Publisher's Synopsis
Prayers for the Pandemic; Prayers for Progress is our ongoing public art project happening across the United States. The concept draws inspiration from Tibetan prayer flags made of colorful rectangular cloth that are strung along trails and peaks high in the Himalayas, and used to bless the surrounding area in which they are placed. This project was launched as a response to the current environment. In March, 2020, the coronavirus began to shut down the country. Frontline healthcare workers have been doing amazing heroic work and essential workers are keeping the current state of our society going. Since the murder of George Floyd on Memorial Day, people of all races, all over the world, are raising their voices in support of the Black Lives Matter Movement, fighting against racial injustice and inequality. While we are all living through the coronavirus pandemic, as well as fighting to be heard, seen, live without fear and working toward positive social change, blessings are beneficial. We want to send positive Karma out into the world, and brighten each other's days in the special way that art can do.In this, our second collection, we continue to receive images and stories from artists in the NY/NJ area, as well as across the country. Many artists made and hung their flags in the place they were quarantining, which is not necessarily where they live. Here's some of the flags we received that you will see in the following pages: A set of Jersey City flags used only colored paper and scotch tape to create a burst of light. Crocheted flowers hang from windows and a rooftop in Bayonne, NJ. A flag with Korean lettering made of fabric from the artist's father's office shirts hangs on an Alabama front porch. Relief prints of a snake on a staff, and black and red crosses, are posted on fencing in a field in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Ethereal painted silk flags floating over a waterway in western Massachusetts. A cut, collaged paper flag covers a fire escape in Brooklyn. The rising sun flies from the balcony of a house in West Virginia. A calligraphic message of hope is spread across library windows in Croton-on-Hudson, NY. The artists' stories and messages shared with us to us are vital to the project as well. One artist tells of her personal experience with the virus, another cared for her mother, and one artist gathered a dozen friends to create a collaborative project. The sense of community becomes realized and visible
