“With a simple hug: the one gesture that is understood without words, without political or cultural or religious bias. The hug is the first contact that we have after emerging from the womb. It is the first physical relationship that we form at our mother’s breast, without which, we would die.”- Johnny DeArden
I spent the weekend rehearsing a project called HUG, a performance art piece in which eight of us will be hugging each other next weekend (and anyone happening by who would like to join us), in Stuyvesant Cove Park next to the East River. This is my first time participating in “installation art” and I’m thrilled it’s with such a beautiful piece. It was developed by Julie Troost, a NYC based artist, and the idea had come to her after 9/11, when she was overcome with the desire to give back to the community and aid in the healing process.
Here’s a little blurb from the website:
“H U G promotes community and individual healing and creates an opportunity to replace painful memories with new memories of hope. It supports small acts of kindness as the cornerstone of global social change. H U G creates opportunities for the people of a community to practice compassion for others, to collectively mourn its lost members and to memorialize tragic events.”
Anyone who wants to contribute a personal story or memory of loss or conflict, can email hugperformance[at]gmail[dot]com. Your name will be kept anonymous and the submissions will be given to the audience as a little HUG book.
June 24 and 25 at 6pm
Rain Date June 26 at 2pm
22st and East River (Stuyvesant Cove Park)
http://www.myspace.com/hugperformance
http://solar1.org/events/dance/
You can watch a 20min video of HUG at vimeo.com/julietroost.
christina marie king 