Q & A with Annabeth Gish at the Los Angeles Museum of Tolerance

After Annabeth Gish moderated a panel of speakers from Students Rebuild and CARE last Sunday, October 14 at the MOT, we caught up her and asked a few questions about the One Million Bones challenge!

Students Rebuild: For your Students Rebuild YouTube video, I have to ask—where did the MRI images come from in the bone you made? 

Annabeth Gish: [Laughter] My husband recently had knee surgery so we had some MRI film lying around!

SR: How did you get involved with CARE?

AG: I got involved with CARE about a year and a half ago. After I became a Mom, I felt I wanted to do more than attend events and write checks. I was inspired by people like Christy Turlington Burns/Every Mother Counts, people taking action and working “in the field.” So I called Atlanta [CARE’s headquarters] and they put me in touch with Sarah Moser [CARE Communications Manager.] I saw the Albuquerque bone laying video and because it was so effective and because I was born in Albuquerque, it really resonated with me…this mission of true hands-on effort through art-making for a powerful political statement.

SR: You really got into making your bone for the YouTube video—are you an artist?

AG: [Laughter]. Maybe I’m a rouge artist—I’m creative in theory but then implementing that idea is completely another thing! Let’s just say I’m not the one my sons ask to draw them a picture. They already know I speak and feel better than I paint.  But I have the artistic impulse and I value it tremendously. I just especially like the idea of making something with your hands as an expression of compassion, empathy and political statement. With the Students Rebuild/One Million Bones project there is a unifying force—everyone has bones. No matter where we live, what we experience, the color of our skin, we are all the same. There’s something reverential and sacred about bones.

SR: What are your thoughts about our Museum of Tolerance One Million Bones challenge event?

AG: The MOT is one of my favorite museums in L.A. It holds a lot of story, a lot of emotion. It’s a fitting place for this event. Being here today amidst the bones and bone-makers that have shown up for the event, I feel inspired to do more—maybe have a bone making party of my own. I plan to be in Washington D.C. in June for the National Mall event. I want to be there to participate and witness the visual impact of so many beautiful bones! 

Join Annabeth Gish and take the challenge!