On The Job: When Heaven Meets Earth

I’m so fortunate that my work allows me to meet many talented individuals in industries across the board. In November, we were invited to be a part of the two-week event “When Heaven Meets Earth: Experiencing Taiwan’s Sacred Statues” at Saint Joseph’s University. 

Chen Zongwei 陳宗蔚, a prominent statue carver from Taiwan, flew 8,000 miles to Philadelphia to take part in an artist-in-residence program on campus. To see Zongwei’s artistry in action in Taiwan, usually means adding your name to a four-year waitlist, but for the students at Saint Joe’s (and our team at Melissa Kelly Photography!) we were able to get a front row seat to his mastery. 

Students were invited to attend several traditional ceremonies, including a kaifu 開斧 ceremony, the rushen 入神 ceremony, and a kaiguang 開光 ceremony. These ceremonies took place throughout the two week residence and involved different rituals and intentions for the statue that Zongwei created for the University. The students embraced these cultural rituals and many times were involved in the ceremonies themselves. Students who had learned about these rituals in classes like Chinese Religion, could now experience complete immersion in this sacred process.

In addition to these ceremonies, there were multiple opportunities for students and faculty to meet artist Chen Zongwei and his two apprentices, Huang Yusheng and Wu Shuming. The University hosted ample open studio sessions during this residence for attendees to watch them work, ask them questions and learn their techniques. Zongwei and his apprentices also hosted hands-on workshops where participants learned how to implement Zongwei’s techniques. 

Coverage for this two-week event took momentous coordination, both in scheduling and in fully capturing the event while being sure to respect the sacredness of the ceremonies. Through collaboration with Saint Joe’s passionate faculty, our team of three was able to capture intimate images of this once in a lifetime event.

What events do you have planned for 2024? You’ve done all the hard work in planning, preparing and organizing the event, don't overlook the opportunity to leverage your hard work. Give us a call to make the most of your next event.