“Justice is what love looks like in public. ”
Lead to Life is transforming weapons into shovels for tree planting ceremonies at sites that have been impacted by violence or carry spiritual significance across Atlanta (occupied lands of the Cherokee and Creek people) and Oakland (occupied lands of the Ohlone people.)
Inspired by Mexican artist Pedro Reyes and an ancient lineage of Swords to Plowshares creators, we choose to locate our alchemy and cultural healing work in the US (occupied Turtle Island).
on the practice //
our
intention
Intention in medicine is defined as the healing process of a wound. Our intention through Lead to Life is to transform that which ends life into that which sustains life - to facilitate an alchemical healing process that can physically transform both our weapons and our imaginations.
Within the current climate of pervasive environmental racism, gun violence, and desecration of the land, our creative interventions are designed to:
- bridge connections between restorative and environmental justice
- restore the ecological foundations of sacred spaces within our urban geographies, and
- rekindle relationships of reverence and reciprocity with each other and the Earth.
our team
“move at the speed of trust. focus on critical connections rather than critical mass.”
The collaborators, brontë velez + kyle lemle met in July 2016 as inaugural recipients of the Spiritual Ecology Fellowship.
During the fellowship, they have built strong relationships with leaders around the world who are bridging the gaps between faith, activism, ceremony and resistance.
Lead to Life bridges their complementary and diverse histories in social justice, art practice, ecological restoration and climate resilience. We will be sharing more on our community partners soon!
brontë velez
co-alchemist, creative director
bronte@leadtolife.org
brontë is guided by “the many rivers that have come together” to make and sustain them. as a black-latinx multimedia artist, life-long student, and designer, their praxis (theory + action) lives at the intersections of critical geography, black liberation ecologies and creative placemaking. they are committed to joy as medicine, decomposition as rebellion, and live by the call that "black wellness is the antithesis of state violence" (Mark Anthony Johnson). their work intends to compost the violences forged by environmental racism through radical imagination. this commitment iterates through several mediums and this year grows through Lead to Life.
in 2016, brontë worked as a copy editor on a retrospective of Mexican artist Pedro Reyes’ work. when they witnessed his projects Disarm and Palas por Pistolas - in which he transforms weapons into shovels and instruments - they were met with profound healing and a deep desire to share this medicine through continuing the rituals in the united states as a direct response to losing a dear friend to gun violence alongside the larger traumatic impact on black communities and environments from police brutality. they are currently blessed with the privilege to learn from and support youth as an educator with Planting Justice and are a student of Weaving Earth.
Kyle Lemle
co-alchemist, program director
kyle@leadtolife.org
Kyle is a community forester, musician & organizer working at the intersections of environmental justice and cultural regeneration. He was worked for a number of international environmental NGOs and grassroots tree planting projects from the forests of the Himalayas and Southeast Asia to the streets of San Francisco. As an official delegate to with SustainUS and the US People’s Delegation, Kyle organized a large action against the Trump Administration at the 2017 United Nations Climate Talks that made international headlines. He is a Spiritual Ecology Fellow, a Princeton in Asia Fellow & a graduate of Brown University. When he is not planting trees, Kyle serves as founder and co-director of the Thrive Choir & Thrive Street Choir, which performs original gospel-inspired music for social justice at festivals, conferences and direct actions across California, and every month in their home beloved community of Thrive East Bay in Oakland.