Reimagining the Future | Jon Marro

Gallery Exhibit Oct 1 - Jan 24

A Living Workshop

For 50 years, Commonweal has been dedicated to healing ourselves and the Earth. Our work began with an early project guided by a belief that good food and care would be a healing environment for kids to learn and grow. From that earliest work, Commonweal has evolved into a living workshop where personal and cultural transformation are understood as inseparable. Over the years, we have found our natural strengths as a field-builder, retreat center, and home for more than 30 active programs that share our vision. 

Following our own unique path, we have created spaces where thousands of people have found healing from cancer, grief, and isolation; where young people have been activated as leaders; where environmental health is recognized as inseparable from human health; where artists and thinkers gather to imagine resilient futures; and where the radical interdependence of all life is remembered and practiced daily. 

Rooted in this physical place, which has been stewarded by human hands for thousands of years, we are grounded in the belief that we cannot heal ourselves or the Earth without recognizing our deep interdependence on this planet and with one another.

Do you want to be of service?

This question greeted the earliest people who came to work at Commonweal.

For 50 years, Commonweal has followed that calling and developed organically, more like an ecosystem than an institution. We have grown deep roots in our physical home place in Bolinas, California,  as we also developed a global network connecting fields of work as diverse as cancer care, environmental health, youth justice, and the arts. The ecosystem that has developed around us has created more than 80 programs, cultural impact, and policy change that has touched hundreds of thousands of lives.

When you begin a journey, you have no idea where it will take you. That has certainly been true for Commonweal. This exhibit looks at the wild and unexpected growth of our work, the mycelium beneath the surface, and the tools and values that have naturally developed in our community.

It is a challenging time to be a human, but we find strength in looking back and seeing that a shaft of light on a cloudy morning in 1975 became the living, thriving workshop called Commonweal. We offer this reflective exhibit to remind ourselves  that, with dedication to service, we have the power to build resilient bodies, minds, and communities—contributing meaningfully to healing ourselves and the Earth.

Open October 1, 2026, through January 24, 2027, in Gallery Commonweal.

___

Jon Marro is a visionary artist whose work explores the intersection of ecology, spirituality, and social change. He collaborates regularly with disruptive thinkers Bayo Akomolafe, Resmaa Menakem, and The Emerald Podcast and has brought ORA’s stories to life through his distinctive visual language. Visit jonmarro.com

‍

‍

‍

___

Gallery Commonweal is a 1,500-square-foot gallery with 30-foot ceilings, large north- and south-facing windows, and unique historic detail. For 25 years, we've featured arts that heal our bodies, minds, and souls. Our gallery is open from 10:00-4:00 pm Monday through Friday. We recommend that you call our main line at 415-868-0970 to make an appointment anyway, just to be sure the space is open (we sometimes use the gallery space for retreats and group meetings). For directions, read this document (PDF). Gallery Commonweal is on the 2nd floor of our historic building, and there is no elevator.

‍