Together we draw, mark, memorialize and honor those that died from COVID-19, please stop by after any of the Jumu’ah prayer services to draw golden circles marking each person who has died with calligraphy brushes and gold watercolor. One circle = one person.
1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. | Friday, October 28 | MCC Banquet Hall & Conference Room | No RSVP; just come!
THE REQUIEM MEMORIAL PROJECT
Compassion Drawing Event
REQUIEM is a community-driven memorial to honor those that have died from the COVID-19 pandemic. This project, with a worldwide scope, provides a necessary opportunity to grieve together and remember those that died. This memorial offers collective support to the families, friends, and loved ones so dramatically altered due to the pandemic.
The memorial consists of large-scale drawings of circles in golden ink. One circle = one person who died due to COVID-19. Gold is chosen as all people illuminate long after their physical death. The drawings are made during Compassion Drawing events that act as a nexus for the project. These highly moving events bring people together in the community and offer an opportunity to process the incredible losses and challenges of the pandemic. Drawing golden circles is quiet, meditative, and soothing through repetitive mark-making.
Multiple people work on the 50 x 72″ drawings. Each person’s circles are like a fingerprint, creating a rich golden tapestry expressing the collective, diverse and inclusive nature of REQUIEM. One does not need to know someone personally who died to draw circles. We have all been affected by the pandemic. The names of the dead are then written on the circles. An extensive database accompanies the numbered drawings. When REQUIEM is exhibited, visitors can see their loved one memorialized. If visitors want to add names to the drawings, they may do so. These names are then added to the database.
After a couple of years of feeling separate and often lonely, the REQUIEM memorial project offers a beacon of hope and reminds us that our very nature is to love and support each other. During a Compassion Drawing event, we talk with people we’ve never met, share our stories, and see ourselves in one another. Together we draw, mark, remember, memorialize and honor those that died from COVID-19.
Questions? events@mcceastbay.org
You are cordially invited to host a Compassion Drawing event at MCC East Bay. The drawings from this event and any names collected will be rolled into REQUIEM.
REQUIEM is an ongoing memorial project developed by California artist Tina Rath. The memorial honors all those that have died from COVID-19. REQUIEM is partnered with the larger non-profit group, Marked By COVID. With a worldwide scope, the REQUIEM project gives us the necessary opportunity to grieve together while remembering each person who has died and giving loving support to their family and friends. The memorial is built by people coming together at Compassion Drawing events. Together, we draw the golden circles marking each person who has died with calligraphy brushes and gold watercolor. One circle = one person.
Compassion Drawing events are highly moving and invite everyone to participate in the communal aspect of the project by drawing golden circles. Gold was chosen as Rath believes all beings shine brightly and offer illumination long after they die. Coming together in the community offers the opportunity to process the incredible losses and challenges of the pandemic. Drawing golden circles is quiet and meditative; each person’s circles are highly individual, like a fingerprint. Multiple people work on the 50 x 72″ drawings creating a rich tapestry of circles expressing the diverse and collective nature of REQUIEM. Together we draw, mark, memorialize and honor those that died from COVID-19. One does not need to know someone personally who died to participate. We have all been affected by the pandemic.
Ms. Roth will bring the prepared paper, the water-based ink that will easily wash out of clothing and any surface. She will also bring the brushes, distilled water, and tiny cups to hold the water. Some people will draw just a few circles, some people will draw for long periods. No previous art experience is needed. Everyone can draw a circle. Children are invited to participate, but the event is inappropriate for children under 8.
Those that do know someone who died due to COVID are invited to write the names of their loved ones on a circle they drew or chose. Learn more at: https://tinarath.com/requiem
