a note from the curator [schuyler swenson]

I’m taking time this month to consider ritual. How and why we perform certain rituals, how these acts connect us as human, potentially spanning generations and borders.

I grew up without any access to or knowledge of certain rituals of my birth country and culture. But I believe that somewhere in my DNA is an imprint of these rituals left by multiple generations -- repetition of human connective behaviors reaching back thousands of years. As an adult I’ve found fulfillment in teaching myself these traditions and rituals that I was never taught growing up, but have never felt like I’ve been able to tap into a feeling of connection with my ancestry.  Instead, what I’ve found most authentic to my identity is the process of creating new rituals, with and for myself and my chosen family. A mix of self-taught cultural tradition and modern practices.

This series of video, images, sounds, and text are intended to act as a new imprint for the transnational adoptee, a celebration of ritual and its ability to adapt to new environments while simultaneously connecting us in new ways to our ancestors and descendants-- archiving new rituals for the next generation.

_ Schuyler Swenson