Religion & Art Colab 1
Living Art Workshop: Raw Material & Self-as-Sacred-Place
with Guided Chakra Meditation
7 May 2025
Holy Trinity, Prince Consort Rd, London SW7 2BA
Claire Elizabeth Barratt aka Cilla Vee with Linda Mary Montano and Paul B Davis
An interactive, collaborative, physical workshop session, examining the Self as Living Art, the raw materials of the self in relationship with the raw materials of time, space, energy and the elements. The Self was explored as Sacred Place — the location of our dwelling and experience and interactions — physical and spiritual. The first hour was a series of guided movement meditations with Claire Elizabeth Barratt. After a short break, the second hour was a guided chakra meditation led by Linda Mary Montano live from New York via video link, and live organ improvisations by Paul B Davis.
Photo: James St. Laurent
Claire Elizabeth Barratt aka Cilla Vee is a British interdisciplinary and performative artist based in the USA. She is the director of international arts organization Cilla Vee Life Arts, established Bronx NY 2002, and has run The Center for Connection + Collaboration from her home in Asheville, NC since 2020. She served an apprenticeship with the Isadora Duncan Dance Foundation and holds an MFA in Creative Practice from the Transart Institute for Creative Research with Plymouth University where she developed the Living Art performance pedagogy. She was a Co-Founder and Director for Circle Modern Dance and a Choreographer for the Knoxville Opera Company in Tennessee and performed as a dancer for Unto These Hills outdoor drama on the Cherokee Indian reservation in North Carolina. Claire has presented work through organizations such as Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, Bronx Council on the Arts, Black Mountain College Museum + Art Center and Art Basel Miami. She has been a member and facilitator with the international Sacred Dance Guild since 1997 – becoming a SDG Legacy Project accredited facilitator in 2024. Much of her work is collaborative, durational and improvisational – often in the form of multi-disciplinary installation. She has performed and taught throughout the USA and in Canada, Europe, Japan and the Middle East.
Photo: Dion Ogust
Linda Mary Montano is a seminal figure in contemporary feminist performance art and her work since the mid 1960s has been critical in the development of video by, for, and about women. Attempting to dissolve the boundaries between art and life, Montano continues to actively explore her art/life through shared experience, role adoption, and intricate life altering ceremonies, some of which last for seven or more years. Her artwork is starkly autobiographical and often concerned with personal and spiritual transformation. Montano’s influence is wide ranging – she has been featured at museums including The New Museum New York, MOCA San Francisco, and ICA London.
In collaboration with religionandart.org
With thanks to Revd Jennie Adams
