This June, we’re examining how art may be used to express compassion. We will be screening the documentary film, Monk With a Camera (2013), and will be joined by co-director TIna Mascara to discuss. Then, we’ll show a short clip from the Tzu Chi USA series, Good Deeds Blossom, that features artist and former Tzu Chi disaster case manager Bobbie Rae Jones. She will join our program in conversation with host Bart Shatto.

Monk With a Camera explores the story of Nicholas Vreeland. He is a man who, like Prince Siddhartha Gautama, left a life of wealth and privilege behind in pursuit of wisdom. Abandoning a promising career in photography, the film shows us how that same art would help the monastery he would later join to thrive.

After the Camp Fire burned down an entire California town, Tzu Chi volunteers from across the country rallied to help. Joining their ranks was Chico-based artist turned former disaster case manager, Bobbie Rae Jones. In “Rising from the Ashes,” a short clip from Good Deeds Blossom, she sheds light on the suffering of trauma survivors and how compassion opens the door to relief.

TINA MASCARA is an American director and producer. She co-directed Monk With a Camera, along with other films, with her late husband, Guido Santi.

BOBBIE RAE JONES is an artist, teacher, masseuse, Buddhist practitioner, and former Disaster Case Manager for Tzu Chi Chico. She assisted with Tzu Chi USA’s emergency relief efforts after the Camp Fire in 2018 and has continued to work with care recipients as they recover in the long-term.