(Minghui.org) I would like to share some of my cultivation experiences of coordinating The Art of Zhen, Shan, Ren International Exhibition in Sweden 2012.
Sweden held four Art of Zhen, Shan, Ren exhibitions this year, all of them in southern Sweden. Until this year, only the first set of paintings had been shown in southern Sweden some years ago.
We had four exhibitions this year, but I could coordinate only three of them. When the first exhibition was due take place in Bjärred, three members of my family were suddenly diagnosed with serious illnesses and had to have surgery. They are not practitioners, but they support Falun Gong. Two of them have recovered since and one is still undergoing treatment.
Thanks to the local coordinators in southern Sweden, and to the Swedish art group cooperating very well, the exhibition went well and was visited by many people. I was stuck at home, driving between hospitals, going through many xinxing tests, and trying to let go all my attachments to human feelings, especially to the feeling of worry. I tried to show compassion and forbearance without entertaining human feelings. It was very difficult cultivation for me. My understanding is that this process was about my own cultivation, interference with the art exhibition, and possibilities for my family members to eliminate karma. It was a very complex situation.
For many reasons the local coordinators are very important. They have the knowledge and contacts with the local media and the local VIPs, and can support the main coordinator. It's more difficult to coordinate an exhibition in cities where there are no practitioners. I experienced this in the exhibition in Båstad.
In July we held the art exhibition in a wealthy small town on the seaside, Båstad, famous for its tennis tournament, which attracts about 30,000 people during the two week tournament. It is also a tradition that many leaders of big companies in Sweden meet in Båstad during the tennis tournament and do business. We had a beautiful venue in a gallery in a famous old building, situated in the large, beautiful garden of Norrviken. Showing the exhibition in this venue was good for the reputation of The Art of Zhen-Shan-Ren exhibition in Sweden.
There are currently no practitioners living in Båstad, and very few Dafa activities have taken place there. The venue is outside the center of the city, so we decided to promote the exhibition not far from the tennis courts. We needed a lot of manpower to organize all the activities and a place to stay for all of us during the preparations and the exhibition. It is very expensive to rent apartments during the tennis tournament. One day a practitioner was telling people about Falun Gong in another city not far away. She started talking to one man about our upcoming art exhibition. He was an artist and had an apartment close to the venue. He thought our exhibition sounded very important and offered to let us stay in his apartment for two weeks for free. We had never met him before. I believe Master sent him to us.
After we arrived and started the preparation work at the venue, we slowly understood that there was a deep conflict going on about reorganizing the future plans of the gallery and the garden. We had to remind ourselves to stay focused on working with the exhibition, and clarifying the truth and saving people. On the day of the opening it was like a dark cloud in the gallery. We knew something strange was going on. The politician who made the opening speech was very nervous and what she said was confusing. We later understood that she was under pressure to not make the speech. It appeared that one quite well known artist in this city had a big art production in China. He had been handing out copies of an old negative article about Falun Gong during the opening. And later he wrote a negative article in the local newspaper. We answered with a letter clarifying the truth, which was published in the newspaper. Then there was another negative letter from one politician that we also answered in the local newspaper. There were no more articles, and more people started to come to the exhibition. If it were not for this interference, we would not have written these letters to the newspaper. I hope that the result of this interference was our clarifying the truth better. But I felt that we could do more for the people in this city. I asked if the exhibition could stay longer, but the venue was already booked.
In August-September the exhibition showed for four weeks in the city of Malmö. (Another practitioner is writing a sharing about this exhibition). During this exhibition we also got information about an art fair close to Malmö on October 19-21. We applied and were accepted. This was a very successful exhibition, and I hope we will be able to participate in more art fairs. One reason why I think it was successful was because the exhibition had already been in Malmö for four weeks, clearing the field around Malmö.
The organizers of the art fair sent 10,000 invitations, and they had advertisements in the biggest newspapers in Malmö and Copenhagen. This event was a very efficient way to use our resources, time, money, and manpower. There were about 4,500 visitors to the art fair in three days.
The art fair was situated close to the bridge that connects Sweden and Denmark, only half an hour away from Copenhagen. The organizers supported us strongly. We had paid 500 Euros for the exhibition place, which was an 8-meter long wall where we showed nine paintings. They gave us three extra tables, where we could sell posters and brochures, show how to make lotus flowers, and give people the opportunity to sign the U.N. petition opposing forced organ harvesting. We had our exhibition close to an auditorium, where they gave us permission to show the video “Meet the Artists” non-stop on a big screen. I noticed that this had a very positive effect to help people better understand the truth. People often stayed a long time at our exhibition and they often expressed their gratitude. The atmosphere was light and calm. The organizers invited us to come back next year.
To my understanding The Art of Zhen, Shan, Ren exhibition is an opportunity for us to save people, and in this process, help us let go of our attachments and raise our xinxing. It is a precious privilege to be working with the art exhibition project.
Please point out any short comings.
Thank you, Master! Thank you, fellow practitioners!
(Presented at the European art meeting Fahui in Brussels )