we crown you

Manywho came to LUMINOUS have asked to know more about the crowns that were sold and that many of our performers wore. The history of making crowns from natural materials can be found across cultures and centuries, is steeped in tradition and symbolism and were made from flowers and plants that had particular associations and healing properties. For Circle Creative Collective flower crowns represent a celebration of life and unique creative expression.

There is evidence that people have been gathering roses specifically to make crowns for thousands of years and that these symbols of love and devotion were the first cultivated flowers. As explained in The Way of The Rose by Clark Strand and Perdita Finn, “The first mention of a rosary-like devotion is over 5000 years old and refers to a japamala, which in Sanskrit means “muttering garland”. Like the word rosary, mala originally referred not to a circle of beads but to a sacred circle of flowers.”

Working with flowers and with our hands can bring us a sense of inner peace, offering a bridge between meditation and creativity.

In partnership with Ulster Immigrant Defense Network, we worked with a community of women from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Mexico that are now living in Kingston to create the crowns sold at Luminous. Together, we sustainably gathered natural materials, many of which were withering in the cold of October, and we found beauty in every stage of the life cycle. Plants that would normally be overlooked instead provided adornment and inspiration for many. All proceeds from the sales went directly to the women, creating empowering pathways of income.

-LesleyGallagher, UlsterImmigrantDefenseNetwork