Editor: Ruiyang, Trista
New York, NY – Feb 14, 2025- In honor of the 10th anniversary of the "Love Letter Lounge" initiative, we partnered with performance artist and interfaith minister Reverend Barbara Ann Michaels (also known as the Jester of Peace) to continue the "Love Letter Lounge" public self-expression project she started in 2015. By using the art of letter writing by hand, we established a healing environment for people to express emotions and rebuild connections. Reverend Barbara is a social artist whose philosophy is “Find the funny, find the freedom.” Her HumorVille project, which focuses on humor and wellness, provides immersive small-town-themed art experiences, fostering a community filled with laughter and love for people from diverse backgrounds. HumorVille's participatory art activities, in a lighthearted and enjoyable manner, help individuals feel seen, heard, celebrated, and connected. Her work consistently emphasizes self-acceptance and collective healing, aiming to overcome social isolation and restore warm human connections through humor and art.
Using the "Pop-Up Post Office" platform, this event partnered with the Waave Foundation, HumorVille, and Fabrik NYC to create an immersive letter-writing experience. Participants could choose their letter recipients—whether to apologize to their past selves, express gratitude to life companions, or send blessings to strangers. A special "ritual mailbox" was set up on-site: letters with addresses were physically mailed to the recipients; letters without address were shredded after the event. During the event, we heard feedback from many participants that the letter-writing process helped them "reconcile with past pain," while receiving letters from strangers made them "believe again in the possibility of being understood." The combination of HumorVille's humor-healing philosophy and the art of letter writing by hand added a relaxed and joyful atmosphere to the event, allowing people to release stress through laughter and find inner peace through writing.
As an important practice of the "Soul Reconstruction Plan," this event deeply demonstrated how words and humor can become a bond for people to break through loneliness. In the future, we plan to continue focusing on the "Love Letter Lounge" project and reach out to more groups, including women's groups, hoping to further integrate humor healing with psychological support through HumorVille's immersive art experiences. We believe as Barbara insists, “When we can laugh with our experiences of the human condition, they can reach the humor condition, where they no longer own us emotionally. Humor is the harbinger of healing. We’re putting humor back in the medicine cabinet for generations.” We look forward to joining more people in writing this gentle revolution that transcends time and space, allowing the power of love and humor to continue spreading.
Waave Foundation's Mission
Our mission, deeply rooted in the fourth-wave feminism movement, is to facilitate and drive the transformation toward equality. Waave Foundation is more than an organization; it's a movement where art meets activism, tradition meets innovation, and silenced voices are heard and celebrated. This exhibition aligns perfectly with our mission, highlighting the resilience and empowerment of Korean women during a pivotal moment in history.
For more information about the exhibition or to collaborate with Waave, please contact info@waave.org and Trista at trista@waave.org
(All photos by Trista and Ruiyang)
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