Stars was commissioned by ACW to honor our donors and is a collaboration between two ACW members.  Lyrics follow.  Listen on You Tube:  https://www.youtube.com/@ArtToChangeTheWorld

Zoe is a folk singer-songwriter, guitarist, and interdisciplinary creative originally from the East Coast, currently based in Minneapolis. Zoe received her BA in music with an emphasis in classical guitar performance from Macalester College where she received the Lila Bell Acheson Wallace Endowed Prize awarded to an outstanding student majoring in music. Zoe feels a true calling towards songwriting as a way to tell stories, to express her own emotions, as well as societal injustices. You can find Zoe gigging around the Twin Cities, plucking ethereal melodies on her guitar and singing about what it means to be alive. She is currently recording her first EP, which will hopefully be released in Spring 2026!

Liisa Lê is a visual artist who has honed her practice over 45 years, including a 20-year tenure as a painting conservator. There, her hands-on work cleaning and repairing historical artworks deeply informed her respect for cultural heritage and materiality. This experience fuels a versatile practice and curiosity exploring themes of memory and ancestral identity. Through the motif of cranes and wetlands, her work frames nature as a sacred space for storytelling, creating loud echoes of human connection. When not in the studio, she sings with the Finnish Choir and Capri Glee, and seeks inspiration through photography of wetlands and creative writing.  

STARS Lyrics:

[VERSE 1]: There is no light, no color or sound The birds don’t sing, the clouds are earth-bound The people don’t even notice the sky The galaxy just might die

[VERSE 2]: With our donor’s gifts, the birds start to sing The leaves rejoice to the tune of the wind I feel the warmth return to my feet They dance to a long lost beat

[CHORUS]: ‘Cause no soul is lost, when we proudly sing our song Friends gather round, don’t forget that you belong. We all could use some kindness, this world can be so hard, You help us turn the grey to blue, the smoke to stars.

[VERSE 3]: Color spills from your outstretched hand It washes over the darkest land Ambers, indigos, greens, and blues It heals the people, me and you.

[VERSE 4]: As the color grows, the people speak their truth The clouds become animals and misshapen balloons Come sit with us and watch the sky Art makes our pain celestial, divine

[CHORUS]

[VERSE 5]:

In gratitude we sing our tune, Art to Change the World exists because of you With a flutter, my heart skips a beat, Your grace, your love: it’s legacy.

[VERSE 6]:

At any moment, a light can fade. But with you, we are not afraid. We’re safe inside the venue. And all we can really say is thank you.

[CHORUS]

Image by Becca David