What makes music powerful enough that people threaten prison for singing, dancing, or making it at all?

In episode two of Art Is Not a Mirror, I share a reading of my second essay and return to a belief that has shaped years of research, study, and creative work: music can help change the world.

Against a backdrop of censorship, escalating war, and uncertainty, I reflect on what that belief asks of us—as artists, as a community, and as people. What began as an open letter to my immediate community has become an ongoing inquiry into art’s power and our responsibility to one another.

I don’t have a crystal ball. I don’t know how this ends. But I’m still here, making the case for music.

In the first episode of Art Is Not a Mirror™, cellist, audio engineer, producer, and writer Rena Jones explores the power of art not simply to reflect culture, but to shape it. Drawing on decades spent at the intersection of music, technology, and creative culture, Rena asks what responsibility artists carry in an increasingly divided world—and whether art can help us imagine something better.

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Originally published as an essay in May 2025, this episode lays the foundation for the conversations to come.

Original Music by Rena Jones

Cover Artwork by David Last

Original Essay:

https://renajones.substack.com/p/art-is-not-a-mirror

https://renajones.substack.com/i/163184305/references