Being Human Festival 2026

What does it truly mean to be human—between life and loss?

Between Life and Loss: Deathwork as Community Work is an immersive, interactive public humanities installation exploring death as a shared human experience and deathwork as an act of community care. Selected from a competitive national pool, this marks the first time the Being Human Festival will be brought to the state of Louisiana.

Guided by death doula and cultural curator Amiyah King, this experience draws from African diasporic, Indigenous, Creole, and New Orleans funeral traditions to illuminate the sacred labor of tending to the dead and caring for the living. In a city shaped by resilience, ritual, and remembrance, this installation invites participants to reflect on mortality, cultural memory, and collective healing.

This is a self-guided, multi-station installation blending education, history, and embodied learning. Participants may engage in:

• Washing and preparing a body using life-sized medical manikins
• Preserving with herbs and anointing oils
• Shrouding in preparation for green burial
• Creating and tending community altars rooted in ancestor veneration traditions
• Reflective prompts exploring personal legacy and life story

Each station includes interpretive signage offering historical, cultural, and spiritual context.

• Community members curious about end-of-life traditions
• Caregivers, healthcare professionals, and death workers
• Students and lifelong learners
• Anyone seeking a deeper understanding of grief, ritual, and community resilience

Recommended for ages 14 and up.

• This is a reflective, educational experience.
• No live bodies or human remains are present.
• No open flames are used.
• The installation is designed to be respectful, trauma-informed, and culturally grounded.
• Participants may move at their own pace.

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Host or Publisher Amiyah King