On Thursday, December 28th from 7-9 pm Sulis hosted an artist talk and workshop called “Folding Birds for Peace” led by Mona Shiber and JuPong Lin. Our project gathers communities together around peace in response to the immense loss of life and devastation that has been happening in Palestine. We share our stories of how the project was birthed and how our collaboration is weaving together our family lineages, Taiwanese and Palestinian, facilitating our travel through time through generations of violent occupation and the struggle for liberation for all.
Most delightful was a lovely collaboration with Noah Goldberg whose ceremonial bread offered another way to embody our walk towards peace. The gluten-free bread was delicious and felt like another way to send and receive blessings for our loved ones.
Below is the project description for others who would like to invite us to host a folding circle.
Materials: The paper that will be used for this project is specific and has an origin story that will be shared during the artist talk. Sulis will provide 100 sheets of paper to divide amongst participants. The birds made from these sheets will be donated to the project. If you want to take some home, Mona and Jupong are selling kits of paper at $10 for 50 pieces. They also are offering to send a free download if you want to print the paper yourself. You can buy kits at Sulis during the workshop or email us ahead of time to download and print your own.
Workshop description from the artists: Similar to origami, we will fold paper doves and cranes which can be a focusing, quieting, mindful movement of hands, eyes & heart. These birds have represented peace in many traditions. We will imbue the intention of global well-wishing into our birds. The peace bird project grew out of a shared desire of two artist friends to transform the pain of witnessing global atrocities. In Mona’s words, “the project came from the desire to shift the stuckness, sadness, despair and loss through the need to make meaning out of hopelessness and to make a reminder message to instill peace within myself and my many communities.” We are starting a movement; hundreds of people sharing in the folding of hundreds of thousands of birds. Will you join us in starting this movement in your own circles?
$18-25. Send money to: Zelle: 865 455 4278 or Venmo: @JuPong-Lin
About the Facilitators: JuPong Lin draws on Taiwanese ancestral traditions to make socially engaged art that honors our beloved Earth. She is a poet of the Writing the Land project and works for food and land justice with the Hampshire County Food Policy Council and the Land Justice Affinity Group based in Western Massachusetts. JuPong is a faculty member of the MFA in Interdisciplinary Arts at Goddard College and is an Environmental Studies PhD candidate at Antioch University New England.
Mona Shiber, of Clear Vision Studio, is a visual artist who's shown both locally, nationally & internationally, and has worked with groups on an array of community art projects. come join the workshop to learn more about her and her influences and her heritage.
Noah Goldberg (they/them) is a white, queer, trans, anti-zionist Ashkenazi Jew. They are a somatic practitioner and ritual baker. For more information about their work visit: www.noahagoldberg.com
