Exploring the intersection of art, culture and spirituality in the nation's capital.
Open any tour book about Washington, DC and you’ll undoubtedly find world-class art institutions filling its pages. Descriptions of the Smithsonian museums, national galleries, the Kennedy Center, the Library of Congress and more will entice you to engage with art inside architecturally stunning buildings. But…
Earlier this year, the Interfaith Council of Metropolitan Washington hosted the 19th annual Unity Walk and Resource Fair. The event came about to show support for the area’s Muslim community after the 9/11 attacks. Today, it is a celebration of DC’s diverse spirituality. Around noon on…
Earlier this year, audiences at the Woolly Mammoth experienced a vision of Islam seen through the lens of queerness in Adil Mansoor’s touching “Amm(i)gone,” a solo performance about how he’s been translating Sophocle’s “Antigone” into Urdu with his Pakistani mother. (“Ammi” refers to “mother” in…
It wouldn’t be far-fetched to say that DC is built on top of bones–the bones of first nations people, and later, of kidnapped African citizens. One desecrated burial site around Bethesda’s River Road about a mile northwest of DC is sacred to the descendants of…
As with many exhibits at the The George Washington University Museum and Textile Museum, “Irresistible: The Global Patterns of Ikat,” features numerous textiles that carry spiritual value in their cultures of origin. Well before these vividly-patterned cloths become part of ceremonies or devotional practices, skilled…
Walking around Artomatic last month witnessing over 800 artists take over eight floors of an abandoned building in downtown DC was in and of itself a spiritual experience–so much beauty bursting from the urban ruins! For seven weeks, what was once a place to worship…
Last week, Karen Agro traveled from Toronto to the DMV to lead workshops on healing and music. A classical guitarist, Agro is also a pharmacist, so her claim that music is “sonic medicine” is not just metaphorical. It’s also personal–she witnessed music’s healing power when…
Back in the before times, I read poetry along with beloved DC poet, jazz archivist Reuben Jackson at a concert I co-produced with Harmonic Introductions, a DC area overtone singing ensemble. Titled “Autumn Embers,” the concert featured the venue itself as a sonic entity–Church of…
To celebrate its first year, our sister publication Heart-Centered Living News published a special edition gathering every monthly “From D.C. with Love” segment in one issue. The list may be from last year, but the people and organizations highlighted here continue to work intentionally to…
CALLING ALL DC SPIRITUAL ARTISTS! HeartCenteredDC will be at Artomatic this coming weekend. Here’s what’s happening: The meet part I’m launching a new blog called HeartCenteredDC that explores the intersection of art, culture and spirituality in the nation’s capital. Are you an artist, performer or…