Oasis In The Woods: An Arts & Wellness Festival is an immersive intergenerational experience where art and nature intertwine to bring beautiful and thought-provoking nature-based art installations, wellness experiences, and more.
Eight Black and Indigenous artists-healers from DC, PG County, Mendocino, and Sacramento, California, New Mexico, New York, and Chicago, Illinois, will reside at Junipers Garden for the week leading up to the festival. During their residency, they will build nature-based art installations and wellness experiences inspired by nature, the land, and the vision of creating a more just and sustainable ecosystem in the face of climate change.
The culmination of the residency will be a two-day festival where guests will have the opportunity to experience these art installations and wellness experiences, contribute to the land through community art projects, and enjoy good food, live music, and community.
Event Schedule
Artist Reception- Friday, June 16th, 6–9 pm
Art & Wellness Festival- Saturday, June 17th 1-9 PM
Day 1 (6–9 pm)
On Friday, June 16th, join the artists for an Artist Reception, Gallery Walk, and Artist Panel. During this evening on the land, you will get the opportunity to meet the artists, hear the stories and inspiration behind their work, and experience the installations.
Food: Pre Order Pizzas for Friday Evening Only
Margherita (Cheese Lovers) San marzano tomato and garlic sauce, mozzarella, arugula
The First Feast (Meat Lovers) is a summer meat lover's pizza with chicken, mozzarella, fresh onions, greens, and tomato sauce.
The Eternal Veggie (vegan or with cheese) Caramelized onions, garlic, pan-seared mushrooms, greens, tomato sauce, and mozzarella. Serving size 1-4 people. 12-inch pizza, 8 slices
Day 2 (1–9 pm)
Come celebrate the summer solstice on Saturday, June 17th, with a day-long festival experience. This family-friendly event will allow guests to walk the trails, experience the artist installations, participate in community art projects, pause and rest, and celebrate the beauty of nature and community.
On the evening of June 17th, enjoy live music, DJ/Dance party, and a Bon Fire. Camping is also available on-site.
Liminal Grace will be hosting The Pause Portal on Saturday (1–5 pm)
The Pause Portal is a space of presence, reflection, and rest. Step into this liminal space for a mind, body, and soul reset. Then, before walking through the art installations, pause with Gigi at 1:30 pm and 3:30 pm for a yoga nidra (yogic sleep) that will prepare you for your walk. The yoga nidra sessions are meditative experiences that can be done lying down or sitting in a chair. Cushions, blankets, chairs, and more will be provided in the portal.
Food Vendors (2–5 pm)
Green Things Work will be selling vegetarian and vegan food options on Saturday.
Live Music (5–7 pm)
Enjoy live music from the DC-based music collective Too Much Talent Band, with one purpose, Make Good Music.
Bon Fire & Dance Party (6–9 pm)
Celebrate the summer solstice with a huge bonfire, great music, and dancing...
This festival is hosted by Aunt Caryl Art and Herbs, Junipers Garden, Liminal Grace, and Phantom Gallery Chicago Network.
About The Artists
Caryl Henry Alexander
For more than 40 years, Caryl Henry Alexander's work has harnessed the power of creative collaboration with multi-generational, multicultural, and interfaith communities to conceive, design, and implement community art projects in diverse public settings around the globe. In the studio, Caryl's work includes painting, printmaking, papermaking, textiles, installations, and sculpture. Her media are both traditional and experimental, often incorporating recycled or found objects and natural plant materials. Out in the community, she combines her roles as a visual artist, teaching artist, curator, researcher, lecturer, writer, and social activist to support communities in clarifying their shared goals and turning their ideas into action. Her long-term focus is on culture, environment, and nature. She has exhibited throughout the US and abroad. Her media are both traditional and experimental, often incorporating recycled or found objects and natural plant materials.
Alpha Bruton
Alpha Bruton, 2013 in a garden in German
Chief Curator Phantom Gallery Chicago Network, The Phantom Galleries, are temporary exhibitions in nontraditional gallery settings. The mission of the (PGCN) is to promote the betterment of the visual arts community through the arts, promote personal achievement in striving for excellence and continual growth as an artist, and promote cultural activities in exhibits, workshops; galleries exhibitions; art centers; artists in residence projects. In addition, she is the Co-founder of the Visual Arts Development Project (VADP), formed in 1996; it is an art service organization - that develops projects as living experiments for sustainable practices and an incubator for personal and collective transformation. Visual Arts Development Project is a community-based art organization that provides children, adults, and emerging artists with resources, workshops, and a venue to show and express their art form.
Jennifer Andrea "YaYa" Porres
During her studies and the American South West, she was a cultural ambassador, arts educator, and performing artist in China, Mexico, Africa, and Cuba. A multi-talented artist who has received Fellowships from Teatro Campesino, the National Association of Latino Arts and Culture (NALAC), was a youth mentor and video documenter for the Center for African Peace Conflict Resolution. Curator of the International Society of Altar Making artist constructs temporary installations which are curated by master altar makers drawing on personal history: Envisioned to evoke the transformative value of historical and contemporary cultural traditions, MAP's Gallery uses the power of myth, stories, and imagination to give voice to the universality of cultural traditions. Holds a B.A. in Theater/Dance Arts from CSU- Sacramento.
Samaria is a musician, farmer, and herbalist. Her music and art are inspired by her relationship with nature and her experience as an adoptee and healer. Samaria's music blends traditional folk with afro-beat, R&B, and hip-hop elements. Most recently, she has been exploring the history, music, and construction of the Banjo. As an herbalist, she works to reconnect her community to traditional ways of healing.
Gigi
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Gigi is a 200-hr certified yoga instructor and eternal student of life. In 2021, she founded Liminal Grace to help folks navigate life with mindfulness, confidence, and ease. Gigi's teaching reflects these intentions by honoring the nuances and complexities of the human experience while encouraging individual power and curiosity along the way. Liminal Grace offers live yoga and meditation sessions, corporate wellness programming and retreats, educational mindfulness courses, and hosts mindfulness events and retreats.
Chantel (she/her) is a Caribbean-American multidisciplinary artist and spiritual diviner. She has yet to find a medium she won't try at least once and often cycles through periods of focusing on one or three mediums more than others. She is currently focusing on fiber arts and collage. After learning how to knit through TikTok and YouTube University, she is working on replacing her storebought sweaters and knitwear with clothes she knit or crocheted. She learned how to crochet from her mother at a young age and often has at least two fiber projects going at once. In addition, she uses collages for emotional expression and has led therapeutic art journaling and collaging sessions for over 7 years. After completing her Master's in Social Work at the University of Maryland, Baltimore, in May 2023, she plans to become an art therapist and incorporate creative self-expression into her therapy practice.
