FolkAid: Healing and Healers expands our understanding of health and healing practices through the lens of folklore work, revealing how art and creativity function as an essential form of solace and empowerment. We speak with various artists and heritage bearers in the Philadelphia community to learn how they find comfort, care, and healing power in their traditions and artistry. We highlight how community endurance can be built and nurtured specifically during public health crises, and we delve into various forms of traditional medicine and healing. This series approaches folklore as an accessible and powerful device for uplifting and preserving mental, spiritual, and physical health while being a tool for social change.
We hear from Losang Samten, a master sand mandala artist and the spiritual director of several Tibetan Buddhist Centers in North America, including the Chenrezig Tibetan Buddhist Center of Philadelphia. A National Heritage and Pew Fellow, Samten once served as the personal attendant to the 14th Dalai Lama. He is also an expert teacher of intricate sand art forms, which birth a variety of temporary sacred spaces. Listen to his story of coming to the United States to create the first public sand mandala in the West in 1988 and learn about the healing powers embedded in this spiritual practice. To learn more about Losan Samten, please read his profile here.
27 Apr 2020
Susan Watts
In this episode, we speak with Susan Hoffman-Watts, a renowned Klezmer trumpeter, vocalist, composer, and arranger. Susan speaks about being a fourth-generation Klezmer and how music is an essential part of her family history. She also discusses the role Jewish folk music plays in the community endurance and cathartic healing. To learn more about Susan, please read her profile here.
13 Apr 2020
Fatu Gayflor
Fatu Gayflor is the artistic director of the Liberian Women’s Chorus for Change in Philadelphia. In this episode, Fatu tells her story of singing in refugee camps in Africa, immigrating to the United States, and how she uses music to cope with the loss of her son during the Liberian Civil War. She explains the powerful work that the chorus does to listen to community members and generate space for dialogue surrounding many issues facing the Liberian community, specifically domestic violence. This episode includes a conversation about musical healing in the time of the Coronavirus, where domestic violence has been labeled a “shadow pandemic.” Listen to this episode to learn how Fatu utilizes music to create a calming, healing space, grounded in joy, for herself and others.
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