"All of the Above" by Ken Bova

I get asked on occasion just what exactly is the Yuma Symposium?

I’ve been thinking about the proper reply for a while now. Usually I’ll respond with a kind of stock answer gleaned from the web site and/or generated from my experiences of other symposia devolving into details of a) pin swaps, b) lectures, c) demonstrations, d) border crossings, e) pool parties, and the like. But it doesn’t seem to satisfy. It’s more than that. Really, it is.

In searching for a succinct response to the “what is Yuma” question the word “nexus” floated to the top. My dictionary (yes I actually do have a dictionary) has this definition for the word: the central and most important point or place: the nexus of all this activity was Lutes Casino.

Okay, I substituted the Lutes Casino part, but the definition is pretty close. Nexus comes from the Latin meaning "that which ties or binds together," and is the past participle of nectere "to bind."

It’s also the root word for “connection.” And that, to me, is what is most definitive about the Yuma Symposium. It’s the connections, the links, associations, contacts, relations, friends, colleagues, and networks of like-minded creative souls that gather in Arizona for a few days of art R & R.

So take your pick. The Yuma Symposium is like a multiple choice quiz but there are no wrong answers.

Me, being a nexus between two beautiful artists, Mary Luke and Anna Belom.

--Ken Bova

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