We’re finishing the decade and we’re completing the year. More importantly, you are still here. And so is our holiday tradition of BSA wishes for the new year.

Certainly there is much work to be done, and we believe that art and the creative spirit can heal our people, our cities, our nations, our planet. May we all look toward 2020 with a clear vision.

At BSA our hearts are full and our minds are untroubled as we look confidently toward these new days- with hopes and wishes for the New Year – and a daily image that inspired us in 2019.

7.

Go Play.

Working with photographer Martha Cooper these last few years, we have become sensitized to the social, anthropological, emotional needs of kids in this world, and the importance of play in our development. Maybe it was listening to her talk about her book “Street Play”, but we’re really interested in kids making their own toys. Jaime took this image of a kid in Queretero, Mexico during a public ceremony for Martha – an event that this child found rather boring so he started a game with some found sticks just to entertain himself for a while.

Pediatricians have studied how we play and how it helps us to live in a play world, especially when we are kids. “Play allows children to use their creativity while developing their imagination, dexterity, and physical, cognitive, and emotional strength. Play is important to healthy brain development. It is through play that children at a very early age engage and interact in the world around them,” says the American Academy of Pediatrics.

We’re pretty sure that play is crucial to the happiness of adults too. So we wish you a good supply of playfulness in the new year.

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