Humanities Washington: Measuring Mourning - A Ritual for Loss

This participatory presentation explores a recently-resurfaced Ashkenazi women’s tradition of feldmestn—the practice of measuring ancestors’ burial places with candlewick, later burnt for the living and the dead.  

How can this two-century-old Eastern European Jewish tradition help us grapple with contemporary catastrophes, as well as old displacements, genocides, and assimilation? When we do not know where our people are buried, what do we measure? Brown will share some of her own art practice and conclude with an open-ended maker space. Participants will have an opportunity to work with materials, including wick, to measure and reflect.

This program is made possible by Humanities Washington’s Speakers Bureau—"Fascinating talks by fascinating people." For more information visit https://www.humanities.org/program/speakers-bureau/.