Awakening is the latest offering from the crew who created Metamorphosis – a temple of transformation – for AfrikaBurn last year. Again we are gathering an extraordinary collection of volunteers, which includes some of our old crew and heaps of newcomers. If you’d like to get involved, or find out how you can help us make this a reality, read on. The lotus, an ancient symbol of rebirth and awakeni
ng, invites you to consider what you want to awaken in yourself… what dreams and potential is lying dormant? Fable tells of Buddha leaving a trail of lotus flowers behind as he walked, and of a lotus blooming from the navel of Vishnu. Many consider the soul to be housed in the heart of a lotus. At its most metaphoric, its daily emergence through muddy waters into the light as a clean and exquisite thing of beauty has resonance for all of us. Temple structures like Metamorphosis and Awakening play a special role at AfrikaBurn; they provide a space for personal reflection and for spiritual and emotional awakening. They provide sanctuary for you to release, and ultimately burn, all that no longer serves you. And so Awakening is intended to be somewhere you can meditate, contemplate, rejoice, mourn, release and celebrate. A place for ceremonies of love, commitment, farewell and friendship. Social upliftment
Also like Metamorphosis, Awakening is a project with a conscience; social upliftment and awakening the potential in others is part of our vision. We strive to leave legacies that benefit communities beyond the Burn, and help initiate change and awakening in others. Last year the Metamorphosis team brought the theme of transformation home, raising a substantial amount of money to renovate the Home of Hope in Johannesburg. The Home rescues women and children from abuse, poverty and sexual exploitation and ensures they get an education while having a safe place to live. The extreme makeover included everything from fresh paint to new furniture, kitchen appliances, light fittings, bedding and décor. Mam Khanyi, who runs the organization said that the renovations had “helped restore dignity to all the girls who live at the Home.”
Building on this relationship, we want to use some of the funds raised for Awakening to go towards a learning centre for the young women. We would like to buy computers and provide internet access for them; this will help all of the women who are studying and don't have ready access to these resources. The focus on education fits with the idea of awakening… awakening to one’s potential, to a world of opportunity. In addition we hope to open the Burn up to other communities and to aid skills development. To this end we included four local artists from Alexandra in the Metamorphosis project last year. Tsholo, Tebogo, Mpumi and Mmabadimo assisted with the building of the temple in Jo’burg, construction in Tankwa and attended the festival. This year we are bringing Tsholo and his wife Salome and Mpumi and we want to help facilitate that journey for them. Helping us with funds means contributing to both the Home of Hope and to providing access to the Burn for others. Join us
As with any structure at the Burn, Awakening will be created entirely by a group of volunteers with a love for putting their energy into creative adventures – and maybe a love for the smell of sawdust. If building isn’t your thing, we also need help with fundraising, sourcing materials and lighting, structure assembly in Tankwa, and cleaning up once our flower returns to the mud (or dust) at the end. We will be arriving in Tankwa on the 16th of April to commence construction and need a lot of volunteers to make this happen. Whether you are skilled with power tools or not, you are welcome. There are many roles to fulfil, from feeding the crew to dangling off of scaffolding with a drill in hand. If you’re interested and want to know more, please contact:
[email protected] and cc [email protected]
Donate
If passion alone could bring our structure into being, we’d pretty much be ready to head into the Karoo. However, the reality is that there is money to be raised… R100 000 to be exact. We were fortunate to be awarded some funding from AfrikaBurn’s art grant fund (hence we were able to start the building) but we don’t yet have enough funds to bring this powerful project to its completion! To contribute please make an electronic transfer to:
Verity Maud
FNB Cresta code 254905
Acc. no. 50340034962
Swift code FIRNZAJJ
NB: Please use ‘Awakening donation’ as your reference
Alternatively, you can donate through our Indigogo site – http://igg.me/at/awakening2016/x/3486128
For the investigative types:
- Find out more about AfrikaBurn via their official website: http://www.afrikaburn.com/
- Read more about Metamorphosis: https://www.facebook.com/Metamorphosis.Afrikaburn
- And the Home of Hope: http://www.hopehome.org.za/
