The Beaded Prayers Project is an ongoing collaborative artwork. To date, over 4500 people ages 6 to 90 of diverse backgrounds from 35 countries worldwide have participated in the traveling exhibit by creating and contributing the beaded packets exhibited here. 

The name of the project comes directly from the shared history of the words "bead" and "prayer".  In Old English "biddan", from which "bead" is derived,
means "to ask" or "to pray". The concept for creating packets with potent contents is influenced by traditions among different peoples from the African Diaspora. The packets of the Akan peoples in Ghana are called ensuman. The Hausa and Yoruba people of Nigeria make tira. Afro Brazilians make patua.  Bakongo peoples in the Congo make minkisi. In the United States some African Americans refer to them as mojo.  Powerful prayer packets and amulets are found in other traditions as well. They are known as doaa nameh in Iran, scapulars among Catholics, dhuwas in Sri Lanka, and mezuzahs in the Jewish tradition.  Even the Romans and Greeks had a practice of using lamellae and phylacteries.

Each packet contains a wish, hope, dream, blessing or prayer of an individual participant written on a piece of paper and encased with a covering that has at least one bead on the outer surface. (There are, however, a few improvisations of these parameters in the exhibit.)  Most participants have made two packets: one to keep and the other to become part of the traveling exhibition. The eclectic display celebrates both the role of the individual and the importance of one's place in the community. From the exquisitely crafted to the crudely stitched, each beaded packet is a unique manifestation of an individual aspiration. Even those pieces that resemble one another on the outside no doubt have different messages sealed inside.

Sealing the writings inside the beaded packets borrows from the African packet tradition that inspired the project.  Historically, African packets are made from leather or cloth casings filled with sacred writings and other tokens of power. Closing the packets makes their contents inaccessible.  In those packets containing writing it is the presence of the word, not the ability to read it that yields their power. The casing acts as a veil elevating the contents to an intangible realm. The power of secrecy is a significant factor in the healing process for many.  To one participant in the Beaded Prayers Project, an adult survivor of child abuse, the sense of anonymity was the most healing and meaningful aspect of the project.

Beadwork, embroidery, and other textile art processes have been used to heal individuals and communities because they are functional and familiar. A well-known example of a contemporary collaboration using a craft tradition is the Names Project AIDS Memorial Quilt. Which grew to include 10, 000 quilts in 2 years. The packets in the Beaded Prayers Project are smaller, lighter, and more portable than the quilt blocks in the Names Project, yet the power of accumulation is as essential.  Likewise, the display of the beaded prayer packets is reminiscent of bits of cloth coming together to create a unified quilt.

Sonya Y. S. Clark, Project Director