60 Minute Workshop
Join co-creators of the Houston Freedmen’s Town Labyrinth as they “walk” through the six month design, construction, and dedication of Houston’s newest sacred site. With over 150 volunteers, 450 man-hours, and 1 ancient archetype, community collaboration reached remarkable heights. Discover how the energy of that creation has extended one year out in this formerly unappreciated Houston neighborhood.
Abstract
During the six months (November 2013-May 2014) of Rice University’s Boniuk Institute Sacred Sites Quest for high school students, participants visited over a dozen sacred religious, and secular sites in the Houston Area and then tried to capture what they learned in a public art/service project. On a vacant lot in the Historic Freemen’s Town (an area settled by former slaves at the end of the Civil War) on the former site of the Mt. Carmel Missionary Baptist Church, the students agreed to build a labyrinth. After weeks of design, mosaic work, and fundraising in the studio of a local artist, participants and adult facilitators worked with 100+ community volunteers, for 450 volunteer hours creating a brick and crushed granite 50’ round labyrinth using hundred year old bricks from the former church. Collaborating with various religious organizations, historic preservationists, and labyrinth enthusiasts the dedication took place in the Mt. Carmel Prayer Garden on June 7. In this case the culminating event became the start of a year of community outreach that included monthly facilitated walks, prayer vigils, community service projects, the inspiration for the creation and performance of the original choreography (“the walk”) of a regional dance troupe. This presentation will “walk” the audience through the inspiration, design, construction, and programming that began and continues as a model for community outreach using labyrinths. With photographs, video, and stories, the Historic Freedmen’s Town Labyrinth will once again be created and a discussion/brainstorming session will follow over using labyrinths as community outreach tools.