1 of 13
Photographs by Thomas Crone
2 of 13
3 of 13
4 of 13
5 of 13
6 of 13
7 of 13
8 of 13
9 of 13
10 of 13
11 of 13
12 of 13
13 of 13
The International Institute’s Festival of Nations might be dominated by the images of people zigzagging down the central corridor, most of them in search of a good meal, with a side order of culture. It’s a fun experience to meander down that lane with an appetite and a couple shekels in your pocket, true, with solid food and people watching the norm. But lots of small acts of deeper humanity routinely take place on the edges of the Festival, which was held this past weekend in the event’s traditional home inside South City’s Tower Grove Park.
As an example: in an unmarked tent near the children’s village, a group of eight Tibetan monks worked in a variety of capacities, splitting up various tasks for the weekend. Those with the greatest English language skills talked to visitors curious about their story. Others sat behind a well-stocked table of Tibetan artworks and incense. Finally, a smaller batch gathered around simple folding tables, working on art projects with children. Here, the monks carefully guided the rapt kids through the creation of intricate flower designs molded with, all of things, cans of Play-Doh. They did so despite a minimal amount of English; this limitation didn’t seem to affect the experience negatively at all.
These multi-disciplinary artisans are members of the Drepung Gomang Monastery, currently visiting St. Louis for a nearly two-week stretch, part of the 2013 Tibetan Sacred Arts Tour. Though very public at the Festival, the events there were only part of a busy stretch for them. This week they’ll be engaged in an ambitious series of activities around St. Louis; some involving talks and music, others involving the construction of sand mandalas, which will be disassembled and set free in the waters of the Mississippi River.
While in St. Louis for their annual visit, the monks are centered at the Tower Grove South home of Patty Maher, a local activist on Tibetan freedom efforts. In tandem with others, she networked with a broad group of St. Louisans to set up a wide base of activities for the monks to take part in while here. That, of course, was centered around the linchpin stop at the Festival of Nations. In addition to the clay creation with kids and sales of their artistic wares, they also took the Fest’s main stage on both Saturday and Sunday afternoons. The two performances offered slight variations: Sunday’s was based entirely on voices; Saturday’s outing included the use of horns and cymbals, as well as chants. Both appearances were equally powerful and played to large audiences.
And, as with their other efforts, the public performance was seen by many, though the off-stage activities were just as interesting to watch. Before and after each day’s appearance, the monks mixed with other performers, primarily dance troupes, representing the traditions of Israel, Mexico and Ireland. Lots of photos were taken, the monks shooting stills and video (or asking those standing by to do so) on their tablets, cell phones and digital cameras. The combination of cross-cultural mash-ups and the use of modern technology were striking to say the least.
Continuing their local tour this week, the monks will be found around St. Louis in several iterations between now and the weekend. Proceeds from both donations and the sale of their artworks will support the efforts of the Drepung Gomang Monastic Institute in India, a home to over 2,000 Tibetan monks in exile, due to the continuing Chinese suppression of their homeland. The following are some of the highlights:
Monday, 8:30 p.m.
Tonight, the monks will speak to the KDHX radio audience, with an 8:30 p.m. appearance on the half-hour talk show “Collateral Damage,” with host DJ Wilson. The program will stream beginning Tuesday via the station’s website, kdhx.org.
Tuesday, 6–8 p.m.
At Fontbonne University’s Library Auditorium (6800 Wydown), the group will perform sacred music and speak on their ambassadorial activities. Though the event is free, a $10 donation is requested. It’s open to members of the wider St. Louis community, as well as Fontbonne’s faculty, staff and students.
Wednesday, 9–10 a.m.
Outside the Sons of Rest Pavilion in the southeast corner of Tower Grove Park (Grand and Arsenal), the monks will offer a children’s blessing ceremony, involving chanting and meditation, with an emphasis on connecting with local youth of all faith backgrounds.
Thursday, 6:30–8:30 p.m.
The Shinzo Zen Center at 6419 Clemens in University City will offer another night of discussion, Q-and-A, music and chanting.
Saturday, 9 a.m–noon
For several days prior, monks will be based at Macro Sun (1310 Washington), where they’ll be building a multi-faith sand mandala. These intricate sand designs are built for impermanence, despite their obvious beauty. On Saturday, the monks will ceremoniously disassemble the sand mandala, before a march down Washington Avenue to the Mississippi River. There, they will pour the sand into the river, which will, of course, carry the sand downstream, in act that symbolizes a distribution of blessings into the greater world. Visitors are invited to visit the long-standing import store during the creation of the mandala on Wednesday and Friday, from 2–7 p.m., and Thursday from noon–5 p.m.
Saturday, 5:00-7:00 p.m.
In their last public event, the monks will offer a cooking class at Oak Hill Presbyterian Church, 4111 Connecticut in South City. During this demo, they’ll be cooking Asian dumplings called “mo mos”; interesting to some, though these are Buddhist monks, they’re not necessarily vegetarians, so they’ll be cooking in both meat-centric and in vegetarian styles. A $25 donation is requested for this one. (To register, email celticmom52@hotmail.com.)
Over the course of the week, the group will also try to visit several locations around St. Louis during their limited downtime, including the St. Louis Zoo and the Gateway Arch.
Thanks to Maher’s openness, I’ll be able to visit with and photograph the monks throughout their St. Louis stay. In addition to the photos displayed here, I’ll keep a running Flickr set active here. Also, a piece will be appearing on The Curator Magazine’s site later this week, or next, involving the monks’ visit to the St. Louis Zoo. Her efforts and hospitality in making the monks’ stay in St. Louis an interesting and educational one are duly noted; and their generosity in spending time, energy and grace is similarly appreciated.
Photographs by Thomas Crone
