Enuma Okoro

The first time I met His Holiness I had been invited to Rome with a small group to speak about writing, creativity, spirituality and storytelling. His Holiness had an expansive,barrier-breaking understanding of love, and love as a verb. He invited about 40 of us to the Vatican because he wanted to meet us. He shared a message of how he thinks of the artist’s role. A short segment below… “I am happy to meet you in the course of this Conference that has assembled poets, writers, scriptwriters and directors from various parts of the world to discuss the topic of poetic imagination and Catholic inspiration. In these days you have reflected on the ways that faith challenges contemporary life and in this way seeks to respond to the thirst for meaning.... Artists are those who with their eyes both see and dream.... Let me say something else: You are also the voice of the “restlessness” of the human spirit. You know quite well that artistic inspiration is not only consoling but also disquieting, since it presents both the beautiful and the tragic realities of life. Art is the fertile terrain where the “polar oppositions” of reality[2] can be expressed with a language that must be creative, flexible and capable of serving as a vehicle for powerful messages and visions.... I am referring not only to social criticism, but also to the deep struggles of the soul, the complexity of decision-making, the contradictions of our human existence. There are things in life which at times we can barely grasp, or find adequate words to express. This is your own fertile terrain, your proper field of activity. It is often the place too where we encounter God, in an experience which is always “superabundant”, like an overflowing basin. That is the challenge I would like to present to you today: to go beyond set bounds, to be creative without downplaying your own spiritual restlessness and that of humanity. To embrace, poetically, the anxious yearnings present in the human heart, lest they grow cold and fade away.” ~ Address of His Holiness Pope Francis to invited participants, Conference ‘The Global Esthetics of the Catholic Imagination’ (May 27, 2023) May he rest in eternal peace.

With such gratitude to all participating artists, @haleymellin @lornasimpson @studioolafureliasson @rashidjohnson @jennyholzerstudio @adamadelphine @pamelaphatsimo @cas_amandaa #KikiSmith #BillieZangewa #AmaCodjoe and to EVERYONE who visited the exhibition, The Flesh of the Earth. And to @hauserwirth and all the many many hands behind the scenes. It’s always a team effort. Art is essential to life, and curating this show and seeing it exude its own energy was a deep joy. Here’s to the next 🤞🏽… (And with thanks to @melalcena for so many beautiful photos 📸)

Back on the pages ✍🏽 with some pieces I love and some reflections. “The Art of Life.” Wisdom from the body, from earth and her varied ecosystems, from elders and ancestors… online or in print in the pink 🗞️

✍🏽 this weekend I wrote a bit about invitations, where do they come from, how do we consider or recognize them? In my column, “The Art of Life” in print in the pink 🗞️, this weekend’s @financialtimes or online. I’m going to take a brief break off the pages but I’ll be back. See you soon…🤎

Happy Easter 💐 In today’s column I write about practicing resurrection in the here and now. And of course I return to Wendell Berry’s 1973 poem “Manifesto: The Mad Farmer Liberation Front.” Read it. And I got to use one of Lenz Geerk’s works, whose poetic paintings I’m slightly enamored with. The Art of Life in this weekend’s pink 🗞️ and online @financialtimes

✍🏽 I wrote about game-playing as kids and adults. Sometimes fun. Sometimes not at all. Full piece in my column this weekend “The Art of Life,” in print in the pink 🗞️ and online

In this weekend’s “The Art of Life” I’m thinking some about the complexity of many of our lives. How we exist in multiple narratives. Being and holding multiple realities, identities, even the daily reality of conflicting feelings and senses of self. Reflecting on works by artist Salman Toor and writer Dina Nayeri. Here, just a snippet. Full article in print in the pink 🗞️ and online.

Today is beautiful outside. Giving thanks 💐. Wishing everyone a weekend of respite and some joy filled moments.

✍🏽 The Art of Life this weekend, a little reflection on the much needed question (in my mind) - “How do we stay tender?” A small snippet here but more on staying tender in the full column @financialtimes online or in print in the pink 🗞️ . A couple of days ago a friend shared a photo of a butterfly lying sideways in the palm of her hand. It was beautiful but it didn’t look alive. When I asked her about it she shared that she’d found the butterfly on the sidewalk and took it home to bury it in her garden. So beautiful to me and such an act of genuine tenderness. 🦋 I’d be so curious to hear a moment of tenderness or wonder that you’ve recently experienced… Art featured this week: Tree Swallow, 1956 © (Minneapolis Institute of Art). courtesy of ACA Galleries, © Estate of Aaron Bohrod. Matthew Krishanu’s ‘Boys on a Rock’ (2018) William Henry Margetson’s ‘A New Day’ (1930) © Alamy

Art that’s been helping me recently think and feel through the days… “Black Dress” by Aubrey Levinthal, 2022 (with permission by artist @aubreylevinthal ) Slide 2 & 3 from “A Glimmer in the Dark,” (The Art of Life, Enuma Okoro, Financial Times, online edition, February 7th, 2026)

“Vocation” by Felice Casorati, 1939 Slide 2 & 3 from “A Glimmer in the Dark,” (The Art of Life, Enuma Okoro, Financial Times, online edition, February 7th, 2026)

Definitely not long enough in Marrakech but grateful another rich @thediasporasalon gathering held at the glorious @jnanetamsna with @meryanneinspired @claudegrunitzky @mame_fatouniang . I spoke about “Memories, Words and Rituals as Vessels for Moving Forward,” alongside other inspiring panels with a beautiful diverse range of speakers across vocational fields. I think it is fair to say we all drank from deep wells. Beautiful beautiful days…🙏🏽🙏🏽