Conscious Body, Living Soul: From Sentience to Sovereignty

the first of two multiarts shows about how being alive, feeling and conscious relates to sovereignty of spirit, land and people

Exhibit runs February 17, 2023 – June 30, 2024. Free admission to exhibit and Opening Reception.

Celebrate your Sentience, being alive, feeling and conscious in your body, as Life Force Shamanic Arts & Healing presents the art exhibit and multidisciplinary arts show Conscious Body, Living Soul: From Sentience to Sovereignty running February 17, 2023 – June 30, 2024 at Life Force Arts Center, 1609 W. Belmont, Chicago IL 60657. Opening Reception is Friday, February 17, 2023 from 7 – 10 PM. Exhibit hours are during events at Life Force Arts Center, and by appointment. Admission is free to the exhibit and Opening Reception. Workshops and performances related to the theme will be presented as part of the show. For more information, please contact Joan Forest Mage, Artistic Director, 773-327-7224, joan@LifeForceArts.org.

Conscious Body, Living Soul explores sentience, which means being alive, feeling and conscious. It is a trait humans share with many life forms. A bird is sentient: it has feeling and awareness; a block of wood is not sentient, it does not have feeling and awareness. A sentient being moves, breathes, senses and has agency.

When do you feel most alive? The artwork in Conscious Body, Living Soul encourages the viewer to be sentient, feeling, alive and present.

A sentient being feels a connection to nature. You realize that you’re not isolated, but are part of something larger. Many cultures recognize the connection between individuals and the greater, encompassing sentient Web of Life. Conversely, when people lose soul, they look less alive, their senses are dull, they disconnect from nature, from their body and their own aliveness. They become machines, instead of living souls. This exhibit and its associated performances and workshops invites you to reawaken your sentience.

Conscious Body is the first of two Exhibit Seasons on two major topics of our times, Sentience and Sovereignty, and their relationship. More information on these concepts will be published soon by LFAE Artistic Director Joan Forest Mage.

Conscious Body, Living Soul is the first of two Exhibit Seasons presented by Life Force Arts Ensemble in 2023 – 2026 based in the Life Force Wisdom Wheel, a powerful psychological and spiritual tool for understanding and building positive relationships from one’s inner world to the outer world. Conscious Body, Living Soul (February 17, 2023 – June 30, 2024) focuses on Sentience: being alive, feeling and conscious, an embodied soul. Spirit, Land & People (July 26, 2024 – January 15, 2026) focuses on Sovereignty: being respected as an autonomous, living being.

The exhibit features a wide variety of media including painting, photography, sculpture, mixed media and installation. Life Force Arts Ensemble Artistic Director Joan Forest Mage says, “It’s fascinating to see the interpretations that artists have about the theme. At LFAE, our art exhibits create sacred space in which our performances and workshops become healing rituals, infused with transformative power to heal and enlighten.”

Life Force Arts Ensemble (LFAE) is a company of visual and performing artists who commune with soul and spirit to create transformation through the arts based in the Life Force Arts Method. LFAE’s art exhibits create the sacred space for our original performances, which combine dance, vocal and instrumental music, acting, storytelling and poetry, channeling powerful spiritual energy to transform, heal and enlighten our audiences.