newsletter HERE and be the first to know when these projects launch in the new year. And these projects are only part of our work.
Our dream as we transition into 2025 is that you, too, will find ways to feel rested and ready. And to reach a new level of clarity. We need you on the other side.
