12/03/2017

Taíno participate in 26th annual "Medicine Wheel" Vigil


Boston, Massachusetts (UCTP Taino News) -
 Taking place on December 1, 2017, in conjunction with World AIDS Day/ A Day With(Out) Art, “Medicine Wheel,” a 24-hour vigil with a major art installation brought together a diverse representation of society to commemorate the tragedy of the AIDS epidemic, or any loss, in their own communities and worldwide. Medicine Wheel is an epic work of art created by Michael Dowling, Artistic Director of Medicine Wheel Productions, whose primary visual component is the wheel itself: thirty-six pedestals and portable shrines arranged in a circle. Among the 1000 artists and community members taking part in vigil where Patricia Chali'naru Dones and her son Vinny Tata'niki Dones. Chali'naru and Tata'niki are registered with the United Confederation of Taíno People and members of the Guainia Taíno Tribe. 
Dowling developed Medicine Wheel to be a part of A Day Without Art, the visual arts community’s annual response to the AIDS crisis that flowered in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s in New York City and other artistic centers. Medicine Wheel has grown in importance as Boston’s largest annual observation of World AIDS Day.  Each year the installation is based around a different element: fire, water, earth or air.  This 26th incarnation of the Medicine Wheel is an AIR year and will focus on the power of art to heal, nurture, and transform.

UCTP Taino News 12/03/2017