David Byrne: Reasons to be Cheerful
A Conversation with David Byrne & Guests
Musician and artist, David Byrne founded Reasons to be Cheerful three years ago as a remedy to the current news climate. As a non-profit editorial that looks at solutions to the world’s most pressing problems with a sense of healthy optimism, journalistic rigor, and hope.
Reasons to be Cheerful aims to balance out needlessly amplified negativity with hopeful, rigorously reported stories of positive change that help us understand not only that the world is getting better, but how. By telling stories that thaw the paralysis that comes with the negative news cycle, and alter our perspective of what is possible, we aim to open avenues for change and action.
Byrne will speak on the aims and effects of solutions-based journalism and speak with two inspiring regional activists and changemakers who are committed to building practical, effective solutions to problems in their communities.
David Byrne is the founder and in-house headline writer of Reasons to be Cheerful, and the founder of Arbutus, a non-profit organization that celebrates, re-presents and amplifies ideas found in surprising places, ensuring that our picture of the world contains the joy that it should, and is accessible to everyone. Reasons to be Cheerful is the Arbutus Foundation’s first and primary project.
Byrne has been involved with photography, drawing, installations, performance and design throughout his career and has been publishing and exhibiting his work since the 1990s.
Other recent works include the Broadway debut of David Byrne’s American Utopia (2019) as well as the Spike Lee directed film version (2020), SOCIAL! Social; Distance Dance Club at The Park Avenue Armory (2021), and the world premiere of Theater of the Mind at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts (2022).
His recent book projects include A History of the World (in Dingbats): Drawings & Words (2022); How Music Works (2012), Arboretum (2006).
Byrne lives and works in New York City.
Reasons to be Cheerful is a non-profit editorial project that is tonic for tumultuous times. The news magazine was founded by artist and musician David Byrne, who believes in the power of approaching the world with curiosity—in art, in music, in collaboration and in life.
Reasons to be Cheerful embodies this sensibility by telling stories of solutions to the world’s most pressing problems with a sense of healthy optimism, journalistic rigor and hope.
Through this reporting, Reasons to be Cheerful aims to inspire us all to be curious about how the world can be better, and to ask ourselves how we can be part of that change.
Candy Carver is a North Carolina native that spent her formative years in Elkhart, IN, where she developed her abstract creativity. Working primarily with acrylic and various surfaces from canvas to vinyl, she creates vibrant, textured pieces that touch the soul and excite viewers.
Her murals can be found throughout the Southeastern States. Carver contributes much of her inspiration to her own love for excitement, color, and beauty found in the human form.
Cathy Jennings bio is to come
