The Keiskamma Altarpiece,
named after its place of origin, the Keiskamma River valley in
South Africa's Eastern Cape province, is a monumental work of
art made by 130 women and men who are members of the Keiskamma
Art Project. It tells the story of the rural South African
village of Hamburg that has been devastated by the AIDS epidemic.
The Altarpiece which is traveling around North America serves
as a message of hope for people who are living in the midst of
poverty, AIDS and other hardships. It is similar in form and concept
to The Isenheim Altarpiece but uses imagery that is directly applicable
to Hamburg and the surrounding villages. The colossal Keiskamma
Altarpiece uses embroidery, beadwork, wire sculpture, and photographs.
It measures 13 feet high by 22 feet long and is composed of a
series of hinged panels that utilize the imagery of the Xhosa
people of the Eastern Cape to depict life and the impact of AIDS
in the region. Fully opened, the altarpiece reveals dramatic,
life-size photographs of three local grandmothers and their grandchildren,
some orphaned by AIDS, and the community's hope for the future.
USA
TOUR SCHEDULE
CHICAGO St. James Cathedral, August - September 2006
LOS ANGELES Fowler Museum, December 2006 - March 2007
SAN FRANCISCO Grace Cathedral, March - May 2007
SEATTLE St. Mark's Cathedral, June - September 2007
CAMBRIDGE, MA First Church, January - March 2008
NEW YORK CITY, TBA
WASHINGTON, DC, TBA
CHICAGO St. James Cathedral, June - July 2008
FUMC
was host to the Keiskamma Altarpiece from March 13 –
23, 2007. The Altarpiece was brought to and displayed
at FUMC with the help of: First Presbyterian Church of Santa Monica,
St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, St. Augustine-by-the-Sea Episcopal
Church, St. Monica Catholic Church and Santa Monica Synagogue.
Speakers, activities, films and special services took place while
it was here. The schedule follows.
• Tuesday, March 13, at 7:30 pm, sanctuary - Opening
Reception
Dr.
Carol Hofmeyr was with us. In 2002 Dr. Hofmeyr became Hamburg's
first and only AIDS doctor. She and her husband have since built
an AIDS hospice and treatment center in Hamburg. They have also
launched a community-wide effort to encourage everyone to get
HIV tests - to prevent new infections, and to get those who are
infected into treatment. Dr. Hofmeyr also holds a degree in fine
arts as well as medicine. She has involved the local women of
her adopted community in a series of projects that use art as
a means of commemorating the lives lost to AIDS and of consoling
those who remain behind. One of these projects became the Keiskamma
Altarpiece. It was be a great honor to have her with us on the
first day that the Altarpiece was on display in our church. Photo
of Dr. Carol Hofmeyr with the Altarpiece by Boza Ivanovic.
•
Sunday, March 18, at 9:00 and 10:30 am, sanctuary - Worship
& Special Music
Worship Services designed around the Altarpiece with music
provided by the Nigerian
Talking Drum Ensemble - a vibrant traditional performance
group whose purpose is to educate different people about the cultural,
spiritual and traditional aspects of African life. It is the soul
mission of Master Drummer and Director Francis Awe in making the
Dundun and its functions a universal instrument, and in doing
so, aims in unifying all people of the world through music, dance
and song.
•
Sunday, March 18, at 12 noon, Fireside Room - Screening
Screening of the feature film Yesterday
with Q & A - This Academy Award and Emmy nominated film is
hailed as a moving piece of cinematic fiction but for millions
of South Africans, it's a frighteningly real story unfolding daily
in the poverty-stricken, rural areas of their country. "Yesterday"
is about a poor, young HIV-positive mother struggling to raise
her daughter alone, while coming to terms with her and her migrant
husband's imminent deaths from AIDS. It follows the life of this
rural Zulu woman, named Yesterday, in a small, remote village
as she struggles to eke out a living tilling the soil, while trying
to keep her inquisitive seven-year-old daughter occupied. Photo
from the film's official
website.
• Sunday, March 18, at 7:30 pm - Taizé Worship
This worship service in the style of Taizé
took place in the sanctuary in the presence of the Altarpiece
and incorporated reflection and prayer using readings and music.
• Monday, March 19, at 7:30 pm - Christian Unity
Service
During this Week of Prayer for Christian Unity we partnered
with First Presbyterian
Church, St. Paul’s Lutheran Church and St. Monica Catholic
Church for a Service of
Christian Unity using worship materials developed by Christian
communities in the region of Umlazi, near Durban, South Africa.
With the Altarpiece as our backdrop, we joined together with brothers
and sisters in Christ near and far to hear the Word, pray and
rededicate ourselves to Christ's mission in the world. The offering
went to the Keiskamma
Trust.
•
Wednesday, March 21, at 7:30 pm - Speaker
Rev. Wilma Jakobsen of All Saint's Church in Pasadena who
had just returned from the
International Anglican Conference on Millennium Goals, including
HIV/AIDS. Rev. Jakobsen is Senior Associate for Peace and Justice,
Adult Education and Parish Life.
•
Thursday, March 22, at 7:30 pm - Speaker
Edwin Bayrd is the Associate Director for administration, communications,
development, and marketing at the UCLA
AIDS Institute. Mr. Bayrd has launched “Knowledge Is
Power,” a campaign to encourage more widespread and routine
HIV testing, has created an AIDS Ambassadors program to promote
peer education at UCLA and in the Los Angeles school system, and
has organized symposia on a wide range of topics.
•
Sunday, March 25
Our quarterly Food Drive to benefit Imani Unidos AIDS Project
Food Pantry
Contact
the church office for more
information and return to this page for updates.
The
Keiskamma Altarpiece tour is made possible by Artists
for a New South Africa and Fowler
Museum at UCLA. Its time at First United Methodist Church
of Santa Monica is being sponsored by FUMC, First Presbyterian
Church of Santa Monica, St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Saint
Augustine by the Sea Episcopal, St. Monica Catholic Church and
Santa Monica Synagogue.
Information
from Saint James Cathedral in Chicago where the Keiskamma
Altarpiece began it's North American tour.
