CCA News
Presence and Absence: Creating Memorials with the Zen Hospice Project
Posted on Thursday, September 2, 2010, by Jason Engelund
This spring (2012) Anne Wolf will collaborate with the Zen Hospice Project of San Francisco to teach her course "Presence and Absence," which is part of the college's ENGAGE at CCA initiative. Students enrolled in the course will focus their studies on end-of-life care, as they create a series of memorial pillows for the organization's newly renovated Guest House.
Each pillow will be created in the spirit of honoring, remembering and reflecting. The experience of spending time in the Guest House will inform and shape the design of each pillow. Residents, their family members, staff, and volunteers of the Zen Hospice Project will be invited to participate in the process. Wolf describes the process for making the pillows as "free-form knitting and crochet." This past summer she and colleagues tested the process (prototype detail pictured above).
Themes of death, decay, and life cycles have long been a part of Anne Wolf's sculptures, earthworks, and installations. Last fall, when she spoke with Center for Art in Public Life codirector Sanjit Sethi about the ENGAGE at CCA initiative, she saw an opportunity for deeper investigation of these themes. With the partnership of the Zen Hospice Project and the support of upper-division Interdisciplinary Studio, an ENGAGE at CCA course was created, and after only the second week of registration the course was full.
About Zen Hospice Project
Zen Hospice Project began during the AIDS pandemic with a commitment to fearless compassion. Its volunteers cared for the most vulnerable members of our society, and no matter how much suffering they encountered, they did not turn away. Their mission is forged from that experience. Today they continue to meet that need, serving the community by bearing witness and providing care for people with loving kindness.
The Zen Hospice Project will soon hold its annual fundraiser, "One Night, One (Big) Heart 2010," with special guest the Honorable Willie L. Brown Jr. To learn more about the fundraiser and the organization visit the Zen Hospice Project.
About ENGAGE at CCA
ENGAGE at CCA is an innovative initiative combining the Community Arts Program's successful model of community engagement with the project-based learning approach of the architecture and design disciplines. Activated across academic programs, ENGAGE at CCA serves as a hub to connect interested faculty and students to community partners and relevant outside experts. Housed at the Center for Art and Public Life, ENGAGE at CCA dynamically advances CCA's mission to prepare its students for lifelong creative work and service to their communities through a curriculum in fine art, architecture, design, and creative writing. Read more about ENGAGE at CCA.