Join HCC in a Meet the Artists gathering at the Big Chair, September 1st at 4 PM!

Come for a meet and greet with the Big Chair’s Artist, Heather Sabarese, accompanied by frequent HCC art contributor, Elizabeth Marik, for a design commemorating Suicide Awareness Month 2024.

This September marks a year since Heather and her son, Aiden, were chosen to create the first “Stories of Hope” installation at the Big Chair in awareness of suicide prevention. Their lighthouse design and painting were featured for three months last year. The topic was and is personal: they had lost her nephew (his cousin), Justin, to suicide that year.

Earlier this year, Aiden also lost his life to suicide. A copy of his Godzilla tattoo is now an ongoing feature of the Big Chair.

The design for 2024 incorporates, in the words of Heather, “the colors of suicide prevention, which are light purple and teal. I…also… incorporate[d] some cats as Justin and Aiden are both cat dads and I have been reading about them– Mythology of cats and death. Many cultures have cat or goddesses that play a role in the death process such as Bastet, Madfet, Kasha, and Freya’s cat.”

Join us Sunday, September 1 at 4:00pm – refreshments and remarks at the Big Chair next to HCC’s Gate Entrance.

This event is Free to the public and requires no RSVP.

This installation is part of The Big Chair Project: Messages of Hope. By and for the Congressional Cemetery community, we welcome artists (of all skills and experience levels) to propose installations and, if chosen, we provide the paint and brushes and cheer you on.

If you are interested in participating in painting the Big Chair, please inquire in the gatehouse or email: DeathDoula@congressionalcemetery.org