Hope in Beauty ~ Voices of women as they create and sustain culture through artistic expression. Images of folkloric art from Nigeria, Benin, Kenya, Brazil, Peru, Cuba and USA, women symbolize the vulnerability of culture and the hope of humanity as we respect and care for one another. Through the use of dance, music, painting, sculpture, artisanal work, ceremony and healing arts women are represented as nurturers and creators of world we live in. Artwork created by women is an act of hope, as the creation of beauty or artwork is healing for spirit and creates the symbolic language of the world we live in. In visiting countries around the world I have seen the innumerable ways that women create and preserve folkloric culture and how they also go unseen, silent and unrecognized for all the life that they nurture. In many places it is the women who create; sewing the blankets, clothes and baskets, prepare the food, sing the traditional songs and dances, teach their children the mother language and create the place and space many would call home. For many political, economic and even religious reasons, women across the world are not valued and recognized for the creative work that they do. Women are and always have been mothers, nurturers, teachers, healers and creators of beauty and hope. Through their creative work in so many realms, women support the preservation of diversity and folkloric traditions as well as culture itself. The concept of home can be an illusive one in an everchanging, increasingly complex multicultural world. Home itself is land, it is a culture, a people, a way of living and a feeling. It is through the creation of art that one can understand the meaning of culture, culture itself being a human creation. Art becomes the universal language through which one can understand the diversity of cultures and peoples around the world. Through a unifying strength of spirit women can find hope not only in their own culture but in the collective culture of all women. There is beauty in experiencing the support of the larger world community, in a feeling of interconnectedness and solidarity, and in compassion as women in different places all over the world are able to empathize with their shared experiences. Beauty can be found in the creation of art as women create work that reflects both their hopes and cultures. In recognizing the creative work of women around the world one can experience the strength of spirit that continues to create beauty with hope of new life.

• published: 26 Mar 2013
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