Prayer for a Softer Era was our response to a global moment of horrific violence and human suffering. We sought to create a moment that safely and inclusively made space for the complexity of emotions at play. We created an immersive experience that led participants through a group meditation and prayer ceremony. The event unfolded through a sequence of chapters, involving deep listening, meditation, ritual, and collective play. The event took place on the edge of the Spring Equinox. Each spring brings with it hopes of fresh starts, clean slates, and new beginnings. But this particular spring, fresh starts were not possible; we carried with us the grief, the pain, the helplessness, the anger, the sorrow, and the exhaustion.
Prayer for a Softer Era
Working with our frequent homebase Nowadays, we designed a central altar on the dancefloor. Collaborating DJ Razrbark opened with a poignant ambient set. Next, we led a guided meditation created specifically for the gathering. Participants were led through the process of developing a personal prayer for softness. Following the meditation, participants expressed their prayers through a candle-lighting ceremony. One by one, each participant lit a candle, externalizing their innermost wishes such that each flame in the room stood for each person’s prayer, alive in the world. We sat in silence as each person placed their candles upon the altar.
We then worked to further express our prayers through self-guided play with provided materials – writing them down, drawing them, lighting them up in smoke, whispering them, pressing them into the bodies of friends. Razrbark played a second set while participants connected and expressed themselves through material play. At the end of the night, a small group of us gathered in the Nowadays garden to anoint and burn each prayer in a big fire.
Materials: Potato, Incense, Pillow, Candles, Fabric, Plants from Larissa’s garden, Soil from Larissa’s Grandfather’s garden, Istrian lettuce, Flowers, Notecards, Scented waters, Citrus fruits
Partners Razrbark
Photography Tallulah Schwartz
Media Razrbark Live & Guided Meditation
Location Nowadays, Queens, NY
Year 2024
“[The experience] was priceless. I wish more people could experience slowness like that in this hectic world.”
— Iryna R.
“It was amazing to be invited into a space that we are so intimately familiar with, but to see it in an entirely different context: the room was full of people, but instead of a high-energy dancefloor, everyone was still, sitting, or lying down among friends and sculptures.
What was most beautiful for me was coming together with the same community, in the same space, but sharing energy and processing emotions with each other in a more explicit and intentional way.”
— Edwin Lam, architect
