Remember those cool monks in Season 3 of House of Cards that were doing that crazy intricate sand painting in Frank Underwood’s White House? Those dudes are going to be in Columbia!
They're the Tibetan Buddhists from the Drepung Loseling Monastery of Atlanta. If you aren’t aware of the ongoing saga of President Underwood and the metaphor which the monks the created, you can witness their meditative art being made live, as in right in front of you this beautiful, ancient thing is brought into this world, from Nov. 2 to Nov. 7 at Gallery 80808 on Lady St. in the Vista as part of the 20th anniversary celebration of Healing Icons, a nonprofit that provides art therapy to cancer survivors and their families. The organization is headed by Heidi Darr-Hope.
“I think of healing as a soulful experience that needs another language,” Darr-Hope says. “Art is that language and the Tibetan Buddhists have a rich tradition of using the arts within their spiritual practices.”
Known as a sand mandala, the monks create intricate representations of geometric shapes and Buddhists deities in vivacious colors using a process of moving hued sand through minute, wooden funnels. It’s more than watching a piece of art being made — the endeavor exists as a ceremony which ends with the wiping away of the finely crafted image, the sand collected and let to float away in a nearby body of water. It’s what Darr-Hope calls “a visual metaphor for the impermanence of life.”
Witnessing the creation of a sand mandala is simply not something you can see any old day and you’d be remiss to overlook this opportunity.
While watching the monks create some of the most mesmerizing art in the world might be the most unique experience the Healing Icons' 20th anniversary celebration will offer, there are a number of other attractions.
The celebration truly begins on Oct. 29 from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. with the kickoff event A Tibetan Evening — Engaging All the Senses. For the $40 ticket that goes to support Healing Icons’ mission you’ll get to taste delicious Tibetan infused delights by Chef Travis Rayle of Rosso with signature cocktails provided by Kristian Niemi of Bourbon. You can participate in Tibetan inspired arts such as adding to a communal chalk mandala, creating a talisman of healing, or putting together a prayer flag. Also on display will be art created by some of Darr-Hope’s students.
“I have seen anxiety, stress and the uneasiness that weighs upon survivors lifted out of their bodies and into their art. Creating lightens their load,” Darr-Hope says.
Art created by cancer survivors will continue to be on display at Gallery 80808 along with a photography exhibit on Tibet from Oct. 30 until Nov. 7. During this time you'll still have the opportunity to create a talisman, prayer flag, or add to the communal chalk creation. The sand mandala is being created from Nov. 2 to Nov. 7.
“That I have been able to offer art as a way assuage and heal the stress and trauma in cancer survivor's lives, well I can't imagine a better way to have spent the last 20 years,” Darr-Hope says.
