What's Happening

October 27, 2021, Adrian, Michigan – As Michigan heads toward colder weather, INAI, an art gallery adjacent to Weber Retreat and Conference Center, welcomes a colorful exhibit from Peru. The Cuadros Exhibit, featuring textile pictures from Peru, opens Friday, November 5, 2021, and continues through Sunday, February 27, 2022. A reception is scheduled from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Sunday, November 7, 2021.

Cuadros are textile wall hangings depicting the lives of people in barrios, or shantytowns, outside of Lima, Peru. Women in Pamplona Alta create them through embroidery and appliquéd scraps of cotton or other materials. The Cuadros are an art of survival, documenting the struggles of the women living in difficult situations marked by political instability, economic hardship, and lack of steady work. They show hope and courage, presenting the women’s stories through bright colors, decorative patterns, and lively details.

Sister Barbara Cervenka, OP

Sister Barbara Cervenka, OP, herself an artist, first visited Pamplona Alta in 1989 at the invitation of Sister Pam Millenbach, OP, who ministered there with the late Sister Mary K. Duwelius, OP. “Peru was then in turmoil: Sendero Luminoso, a terrorist group, was bombing buildings in Lima and ravaging small towns in the countryside,” Sister Barbara recalled. She came to admire the artwork of the women and brought back as many of the Cuadros as she could.

Sister Barbara prepared a small exhibition of the Cuadros at the University of Michigan. Since then, through Con/Vida (“With Life”) – a nonprofit organization in Detroit that organizes exhibits of the work of local artists in Latin America – she has shown the Cuadros at nearly 100 sites, earning thousands of dollars that have helped to support the women of Pamplona Alta and their families. Sister Barbara and Mame Jackson are Co-directors of Con/Vida.

INAI (in-EYE) is a Japanese word meaning within. INAI, a place for quiet reflection and art, is open to the public. The INAI Gallery is adjacent to Weber Retreat and Conference Center, 1257 E. Siena Heights Drive, on the campus of the Adrian Dominican Sisters’ Motherhouse. Enter the Eastern-most driveway of the complex and follow the signs to Weber Center. 

Gallery hours are from 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. daily or by appointment. Masks are required and guests must be screened at the Weber Center reception desk or Weber Center Shop. Please call 517-266-4090 or 313-608-9181 for an appointment to visit the gallery.

August 23, 2021, Detroit – Sister Nancyann Turner, OP, felt inspired to participate in Detroit’s Healing Memorial, a large-scale participatory public art installation that recognizes the depth of loss in Detroit and all Southeast Michigan during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

A collaboration between the City of Detroit Office of Arts, Cranbrook Art Museum and the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy, this memorial will offer support and healing for residents of southeast Michigan who experienced all forms of loss, including physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, social, occupational, and environmental. 

The floor to ceiling installation will be adorned by handmade fabric pouches or small fabric envelopes containing a written dedication such as a blessing, a remembrance or a prayer. The cumulative personal dedications will come together to form a dramatic installation at the TCF Center in Downtown Detroit. The exhibit will be unveiled on Tuesday, August 31, 2021, the official COVID-19 Memorial Day in Detroit.

Sister Nancyann Turner, OP

Sister Nancyann, an artist, created a memorial for each Adrian Dominican Sister who died of COVID-19 this past year, as well as several more memorials for young adults who had participated in Capuchin Soup Kitchen programs during their childhood. Sister Nancyann had served as Program Director of the Soup Kitchen’s Rosa Parks Children’s and Youths’ Program.

For Sister Nancyann, creating the pouches was a sacred endeavor. “As I created each one, floods of memories came to me and I felt connected to each Sister and found myself praying to her,” she said. “I knew well many of the deceased Sisters and felt myself blessed as I worked on each memorial. Within each one, I wrote a brief letter and prayer to that particular Sister for whom the memorial was being made – 14 in all. I felt peace and solace in making our remembering tangible.”

Sister Nancyann noted that many people have been in grief and in communal lament for the past 18 months. “We have wept and we have mourned,” she said. “We have become so much more conscious of the pain surrounding an enormous number of people – way beyond our family, our Congregation – beyond our country. Our expansive grief has also reminded us that we are not alone … we are all in this together. We care for each other in new ways and we will assert hope and work for justice.” 

Submitted by Sister Nancyann Turner, OP

Feature photo: These are among the pouches created by Sister Nancyann Turner, OP, that will contain blessings or messages in honor of the Adrian Dominican Sisters who died of COVID-19 in early 2021. Photo by Sister Nancyann Turner, OP