13 Grandmothers, 13 Rituals for New Orleans Sacred Music Festival, 2013

A film screening + community panel discussion + Cocoon: An art installation by Heather Hansen and Pamala Bishop Friday 15 March | New Orleans Healing Center | 7:00pm Screening begins at 7:30pm "If you would civilize a man, begin with his grandmother" Victor Hugo PLEASE JOIN ME IN CELEBRATING  012345678910111213 13 THE YEAR | 13 GRANDMOTHERS | 13 RITUALS Inspired by The International Council of 13 Indigenous Grandmothers, I am proposing a project that reintegrates Louisiana's indigenous influences into a contemporary line of sight. Rituals, a collection of thirteen artful experiences, is an act of honoring the spirit of our grandmothers and celebrating the spaces where women heal, pioneer and create. Woven together over space and time the project is a prayer, a tender tendril of hope, and an investment in the power and goodness of women supporting women. Rituals is a contemporary artifact in the making, a story that unfolds as collaborators explore the journey from curiosity to discovery. Rituals is a vessel of inquiry seeking to form a local council of female elders that will educate, envision and bless the efforts of younger generations. The search is an active meditation, and it will be documented in a collection of personal geographies - a series of biographies about local matriarchs articulated through photographs, interviews and recording story-telling sessions. Nominate women in your community that serve as matriarchs or pioneers, and together we can share their untold stories. Nominations can be sent to the following email address: paeri.banu@gmail.com Pamala Bishop + Sacred Music Festival + New Orleans Healing Center present 01234567891011213 A film screening + community panel discussion + Cocoon: An art installation by Heather Hansen and Pamala Bishop 15 March | New Orleans Healing Center | 7:00pm  Screening begins at 7:30pm For The Next 7 Generations Film Synopsis In 2004, Thirteen Indigenous Grandmothers from all four corners, moved by their concern for our planet, came together at an historic gathering, where they decided to form an alliance: The International Council of Thirteen Indigenous Grandmothers. This is their story. Four years in-the-making and shot on location in the Amazon rainforest, the mountains of Mexico, North America, and at a private meeting with the Dalai Lama in India, For the Next 7 Generations follows what happens when these wise women unite. International Council of 13 Indigenous Grandmother's mission "We, the International Council of 13 Indigenous Grandmothers, represent a global alliance of prayer, education and healing for our Mother Earth, all her inhabitants, all the children, and for the next seven generations to come. We look to further our vision through the realization of projects that protect our diverse cultures: lands, medicines, language and ceremonial ways of prayer and through projects that educate and nurture our children." Sacred Music Festivals| New Orleans Healing Center Partnering with the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Foundation WWOZ 90.7 and the Congo Square New World Rhythms Festival, this year’s festival honors the ability of sacred music to transcend boundaries and bring healing to connect us to each other and to the Divine. The event works to generate public awareness about the New Orleans Healing Center as a multifaceted venue, while promoting cultural understanding between diverse group in a celebration of human spirit and the rich spiritual and cultural traditions represented in our city. For more information, please view New Orleans Sacred Music Festival 2013 Special thanks to artist Otto Orellana for our grandmother image.Please check out artist Heather Hansen's website:www.heatherhansen.net It would be a pleasure to see you there!