While undergoing treatment for cancer, Guadalupe Maravilla was introduced to sound therapy, a healing practice that uses vibrations produced by gongs. According to the artist, this practice “cleanse[s] the water in our bodies, which can carry stress, impurities, and, in some cases, diseases.” Now a trained sound healer, Maravilla regularly holds therapeutic workshops for undocumented immigrants, cancer patients, and those in need. The gongs played by the artist and his collaborators are tuned to specific frequencies that resonate with the moon and other planets in our solar system and will create an immersive soundscape within the artist’s sculptural installation.

As a part of the acquisition of Maravilla’s sculpture Disease Thrower #10, WCMA invites Maravilla’s sound healer collaborator Michael Jay to offer sound baths to students and the general public in Williamstown.

The sound bath will last for one hour. Late entry will not be permitted. Audiences will be welcome to sit or lie down in the gallery space; yoga mats and seating cushions will be provided. Chairs will be made available on a limited basis, upon request. Please note that the sound baths involve sustained noise levels of varying volumes. Wearing an extra layer of warm clothing is recommended. Please email Roz Crews ([email protected]) if you need any other type of accommodation.

Admission to the sound baths is free but requires advance registration. There are 25 spots available per sound bath.

Sign up for the 10 a.m. sound bath here.

Sign up for the 3 p.m. sound bath here.

About Michael Jay

Michael Jay is a tone scientist who has worked with several sound schools (Sage Academy, Open Center, and Soundbody). He does many collaborative soundbaths and has a private sound/bodywork practice. Look for MichaelJay108 on Instagram and Sound Vision Alchemy on Facebook.

Since 2015, Michael has worked with Osteopath and fellow Tone Scientist Joseph Schmidlin in workshops teaching how to incorporate sound and bodywork into a healing practice. They recently formed a sound healing instrument and teaching platform called OneTone Sonic Alchemy, along with several sound meditation recordings under the name Sonic Universe Now aka S.U.N. on Spotify and Bandcamp. Michael also has a recording with world music virtuoso TomChess called Oceanic on bandcamp.

At heart, Michael is an integrative health coach who is committed to using sound for its immense healing power. He sees sound as a doorway to meditation and deeper connection, offering us an opportunity to raise our existence to a higher level/octave so we can enjoy our time here and live in true unity on this planet. He feels our existence is a blessing and wishes for everyone to be able to find their connection with their inner power, with each other, and with the cosmic creator—helping each person realize the vast oceans of love that each of us really/truly are, and that infinite love is the only truth.

About Guadalupe Maravilla

Guadalupe Maravilla is a transdisciplinary visual artist, choreographer, and healer. At the age of eight, Maravilla was part of the first wave of unaccompanied, undocumented children to arrive at the United States border in the 1980s as a result of the Salvadoran Civil War. In 2016, Maravilla became a U.S. citizen and in 2016 he adopted the name Guadalupe Maravilla in solidarity with his undocumented father, who uses Maravilla as his last name. As an acknowledgment to his past, Maravilla grounds his practice in the historical and contemporary contexts belonging to the undocumented and cancer communities.

Maravilla currently lives in Brooklyn, New York. His work is in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art, The Guggenheim Museum, the Whitney Museum of American Art, Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid; and the Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami. Additionally, Maravilla has performed and presented his work at the Whitney Museum of American Art, MoMA, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Institute of Contemporary Art Miami, Queens Museum, Bronx Museum of the Arts and many more.

Awards and fellowships include; The 2021 Joan Mitchell Fellowship, LatinX Fellowship 2021, Lise Wilhelmsen Art award 2021, Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship 2019, Soros Fellowship: Art Migration and Public Space 2019, Map fund 2019, Creative Capital Grant 2016, Franklin Furnace 2018, Joan Mitchell Emerging Artist Grant 2016, Art Matters Fellowship 2017, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Fellowship 2018. Residencies include; LMCC Workspace, SOMA, Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture and Drawing Center Open Sessions.

Sobre Guadalupe Maravilla

Guadalupe Maravilla es artista visual transdisciplinario, coreógrafo, y sanador. A los ocho años, Maravilla fue parte de la primera ola de niños indocumentados que llegaron a la frontera de los Estados Unidos en los 1980 ‘s, en consecuencia de la Guerra Civil de El Salvador. En 2016, Maravilla se hizo ciudadano Estadounidense y en 2016 adoptó el nombre Guadalupe Maravilla en solidaridad con su padre indocumentado, que usa el nombre Maravilla como apellido. Como reconocimiento a su pasado, Maravilla basa su práctica en los contextos históricos y contemporáneos de la comunidad indocumentada y la comunidad de cáncer.

Maravilla en la actualidad vive en Brooklyn, Nueva York. Sus obras están en las colecciones permanentes del Museum of Modern Art, The Guggenheim Museum, el Whitney Museum of American Art, el Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid; y el Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami. Adicionalmente, Maravilla ha hecho performances y ha presentado obras en el Whitney Museum of American Art, MoMA, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Institute of Contemporary Art Miami, Queens Museum, Bronx Museum of the Arts, y muchos más.

Premios y becas incluyen; El 2021 Joan Mitchell Fellowship, LatinX Fellowship 2021, Lise Wilhelmsen Art award 2021, Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship 2019, Soros Fellowship: Art Migration and Public Space 2019, Map fund 2019, Creative Capital Grant 2016, y Franklin Furnace 2018. Residencias incluyen LMCC Workspace, SOMA, Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture y Drawing Center Open Sessions.