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Think Round Fine Arts Launches Innovative Multi-Location Exhibit of Peace, Understanding, and Unity for Humankind
The inaugural launch and opening of "Families of Abraham (Jews, Christians, and Muslims)," presents a selection of family portraits of different ethnicity who immigrated to America to make their homes, and start a new life. Family photo albums have been transcribed into Artist Heidi Hardin's genre paintings that offer an unexpected window into the shared human experiences that bridge the personal and the universal. This exhibit of interfaith camaraderie, respect, and admiration is to be a catalyst to unify all. In the current social and political landscape these stories, and struggles are more important than ever to be represented and told.
RSVP @ heidi@heidihardin.com; Suggested cash donation at door $10-$20 per family.
To donate to this nonprofit go to: http://www.thinkround.org and click on the purple "donate" icon.
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Heidi Hardin Artist Statement
As one of seven children, I was raised in a chaotic, Christian home. Each of my parents had serious, multiple addictions. Remembering my own childhood, much of which was missing, and forgotten due to trauma. In my twenties, while at graduate school, I began making paintings using my own family photos and home movies as source material. As I walked this path, I became passionate to know how the distilled wisdom of world religions is taught in the homes of families practicing other faiths.
I have come to believe that the common unifying core of all religions center upon a belief in God, a belief in the existence of the human soul or eternal spirit, and the idea that God is LOVE. The question then became, what is LOVE? What I learned at home was not LOVE, it was abuse that left me with the five core symptoms of codependence. These symptoms are an inability to: set boundaries; own my own reality; experience reality moderately; experience appropriate levels of self-esteem; and get my own needs and wants met. Now, proudly sober for 31 years - I have come to believe in God by finding the ability to respond to and take responsibility for my desperate need to develop these life skills.
Today, it is my belief that if the world is to ever become whole, humans will need to decide to manifest heaven on Earth, not wait for happily ever after, rather create happily ever now. I also believe that every person can awaken to their own inner teacher, and develop a Higher Power of their own understanding. In doing this, I, myself, found God’s Will for me—to know and understand the truth for myself — about my own life. To do this, I have had to trudge the road to my happy destiny. Because my childhood was so difficult, this trudge has not been easy or fun; however, my experience has proven to me that it beats the alternative of staying numb to my feelings, dissociating, and being separated from the love of God within me.
LOVE is first taught in the family home; therefore, my first dream is to be among leaders who encourage truly loving homes. LOVE is first taught outside the home through the efforts of the major world religions—often by teaching the Golden Rule; therefore, my second dream is to be among leaders ending the suppression of women and children by male dominated world religions. In my ME TOO experience is NOT LOVE. Thanks to the help of hundreds; creating the seven installations of the Paradise Project has given me a broader view of, and deeper insight into how to manifest and accomplish these two dreams.
At Think Round, Inc. we are calling on everyone around the world to prioritize preventing toxic stress of children, and to prioritize healing all adults with Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs). To be a part of living the Golden Rule, and manifesting heaven on earth, please join the movement to end ACEs in America and around the world.
About The Paradise Project…
To this end, in September, Think Round will announce the inaugural launch of our groundbreaking exhibit, Families of Abraham. This multi-destination art exhibit demonstrates unity in diversity. The concept and art show were 20-years in the making by me, Heidi Hardin. Families of Abraham presents 190 of 234 portraits of four: Jewish, Muslim, and Christian families of different ethnicity who immigrated to America to make their homes and to start a new life. These portraits will be displayed September 29th - December 29th, 2019 at four locations: Think Round Fine Arts, Calvary Presbyterian Church, Sherith Israel, and the Islamic Society of San Francisco. This demonstration of interfaith camaraderie, respect, and admiration is to be a catalyst to unify these families of Abraham. In today’s social and political landscape these family stories and struggles are more important than ever to be represented and told.
Accompanying Families of Abrahm, Think Round, Inc. will offer a full program of other activities for children and families.
- Saturdays beginning October through December, we will be teaching Abrahamic Family Art Making Classes
- The 2nd Tuesdays of every month we will host Abrahamic Human Family Suppers/Salons
- On Fridays will will have guided walk through meditations
- Sundays in December, we will host a day long process session for remembering your soul titled, MAGIC OF WHY®.
- We will host K-12 School Tours & Arts Activities
Information for Think Round Fine Arts or our related events for this exhibition, please visit our website: https://www.thinkround.org/events-1
If you would like to make a donation to this non-profit - click on link: Donate to Think Round, Inc.
Inter-religious learning has been a central focus of Think Round since 2003, when The Human Family Tree/A Walk Through Paradise…seven installations, (The Paradise Project...) was birthed in the writing of a Creative Capital grant. Paradise… centers on families who are followers of various major world religions. Each successive installation (seven in all) focuses on eleven religions, presenting 78 paintings in a multimedia installation including touching objects, environmental displays, and original music. [Please see a map of the layout of all seven installations and a five minute 3D video of it (and the 546 paintings within it) at our website: https://www.thinkround.org/index#/the-human-family-tree-project.] All paintings are based on photographs of the past century of families of different ethnicity, who stand as icons for all the people who have journeyed to America to make their home and start a new life. In each installation a labyrinth of footpaths and columns replicating the mythic Tree of Life will create a “walk through paradise” among the paintings. To complete The Paradise Project…, every two years, another installation of additional major world religions will be presented with curricula similarly tailored to each faith, i.e. Hindus/Sikhs, Buddhists/Jain, Taoist/Confusions, Indigenous.
— Heidi Hardin, August 2019
Heidi Hardin Biography
Heidi Hardin was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma in 1953. She was one of seven children. Both her childhood, and her family household were chaotic because both parents had serious, multiple addictions.
She went on to receive her Master of Fine Arts degree in Painting in 1979 and Bachelor of Arts in Biology and Visual Arts from the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) in 1976. In 1979, Hardin studied at the prestigious Whitney Museum of American Art, Independent Study Program for Painters and Sculptors. It was during college that she began making paintings using her own family photos and home movies as source material in order to remember her childhood—much of it forgotten due to trauma. In this way, genre painting has become the hallmark of her art.
For the past 30 years, she has exhibited her paintings nationally in galleries and museums. Her artwork was represented by Newspace, LA from the early 1980s until 2006 when the gallery closed and its archives—along with Ms. Hardin's exhibits—became a part of the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D. C. She has taught visual arts in San Francisco elementary and high schools, art history at the college level at UCSD and National University and drawing at City College of San Francisco. Hardin was also Museum Artist/Supervisor for the Fine Arts Museums of SF, “Big Kids, Little Kids,” and “Doing and Viewing Art.” She has been an integral part of the art community in the Bay Area.
Think Round, Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, which Hardin formed in the summer of 2004, joined the movement for global peace and environmental protection by becoming a Cooperation Circle of the United Religions Initiative. She is also an outspoken advocate for preventing and healing childhood trauma and ending the suppression of women and children by male dominated world religions, causes very near and dear to her.
Her accomplishments and accolades are many (partial list): 2004-19 Founder/Chief Executive Officer/Executive Director, Think Round, Inc., San Francisco, CA; 1992-2007 In-Schools Visual Arts Programming Director for the Bayview Opera House; she received the KCBS News’ prestigious Jefferson Award for her work as a community artist; she was recognized by the United States Environmental Protection Agency in 2001, receiving their Environmental Achievement Award for Region 9 for “outstanding leadership in protecting the environment and public health for this and future generations.”
All of Ms. Hardin’s work as a community-based artist and as a practicing fine artist are now held in trust in the vision, mission, and objectives of Think Round, Inc. The mission of Think Round, Inc. is to demonstrate life’s fullest potential through the arts and sciences especially where environmental concerns meet neighborhoods and families
Think Round Fine Arts, 2140 Bush Street, Suite 1, San Francisco, CA 94115
