Arin Maya Lawrence
Project: Sounds of our Stories
I would like to create Sounds of our Stories, Stories of our Sounds–a series of free intergenerational sound bath/story-sharing events, ideally held at a Senior center in the heart of Bed-Stuy. The events would welcome young adults, adults, and senior citizens (age 18 and up) to participate in sound baths centering on the importance of community and rest, as well as the power of sound and shared stories. Following each 30-minute sound bath, the group would remain together for approximately 30 minutes to share stories of how sound has played an important role in their lives. Participants might sit in circle formation during the story-sharing portion of the events and may share either sound-related stories of their lives and experiences or songs that tell part of their life story.
The ultimate goals of this project are to:
- Inspire, encourage and strengthen intergenerational exchange.
- Remind and remember the power of oral storytelling; and
- Expand the community’s general understanding of wellness and how to achieve or seek it by exposing them to sound healing, an often forgotten but deeply rooted and indigenous form of healing
Ideally, we would be able to obtain permission from the participants to capture video/audio from one or all of these gatherings for archival purposes.
Bio:
Arin Maya is a sound healer, artist, and activist, described by Grammy-nominated jazz vocalist Gregory Porter as having “a unique and ancient sound.”
A dedicated practitioner and student of sound healing for over 10 years, she has sung and studied with Ysaye Barnwell of Sweet Honey in the Rock and Bobby McFerrin, and is Musical Director for the Resistance Revival Chorus, a collective of over 60 women/nonbinary artists and activists. Arin Maya is a graduate of Howard University and Stanford University (via Domestic Exchange) and gained her Sound Healing Practitioner certification through New York Open Center’s 190-hour Integrative Sound and Music Practitioner Training Program. At the height of COVID-19, she created Meditation Moments–free virtual community sound baths to help people get grounded and find ease. She has curated and facilitated sound baths at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History & Culture, Brooklyn Public Library at Grand Army Plaza, Columbia University’s Teachers College, and NYU, working with partners and clients such as Tricia Hersey of the Nap Ministry, NJCASA, and Landmark High School, among others. She holds monthly sound baths in Brooklyn and facilitates a variety of sound healing offerings for community gatherings, wellness events, and corporate and leadership retreats.