"Children of Bethlehem" Opens Tomorrow—In Bethlehem!
Things are ramping up here as we anticipate the opening of "Children of Bethlehem" tomorrow! Thanks to your generous support we were able to create the full set of all 21 portraits! Until now I have only shown portions of the exhibition: 4, 12, and 16 pieces. It is thrilling to see them all at last to know each of the students, their peers, and the community will be able to see their visual and voiced stories. In addition, I was able to hire a fabulous assistant, Dima, who handled all the production of the art, the scheduling for all each class at the school to visit the exhibit tomorrow, and the coordination of the opening event tomorrow. I am immensely grateful to her, and again to all of you for helping make this possible! Each of you, by your presence and influence in my life, has contributed to making this very important exhibition come to life. Thank you.
Students watch Rami, the owner of Creative Ad Design & Print Co., and Dima mount the magnetic wall.
I spent the evening at Dar al-Kalima School hanging, or rather sticking, the art up on the brilliant yellow and turquoise walls. We decided to create the portraits on this magnetic material that school had used before. It was a totally new concept to me, maybe it's been around in the States and I was simply unaware. Anyway, let me just say, what a breeze to mount! I could tweak and refine the placement of each piece without doing any damage to the walls. No hammering, no holes, no patching, what a pleasure! I mean, it was still tedious, but by comparison to other forms of mounting it was far more easeful. Especially because, as with most of my shows, I was doing the majority by myself. Thankfully Dima was around part of the time.
Tomorrow morning I present to each of the classes and in the evening we will have an opening reception for the students in the show, their parents, and community, mostly Bethlehem and the surrounding areas. I look forward to letting you know how it goes!
Thank you for your continued loving, encouraging thoughts and prayers. I feel them. Please keep 'em coming!
If you would like to further support or begin supporting "Children of Bethlehem" you may do so HERE. Your tax-deductible donations help subsidize the costs of touring the exhibition and continue the work of Life Illuminated which, through art, spiritual formation, and travel endeavors to raise awareness, motivate action, and contribute to increased equality, freedom, and wholeness in our world.
Also, if you would like to host “Children of Bethlehem” in your community, please message me HERE! The show will be in Pittsburgh December 6-11 and then D.C. January 6th. If you will be near either area please come check it out and stay tuned for more details!
With much joy, deep gratitude, and love,
Katie
