The world is a chaotic place that seems to grow more painful for us to endure and more overwhelming as we try to express our concerns. As a people, we have lot of anger, a lot of hurt that we cannot sustain. We will hang your positive wishes and concerns. We want to invite artists and the community to bring a prayer contribution, a small/miniature art piece that shows and tells your individual prayer, wishes, hopes, and dreams for the world today. All mediums are welcome. (e.g. painting, drawing, sculpture, photography, poetry, ceramics, woodwork, glasswork, and video) This event will be a small step towards our collective healing. To take that step, we must make ourselves be heard, esp. where and when we are ignored. What better way to share with each other and support one another than through the precious and accessible medium of art and performance.
The 2nd annual Prayers from LA, Art and Performance Benefit Festival takes place this year at Casa0101, Saturday, December 17th, 2016. We will pray together. Share together. Give each other a voice in this special and universal way. We won't just continue to shout and scream at injustice- we put aside ego and speak with each other, sharing our varying, interesting and worthwhile perspectives with our art, performance, and music. This central portion of the benefit event is an INCLUSIVE PRAYERS ART EXHIBIT. Artists and anyone from the community who brings a prayer(s) may take part in this exhibit and hang your prayer(s) on the exhibit walls for all to see and interpret.
Our goal is for this Prayers Day (exhibits and events) to grow worldwide cultivating positivism and healing together. We will choose a day, once a year, to come together, take part in this movement, and be vocal as we share our Prayers through miniature individual art pieces. If you would create a work that reflects what you are most concerned with in this day and age, we believe we can bring together a strong encompassing group of works. We invite you to participate and submit your prayer art pieces.
Full Printable Artist Invitation
Los Angeles Artist Margaret Garcia had the initial idea and has cultivated it throughout the years. "I think that there are certain ideas that are only powerful if you share them; they only matter if you share them. It's kind of like love. Love doesn't exist in a vacuum. You have to share it in order for it to have meaning. And for me, the idea of doing this, these series of prayers, is an idea of sharing. I started first by doing very small, miniature portraits of concerns of mine..." Aligning her grandmother's experience from the 1920s in her mind, concern grew regarding the ongoing news of the hijacked brides of the world, little girls kidnapped, forced into relations, and married off. "It's not new, it's something that exists all over the world, and if you are a person who takes notice and understands it, then you have compassion for other human beings." There are so many issues, whether we are talking about mass incarceration, family healthcare, access and equality, modern day slavery, children in forced labor, Syrian immigrants and war orphans, or the many other human rights violations currently going on worldwide.
Women and children are our greatest victims. Women and children throughout... Burned for dowries, washed over with acid, forced into sex and slavery... throughout the world. Rampant exploitation, waste, and retrenchment... "We could just go on and on, there is an issue for everything... Not to mention issues like animal abuse, hearing about someone beating dogs to death or doing some horrible thing... Every country and nation is included and has issue. There is no perfect place."
"And, you SEE all of that. And, it's overwhelming. And, I thought, maybe a small, tiny painting, like a prayer, that's focused, that whispers, that begs an answer, that plays with your consciousness, a small, little thing that allows you to look at it in an intimate setting. Not a giant banner, not a big fist in the air, or giant expression of ego, but something where you quiet the ego, and you let your higher power or whomever you believe to answer and respond to that prayer..." It's not about the size so much as it is about how many people we can invest in it. "It's easy when it is something small. It's nonthreatening and can engage you in a quiet, introspective way, making the viewer ask, 'What can I do? How can I do it?' That's why I wanted to do these pieces small." Small sizing also allows for mobility as well as a greater inclusion by the LA community and world communities participating in this art and music sharing event together. Our attempt and long term goal is to develop into a yearly worldwide event day or Prayers Day through sharing and participating within our local communities with our art pieces. "My hope is that in 2 years, I'll have enough pieces to show at the museums and invite others to come with their prayers and to do it in different locations."
It's meaningful because everyone who brings a piece is invested. "To include as many people as possible gives it more power." Margaret Garcia and friends are encouraging involvement. Please be involved. Help us in cultivating goodness and positivism through sharing and storytelling through art. "It doesn't matter what religion or background or who or what you are. The only thing that matters is that you are caring about an issue of humanity, of the human spirit, and the conditions people are suffering under. I don't want pieces that are against anything. That's what I know. I don't need more analysis or negative critique. It doesn't do any good. You turn people off. The idea is to turn people on. Turn people on to the idea of contributing and investing their time, energy, and spiritual concern so that maybe somebody can do something and we can get something moving."
Update: Look out for Margaret Garcia's Prayers Exhibit being featured at the Muckenthaler in 2017.
Thank you, Margaret Garcia for this lovely inspiration and idea, for your beauty, passion, and words. Thank you, Casa 0101, the venue, cause, and Prayers springboard into the world. We hope that we will receive help in spreading the word of this event and idea. Thank you everyone who will participate and be involved.
Nataasja Saint-Satyr, nataasja at prayersfromla.org
Margaret Garcia, margaret at prayersfromla.org
For our current Prayers Day event, the benefit of choice is Casa0101. An important venue and beautiful cause for us to show our support. LA Weekly's Best of Arts and Entertainment
Help us help Casa0101 continue to do good works, supporting both performing and visual arts in the Boyle Heights and greater East Los Angeles areas, motivating and enriching the children and people in our communities.
The Prayers Day event and proceeding publication will be called Prayers Worldwide; Prayers from Los Angeles. Each event will be documented as part of a proceeding associated publication. We aim to one day have a Prayers Event Book/Catalog from every place in the world that participates. Our current book documentation project will catalog all participating artists and will include documentation of our launch event in 2015 and our current 2016 event. The publication will also go into detail regarding this movement, philosophies, and be a guideline for others anywhere in their local communities to organize similar events for their own local causes. We will include interviews with participating local artists and performers, and more. Any book sales per annum will be distributed to benefit 3 chosen causes: the primary chosen cause and two other local causes. We raise funds separately for the production of these Prayers from LA, Art and Performance events and for the production of the publications. We want the events themselves to solely benefit the community, cause, participating artists, and "prayers" movement.
All money, from the benefit festival entry to the concert donations, will go to benefit Casa0101. A minimum of 50% (option to contribute more) of Art Sale and Marketplace proceeds will go to the benefit. Same for anything we vend during this event except food. Donate to Casa0101 and support the work they do for the community.
We are donations based and accept various forms of donation as well as effort. Artist donations are encouraged. We request that artists who would like to be involved in some way but can't attend, to please still submit or donate any art pieces you would like us to help sell in benefit of the chosen cause. (Small to medium works) We support local artists within their communities and have an open call to world communities to participate with their own prayers.
We aim to also spark new and younger collectors, to help invigorate and normalize the desire to buy original art, and to make art more accessible. The public may get very rare opportunities to access and acquire artwork, not normally available or accessible, at our event's exhibits and art marketplace.
We encourage folks to please bring anything you would like to donate to the event. For instance, good drink and snack donations won't be refused! Though, we do provide attendees with both great food and drink options. Thank you to our amazing food vendors, who volunteer their time and efforts to bring us their delicious culinary gifts.
Notes from our Organizer.
2016, I am getting artist submissions from all over including Los Angeles, the Bay Area, Mexico, Vietnam, and Taiwan. Collectives have been so generous with their participation and artist submissions. Thank you so much for your beautiful contributions. My hope is that LA artists represent at the Prayers from LA art exhibit. That we include your voices. And, that folks don't miss out. Please, spread the word to those who may take an interest and join our movement. I want the youth to also know of this exhibit and to also take an interest. I intend to include all your prayer contributions. Please feel most welcome reaching out to me regarding your submissions. I would also like to include your artist bios and statements to our website.
Thank you everyone for your support! We aim to give back to those who participate and can't thank you enough. We aim to put on a special day for everyone and continue this movement of prayers.
Thank you,
Nataasja Saint-Satyr
Prayers: Worldwide; Prayers from LA
Organizer, Curator, Founder
nataasja@prayersfromla.org
Casa0101 Board of Directors
Prayers: From LA