0:00:00.992,0:00:02.445
So here we are.

0:00:02.469,0:00:05.524
I'm at home, as I'm sure[br]many of you are, too.

0:00:05.548,0:00:07.633
And we've all begun to understand

0:00:07.657,0:00:09.712
how our relationship with ourselves,

0:00:09.736,0:00:10.903
with each other

0:00:10.927,0:00:12.224
and the spaces we exist in

0:00:12.248,0:00:15.669
can deeply impact[br]our sense of identity and purpose.

0:00:15.693,0:00:18.542
So much has dramatically changed.

0:00:18.566,0:00:21.936
There's a sense of distance now[br]unlike ever before.

0:00:21.960,0:00:23.516
But what if I told you

0:00:23.540,0:00:27.904
that you could find a way[br]from your heart to your hand

0:00:27.928,0:00:29.829
to reconnect again,

0:00:29.853,0:00:33.861
and that through this practice[br]and embracing this cause,

0:00:33.885,0:00:36.879
I could help you to recalibrate your mind

0:00:36.903,0:00:40.379
so that you could explore[br]this new reality with joy,

0:00:40.403,0:00:44.026
enthusiasm, imagination and hope?

0:00:44.050,0:00:46.804
And all it would take is a simple pen.

0:00:47.582,0:00:48.916
To get you there,

0:00:48.940,0:00:50.709
let's go back to the beginning.

0:00:50.733,0:00:54.403
As a kid growing up in a council estate[br]in Southeast London,

0:00:54.427,0:00:55.982
I was an outsider.

0:00:56.006,0:00:57.816
I'm the oldest of six kids,

0:00:57.840,0:00:59.998
and all of my siblings are very English:

0:01:00.022,0:01:02.553
blond hair, blue eyes, very cute.

0:01:02.577,0:01:03.777
And then there was me:

0:01:03.801,0:01:06.984
half Nigerian, brown, with an Afro.

0:01:07.339,0:01:10.077
So what happens when you look different

0:01:10.101,0:01:11.514
and you feel different,

0:01:11.538,0:01:13.709
and in many ways,[br]start to think differently

0:01:13.733,0:01:16.966
from everyone and everything around you?

0:01:16.990,0:01:22.354
How do you find your way[br]out of a dark, racist, homophobic

0:01:22.378,0:01:24.331
and very lonely place?

0:01:24.355,0:01:26.423
This is where the pen comes in.

0:01:26.836,0:01:28.450
I started to draw.

0:01:28.474,0:01:30.545
So as you can see, I've got this pen,

0:01:30.569,0:01:32.180
and it knows where it's going.

0:01:32.204,0:01:34.799
And I've learned very well[br]how to follow it.

0:01:34.823,0:01:38.125
And the first thing I did is[br]I followed this line,

0:01:38.149,0:01:40.899
and I drew myself out of a culture

0:01:40.923,0:01:43.603
that was only telling me[br]what I couldn't do.

0:01:43.944,0:01:45.804
I trusted my pen,

0:01:45.828,0:01:48.569
and it led me to Central Saint Martin's,

0:01:48.593,0:01:50.815
a very fancy art school in London,

0:01:50.839,0:01:53.362
where I graduated top of my year.

0:01:53.386,0:01:57.463
However, I soon realized[br]there wasn't a place for me in London,

0:01:57.487,0:02:00.133
because whether you wish[br]to believe it or not,

0:02:00.157,0:02:03.519
England is still a country[br]that is rooted and functions within

0:02:03.543,0:02:04.704
the class system.

0:02:04.728,0:02:10.671
And as a young, black, gay female artist[br]from a working-class family,

0:02:10.695,0:02:12.425
I didn't stand a chance.

0:02:12.449,0:02:15.283
So I left London and I moved to Japan,

0:02:15.307,0:02:19.276
where I didn't experience[br]people asking me where I was really from.

0:02:19.300,0:02:21.251
I was just another gaijin,

0:02:21.275,0:02:24.206
which, ironically, means "outsider."

0:02:24.606,0:02:28.669
I was immersed in a culture[br]that honors both making and craft,

0:02:28.693,0:02:31.879
where people perfect their craft[br]over generations.

0:02:31.903,0:02:34.910
It's a culture that masters[br]both time and space,

0:02:34.934,0:02:37.826
so that artists can truly[br]create with freedom.

0:02:38.282,0:02:41.813
And what I discovered[br]was a place I wasn't angry with.

0:02:42.155,0:02:44.369
Tokyo hadn't wronged me in any way.

0:02:44.393,0:02:46.903
I could no longer create with anger

0:02:46.927,0:02:48.465
or out of pain.

0:02:48.489,0:02:52.253
I had to bravely allow myself[br]to create from a different place.

0:02:52.812,0:02:55.693
And what I found is this incredible tool

0:02:55.717,0:02:58.672
transcended a line on paper.

0:02:58.696,0:03:00.070
I found a thing

0:03:00.094,0:03:02.807
that connected my head to my heart

0:03:02.831,0:03:04.831
and my hand, to everything.

0:03:05.463,0:03:08.066
I could see the world in new ways.

0:03:08.090,0:03:09.979
I found connections in corners

0:03:10.003,0:03:12.966
and the solutions to problems[br]I never knew existed.

0:03:12.990,0:03:16.252
It's like the world with all its[br]positive and negative spaces

0:03:16.276,0:03:17.915
could now be seen.

0:03:17.939,0:03:19.371
And just by seeing it,

0:03:19.395,0:03:21.283
there was no longer any fear.

0:03:21.307,0:03:23.569
It's like my pen was a flashlight,

0:03:23.593,0:03:26.053
and the unknown was still there,

0:03:26.077,0:03:27.467
but it wasn't scary.

0:03:27.861,0:03:31.926
After five years of living in Japan[br]and focusing on my craft,

0:03:31.950,0:03:34.400
I felt like I needed a new challenge.

0:03:34.903,0:03:36.110
So I moved to New York,

0:03:36.134,0:03:38.379
because that's what you do[br]as an artist, right?

0:03:38.403,0:03:40.394
You move to the greatest[br]city in the world

0:03:40.418,0:03:41.642
that has the ability

0:03:41.666,0:03:45.873
to make you feel[br]completely and utterly invisible.

0:03:46.788,0:03:49.882
This is when I began to truly ask myself,

0:03:49.906,0:03:52.255
"Who are you?"

0:03:52.279,0:03:55.288
I would wake up in the morning,[br]and before I began my day,

0:03:55.312,0:03:57.006
I would meditate on this.

0:03:57.030,0:03:58.991
And with this question in mind,

0:03:59.015,0:04:00.498
I kept drawing.

0:04:00.522,0:04:02.124
I followed the line.

0:04:02.148,0:04:03.791
I let it lead the way.

0:04:03.815,0:04:05.995
The process of picking up a pen,

0:04:06.019,0:04:08.653
something everyone has access to,

0:04:08.677,0:04:12.077
the act of giving myself[br]permission to let go

0:04:12.101,0:04:16.014
of all thoughts, all fears,[br]insecurities --

0:04:16.038,0:04:17.688
anything that would get in the way

0:04:17.712,0:04:20.490
of allowing myself to be completely me --

0:04:20.514,0:04:23.726
that became my way[br]of experiencing freedom.

0:04:23.750,0:04:25.361
When I got to New York,

0:04:25.385,0:04:28.090
I didn't want to play by the rules[br]of the art world.

0:04:28.114,0:04:31.288
I continued my practice as an outsider.

0:04:31.312,0:04:32.796
I kept drawing.

0:04:33.249,0:04:36.069
Curiosity became the ink for my pen,

0:04:36.093,0:04:38.355
and I continued to dive deeper.

0:04:38.379,0:04:42.829
Over time, I began to create[br]a bold, confident space for myself,

0:04:42.853,0:04:44.909
a space that was all my own.

0:04:44.933,0:04:47.274
Initially, it was just my bedroom.

0:04:47.298,0:04:50.320
But that bedroom ended up[br]in "The New York Times,"

0:04:50.344,0:04:53.222
and suddenly, I was being seen and known

0:04:53.246,0:04:55.246
for this world I had created.

0:04:56.034,0:04:57.213
Since then,

0:04:57.237,0:05:00.744
I've created and collaborated[br]with some of the most unique artists,

0:05:00.768,0:05:02.655
institutions and spaces,

0:05:02.679,0:05:04.855
from the screens of Times Square,

0:05:04.879,0:05:08.934
to the New York City Ballet[br]for their incredible artist series,

0:05:08.958,0:05:11.434
where I interviewed a number of dancers.

0:05:11.458,0:05:14.181
Their stories and words[br]became the foundation

0:05:14.205,0:05:16.950
of over 30 drawings and artworks,

0:05:16.974,0:05:19.268
which took over the promenade walls,

0:05:19.292,0:05:21.467
windows and floors.

0:05:22.249,0:05:23.495
For a long time,

0:05:23.519,0:05:26.725
I wanted to create a space[br]for contemplation and poetry.

0:05:26.749,0:05:28.029
And in 2019,

0:05:28.053,0:05:30.363
I was given the opportunity[br]to do just that

0:05:30.387,0:05:32.198
by the Trust of Governor's Island.

0:05:32.585,0:05:35.085
They provided me with the perfect canvas

0:05:35.109,0:05:37.577
in the form of a former military chapel.

0:05:37.601,0:05:39.349
Meet "The May Room."

0:05:39.792,0:05:43.926
With drawings on the exterior[br]inspired by the history of the island,

0:05:43.950,0:05:46.601
you walk inside, you take your shoes off,

0:05:46.625,0:05:49.395
and there's a drawing on the floor[br]in the form of a maze

0:05:49.419,0:05:50.990
that brings you back to you.

0:05:51.014,0:05:53.585
It's an invitation to become calm.

0:05:53.609,0:05:57.222
And this allows you[br]to see phrases on the wall.

0:05:57.246,0:05:58.968
"May you be wise."

0:05:58.992,0:06:01.066
"May you sleep soundly at night."

0:06:01.090,0:06:03.275
"May we save trees."

0:06:03.299,0:06:05.826
"May you," "may you," "may we."

0:06:05.850,0:06:08.934
And these phrases seem[br]like they're rising from you

0:06:08.958,0:06:10.598
or falling into you.

0:06:12.074,0:06:14.749
I've let my lines[br]become much like a language,

0:06:14.773,0:06:17.471
a language that has unfolded[br]much like life.

0:06:17.495,0:06:19.034
And when there has been silence,

0:06:19.058,0:06:21.609
I've sought connection[br]through conversation,

0:06:21.633,0:06:24.353
asking questions to push[br]through the discomfort.

0:06:24.377,0:06:27.467
Drawing has taught me[br]how to create my own rules.

0:06:27.916,0:06:31.822
It has taught me to open my eyes[br]to see not only what is,

0:06:31.846,0:06:33.160
but what can be.

0:06:33.184,0:06:35.715
And where there are broken systems,

0:06:35.739,0:06:40.656
we can create new ones[br]that actually function and benefit all,

0:06:40.680,0:06:42.680
instead of just a select few.

0:06:43.046,0:06:45.939
Drawing has taught me[br]how to fully engage with the world.

0:06:46.288,0:06:49.820
And what I've come to realize[br]through this language of lines

0:06:49.844,0:06:52.383
is not the importance of being seen,

0:06:52.407,0:06:55.493
but rather the gift of seeing[br]that we give to others

0:06:55.517,0:06:59.223
and how true freedom[br]is the ability to see.

0:06:59.247,0:07:00.856
And I don't mean that literally,

0:07:00.880,0:07:04.222
because sight is only one way[br]in which one can see.

0:07:04.246,0:07:07.934
But what I mean is to experience[br]the world in its entirety,

0:07:07.958,0:07:11.466
maybe even more so[br]during the most challenging moments

0:07:11.490,0:07:13.693
like the one we face today.

0:07:13.717,0:07:15.096
I'm Shantell Martin.

0:07:15.120,0:07:16.271
I draw.

0:07:16.295,0:07:18.212
And I invite you to pick up a pen

0:07:18.236,0:07:20.188
and see where it takes you.

0:07:20.212,0:07:23.071
(Music)