Is art for museums and collectors, or does it belong in the streets? Could art help us turn away from mass-produced violence and ugliness, and give each of us ways to forge an imaginative and beautiful future? Images of the future are essential to the health of all cultures, for a society’s vitality is lost once its capacity to imagine is gone. The work of artists, then, represents culture’s way of imagining beyond its linear and predictable patterns.

A variety of community celebrations were highlighted in this article, among them the "species procession" as told by Connie Kim: The Procession of the Species flows through the streets of Olympia, Washington, incorporating art, music, and dance into an event that allows people to artistically embody wild species. It is not unusual to see a butterfly-winged adult playing African drums while dancing the Samba. Its success and popularity have prompted other U.S. cities to adopt their own processions, and as far away as Pitesti, Romania.