CLOSING CELEBRATION of
“Kinship of Rivers: We Are One Family”
a 4Ground Midwest Land Art Biennial art installation at Kinstone
Date: Thursday, September 22, 2022 ~ AUTUMN EQUINOX
Time: 5:00pm
COST: FREE and open to the public (Donations are greatly appreciated! Also, if you plan to enjoy the Kinstone grounds for all or part of the day before or after this event, please pay admission. Thank you!)
Place: Kinstone – in the Great Stone Circle (Also, there will be an art station set up in the Education Center Building.)
What: Art Closing Celebration! We will celebrate the closing of “Growing Family” an installation of the “Kinship of Rivers: We Are One Family” project at Kinstone by artists Wang Ping and Joe Lerro, part of the 4Ground Midwest Land Art Biennial festival which has been available here at Kinstone all season.
Artists Wang Ping and Joe Lerro will be onsite to discuss the installation.
Al “Good Heart” Baker, Big Drum Chief and Keeper of Sacred Song of the Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, will drum and sing in honor of the rivers of the world and the global community we all belong to.
We will be treated to a stunning display of prayer flags from all around the world that will encircle the Great Stone Circle and outline areas around the Equinox Sunrise and Sunset alignments. A perfect way to honor the Autumnal Equinox!
Join this collaborative, interactive performance and be an active participant in this project. We will highlight community and the inclusion of everyone who attends and all those who have participated by creating flags from 2012 until now.
BRING ALONG A POEM about fall, harvest and seasonal changes to TO SHARE/READ at the event (something original or something long loved by a favorite poet).
We will have at least one art workstation set up with all supplies needed to make art and poetry on flags. You can make plant prints, drawings, writings, or whatever your heart desires with paints, rollers, sprays, markers, and more. These flags will will join the thousands of others that travel from river to river all around the globe with Wang Ping and Joe Lerro as part of their larger, life project called Kinship of Rivers.
All who attend are invited to make prayer flags (also referred to as “river flags” in a nod to the connecting influence of the rivers and waters of the world). Poetry, art, and creative self expression are the highest form of empowerment. When we share from our hearts we reforge and renew the connection we all share as beings on this beautiful planet. That sharing of self is the core of this art installation. We hope you will come be part of it.
Read more about this project, 4Ground, and the artists at this link:
4Ground Land Art at Kinstone 6/1 – 9/22
ABOUT Alvin Baker (Good Heart):
Good Heart is a member of the Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Chippewa. He has devoted his life to the re-building and development of the Lac Courte Oreilles Reservation community. He is a lifelong practitioner of the ancient healing arts of the Great Lakes Peoples. He is an accomplished woodsman with a superb knowledge of “Mother Earth”, his environment, and how to live with the land. Mr. Baker is recognized as an Eagle Staff Carrier for the Old Bald Eagle Warrior Society, the Big Drum Chief and Keeper of Sacred Song. He is a Purification Lodge Leader, Spiritual Leader and Ceremonial Chief of the Anishinabeg Great Lakes Ogichiidaa. Good Heart is recognized Internationally as a Doctor of indigenous healing fine arts and has worked professionally as a consultant on indigenous traditions, culture and history his entire life. Good Heart has worked for the Lac Courte Oreilles’ Honor The Earth Education Foundation and has served as both Public Relations Officer and Chairman. Mr. Baker is also an accomplished graphic artist with over forty years experience as a professional sign painter.
A note about Autumn Equinox:
This day was selected for the closing celebration for the art installation “Growing Family” by artists Joe Lerro and Wang Ping because it embodies the spirit of this project.
“This day – equinox – signifies one, simple, unifying experience for all around the world. Equinox means ‘Equal night’ in Latin. Everywhere on the planet (except the extreme poles, where it will be about to change from 24 hours of light to 24 hours of dark, or vice versa), during the 24 hours of the equinox, will have equal amounts of daylight and darkness. We’ll all have the same, 12 hours of dark and 12 hours of light. Everyone on the planet experiences the same. Regardless of religion, race, wealth or location we all share in this simple experience. What a way to remember our similarities and our one-ness. We are one human community.” ~Kristine Beck
THANK YOU for supporting us and joining us in honoring our waters, our world, and our community!
The 4 Ground Midwest Land Art Biennial 2022 event is sponsored by Franconia Sculpture Park in Schafer, Minnesota in partnership with Arts Midwest and International Sculpture Center.
