Hereafter Program Series I / II / III

In conjunction with the Hereafter exhibition at Contemporary Craft (on view from May 31 – August 24, 2024), this program series presents enlightening lectures and a captivating dance performance that explore the multifaceted approaches to grief and mourning across different societies and perspectives. This series provides a platform for collective engagement and offers inspirational guidance on how individuals can navigate the emotional terrain of loss, celebrating life through distinct rituals, ceremonies, and practices. By sharing various perspectives, the series aims to illuminate the universal themes of loss and remembrance while showcasing the richness and diversity of human responses to life’s transition.

Session I – Thursday, July 18 from 6 pm – 7:30 pm | Grief and Loss from a Jewish Perspective, Nancy Zionts and Sharon Brody

Session II – Thursday, August 8 from 6 pm – 7:30 pm | Death Machine and The Speed of Grief, Ricardo iamuuri Robinson

Session III – Thursday, August 22, 2024 6:30-7:30pm | How the Arts and Artmaking Transform Grief

Session III – Thursday, August 22, 2024 6:30-7:30pm | How the Arts and Artmaking Transform Grief

Sheila K Collins and The Wing & A Prayer Pittsburgh Players

For the ancient ones in most every culture, art and artmaking were at the center of life, loss, and death, and everything in-between. Western culture with its emphasis on the rational mind has distracted us from the truth that experiences of art and artmaking, by taking us into our imaginal minds help us grieve and process loss experiences so that the wisdom inherent in them can be available to us in our future lives.

In this improvisational performance/demonstration, author and grief advocate Sheila K Collins offers insights from the new field of neuroarts as to how the arts transform our thoughts, feelings, and experiences of grief. Citing excerpts from her recently released book, The Art of Grieving: How the Arts and Artmaking Help Us Grieve and Live Our Best Lives she and members of her improv troupe, The Wing & A Prayer Pittsburgh Players will contemplate specific art pieces in the Hereafter exhibit. Using the InterPlay arts of storytelling, dance, music, and song, they will respond with artistic expressions of their own stories and memories ignited by the art exhibited.

About the book – “The Art of Grieving: How the Arts and Art-Making Help Us Grieve and Live Our Best Lives“

Sheila K. Collins is no stranger to grief. After the loss of two of her children, Sheila felt disconnected from the support she needed, living in a society that makes us feel like we can’t speak openly or honestly about the one thing we will all become acquainted with: grief.

The Art of Grieving challenges conventional attitudes towards grieving. Part memoir, part grief handbook and guide, Sheila draws on a lifetime of experience as a dancer, social work professor, and therapist to illustrate the value of grieving and how the arts can become grief’s collaborator. This book provides guidance and resources on how to use the arts of storytelling, music, dance, and visual arts to make grieving itself a life-long art. When we utilize the arts to honor our losses and celebrate together, as our ancestors once did, we are provided a path to insight that allows us to continuously learn from our grief rather than fear it.

Sheila K. Collins

Dr. Sheila K Collins is an author, grief advocate, improvisational artist, and dancing social worker. A former professional dancer and social work professor, she founded the Wing & A Prayer Pittsburgh Players, an Interplay-based performance troupe after she came to Pittsburgh in 2006. Dr. Collins and the group return to the gallery after collaborating with the museum for two other art shows at Contemporary Craft. This time she brings her latest best-selling book, The Art of Grieving: How the Arts and Artmaking Help Us Grieve and Live Our Best Lives to support and demonstrate the role art and artmaking can play in metabolizing grief, for artists and audience members alike.

Wing & A Prayer Pittsburgh Players

The Wing & A Prayer Pittsburgh Players is an InterPlay-based improvisational performance troupe whose mission is to assist arts and human service organizations in achieving their noble purposes. In collaboration with community non-profits, the group has developed programs and performances to address such tough topics as ending the stigma of mental illness, Changing the Race Dance, and saying No More to gender violence. She travels nationally and internationally assisting individuals and organizations to tell their stories in transforming ways.